Wednesday, October 25. 2006
Poetry As Survival
“I must create a system, or be enslav’d by another man’s”
-William Blake, “Jerusalem”
What can I say about this book? It has been a life raft for me. I resonated with Orr’s sentiments from the very first page, and have unfolded in this book a beautiful articulation of what I have been experiencing lately in my relationship to art. Orr speaks with the authority of one who has observed himself keenly in the process of living and writing. He draws equally on research, insight, and experience to illuminate the transformative power of poetry. In the first half he lays out his theories, in the second he traces connections through Wordsworth, Keats, Whitman, Dickinson, and Wilfred Owen.
Where I was once scoffingly skeptical of the notion of “art therapy”, I now have a renewed understanding of the purpose and power of poetry. To the commenter on the Books, Inq. blog who hopes, “the simple stuff by humans does survive, and continues to reach people,” I can say that Orr illustrates a key facet of the power and importance of this “simple stuff by humans” — the power to heal not only the author but to communicate a more fully integrated experience of life to the reader as well. As long as we will be struggling with order and disorder, trauma and hope, we will continue to make meaningful art. Thanks to Sarah for nudging me toward this book. It is a gem.
-William Blake, “Jerusalem”
What can I say about this book? It has been a life raft for me. I resonated with Orr’s sentiments from the very first page, and have unfolded in this book a beautiful articulation of what I have been experiencing lately in my relationship to art. Orr speaks with the authority of one who has observed himself keenly in the process of living and writing. He draws equally on research, insight, and experience to illuminate the transformative power of poetry. In the first half he lays out his theories, in the second he traces connections through Wordsworth, Keats, Whitman, Dickinson, and Wilfred Owen.Where I was once scoffingly skeptical of the notion of “art therapy”, I now have a renewed understanding of the purpose and power of poetry. To the commenter on the Books, Inq. blog who hopes, “the simple stuff by humans does survive, and continues to reach people,” I can say that Orr illustrates a key facet of the power and importance of this “simple stuff by humans” — the power to heal not only the author but to communicate a more fully integrated experience of life to the reader as well. As long as we will be struggling with order and disorder, trauma and hope, we will continue to make meaningful art. Thanks to Sarah for nudging me toward this book. It is a gem.
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If you like Blake (this is only very tangentially related), you may enjoy a novella we’re publishing in the zeroth issue of GUD—a fictionalization of his early life. It, too, revolves around the curative powers of art.
That would be http://gudmagazine.com/
And I have to give it to your captcha system. That’s actually hard to read!
That would be http://gudmagazine.com/
And I have to give it to your captcha system. That’s actually hard to read!
Sorry about the captcha. It hates the visually impaired as much as it hates spam, apparently.
Blake is one of my heroes. Early as in before or after he had the vision of angels in the tree and the return of his dead brother?
Blake is one of my heroes. Early as in before or after he had the vision of angels in the tree and the return of his dead brother?
Somewhere around that time, I believe. Perhaps a little earlier, perhaps a little later? There are references to the vision of angels in the tree, but not to his dead brother… at least, I don’t remember a dead brother.
Congratz on the wineglass win
Congratz on the wineglass win
hello, impressive simplicity and depth….art is healing, we heal from the inside out and life our lives through other peolple and the life of nature. In thefourzoas.com you will find Jerusalem explained helpfully. read plates randomly and see the narrative flow clearly..from any plate in relation to the work as a whole. In particular, blake’s fourfold vision, and Blake genius in crafting vision.
david
david
