Reading · man of aran · RSS Amplifier

Here I present another ‘erasure’ poem, so-called. But considering the source text, two paragraphs from the ‘Conclusion’ of the Victorian writer Walter Pater’s The Renaissance: Studies in Art and Poetry (1877), the use of the word ‘erasure’ feels something like a desecration. Who am I to ‘erase’ another writer’s exquisite prose in favour of my own dubious effort? I think calling it ‘mined’ poetry ie. composed of the gems one might ‘extract’ from a text, seems more fitting, more respectful. Of course, it’s the readers who will decide whether that is the case.

This is a photograph of Walter Pater from the shoulders up, in a ¾ pose facing the right side of the image. He is wearing a high collared shirt, wide polka-dot tie, and a dark jacket. The image fades from the top of the tie downwards. — Walter Horatio Pater (1839-1894) photo by Elliott and Fry, c. 1890s

two paragraphs from the Conclusion of Walter Pater’s *The Renaissance: Studies in Art and Poetry* (1877)

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published

<from Walter Pater’s Conclusion to The Renaissance: Studies in Art and Poetry> 
Spirit rouses life.
Every moment grows the sea,
experience the end.
Pulses given to us
pass swiftly, present always—
a pure gemlike flame.
Failure is habits,
a stereotyped world the rough eye.
We may well grasp a lifted horizon,
a stirring of dyes, hands,
the face of one’s friend.
Not to is to sleep before evening—
splendour unregarded, sacrificed.

'this hard, gemlike flame'

Comments