David Jones, artist and poet (1895-1974) begins his PREFACE TO THE ANATHEMATA :

'I have made a heap of all that I could find.' (1) So wrote Nennius, or whoever composed the introductory matter to Historia Brittonum. He speaks of an 'inward wound' which was caused by the fear that certain things dear to him 'should be like smoke dissipated'. Further, he says, 'not trusting my own learning, which is none at all, but partly from writings and monuments of the ancient inhabitants of Britain, partly from the annals of the Romans and the chronicles of the sacred fathers, Isidore, Hieronymous, Prosper, Eusebius and from the histories of the Scots and Saxons although our enemies . . . I have lispingly put together this . . . about past transactions, that [this material] might not be trodden under foot'. (2)

(1) The actual words are coacervavi omne quod inveni, and occur in Prologue 2 to the Historia.
(2) Quoted from the translation of Prologue 1. See The Works of Gildas and Nennius, J.A.Giles, London 1841.


31 December 2016

New Year's Eve :


      The bridge of dreams
Floating on the brief spring night
      Soon breaks off:
Now from the mountaintop a cloud
Takes leave into the open sky.

      Teika, aged 32, 1194

      Japanese Court Poetry 
      Robert H. Brower, Earl Roy Miner

---------------------------

Out of 
now|here -- 
a bridge

      poeter      
      after Basho
      for Yves Klein
            of Leap into the Void
by Matsuo Basho (1664-1694)    
One fellow traveller 
observed --
17 lines

       for I R    
        

scroll by Matsuo Basho (1664-1694)  
 detail
 A Person Looks At A Work Of Art/
 someone looks at something... 
         
 LOGOS/HA HA