![]() It’s just | a theatre of entertainments where | the mortals strut their stuff and swear | that they believe in gods, or don’t, and cast | about for stories that make sense | of their short lives…’ And in ‘His Emerald Tablet’: ‘Time doesn’t mean a lot to gods. He’ll now become | whatever time and alchemy arrange.’ It takes my breath away. ![]() the thoughts of Alan Guth | or quantum fluctuations in the vacuum…’ Seen from the eyrie of the gods, how human us mere mortals are!Įvery page uncovers alchemical gold: in ‘Nigredo’: ‘As Apollo once told Rilke: ‘Time to change!’ | So Hermes slips into the vas hermeticum | and starts to decompose. In the poem ‘He Considers GUTs and Such’, how can we not reflect on our own humanity, when Lindsay writes: ‘He likes it when we hanker after truth | in things, yet smiles to see how serious | we are in postulating theories | of everything (e.g. What a pleasure it is to read and smile and re-read these words, not overly-crafted, but flowing and funny and so unflinchingly pertinent. Without being academic or arcane, Lindsay uncovers Hermes at work in the modern era through this series of 49 poems, the mere titles of which revealing mischief at work: ‘He Cocks a Snook at Nietzsche (and Philip Larkin)’, ‘A PR Man Speaks Up’ (very funny) and ‘He Giveth Tongue’ – the first line of which conjectures, ‘Surely it takes a god this versatile to dream up language?’ Ah yes, it’s a long while since I’ve enjoyed a collection of poems as much as these. But, it seems, what interests Lindsay most in all of Hermes’ many guises is the fact that he always provokes imaginative thought, helping us to refine and understand the complex and ambiguous creatures we are. Hermes the Trickster Hermes Mercurius Trismegistus, Hermes the Greek god of writing and magic the psychopomp, guiding souls to the afterlife. So, when I saw Lindsay’s new book, A Dance With Hermes and his dedication in the prelims to John, I knew I was in for a treat.Īs Jules Cashford writes in her exceptional Foreword to the book – which sets it perfectly in context – Lindsay brings the elusive Hermes, ‘brilliantly and vividly to life, dreaming the myth forward’. No one else I know speaks much about being, ‘fingered by Mercurius’ – that is except our mutual friend, Lindsay Clarke. ![]() I have missed my friend and mentor John Moat since his passing in 2014. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |