This is a really neat idea. The arts supported ideas other than the current politically correct ones for a very long time, and could again.
I remember Margaret Atwood (ironically) saying she didn't understand why poetry was unmanly since it was all about battles and so on. Of course that was back in the 50s or so.
There's a long tradition of the warrior-poet in other cultures; Japanese samurai and Chinese warlords composed poetry, Greek philosophers fought, and early-modern Spaniards tried to excel at the sword and pen; Cervantes was injured at Lepanto.
I know a Russian lady who had her son learn 'If' (and it fits Stoic philosophy pretty well). So it's not totally forgotten.
'Invictus' has gotten a bad rap because the Oklahoma City bomber chose it as his final statement before his execution. (Japanese monks and samurai would compose a death-poem, a final statement.)
I grew up reading Kipling, Hemingway, and a host of other guys with plenty of non-compensatory male virility. When I grew up I discovered Bukowski, Stanford, and others. So I always viewed poetry as quite masculine (which is one of the reasons why I gravitated towards it in the first place). I tend to not understand the purpose of flowery poetry unless it's got some bite to it.
"If" is one of my absolute favorite poems (along with Invictus). I think it's important to marry a strong body with a strong mind if one is able to, so I've always viewed warrior-poets with great respect. I could never take a kid seriously who thought he was going to be the next Hemingway while sitting in the safe cage of his collegiate ivory tower (and I've met many of them. Still waiting on the "next Hemingway" to come to fruition though).
He wouldn't get published, though! There's a whole argument about the decline of the male author you've probably been following and know better than me--basically the women running publishing these days are heavily left-leaning and prize diversity, but in particular dislike manly men, seeing them as toxic. So writing from the collegiate ivory tower (a la, say, David Foster Wallace) probably was his best chance, though now he wouldn't get published at all unless he had some diversity angle.
I'm not so sure those guys weren't compensatory, though. In the West in that time period, it was seen as unmanly to be into the arts, so they may have done all that stuff to compensate for a feeling of lacking masculinity. However, I can tell you from the male point of view, the achievement matters, not the motivation. So if you're Hemingway or Kipling and fight in wars, you still get the 'man points' even if it's because people made fun of you when you were younger. Look at how many of the older Hollywood movies have a backstory for the hero where he gets bullied and gets revenge by building himself up.
Oh for sure. There's no way these guys would get published these days. The publishing industry has been completely feminized. Give me Hemingway and his time spent driving ambulances through war zones, and his economical language and gut punch story telling over what they are publishing now any day.
What an interesting and inspiring principle of curation! I don't read much poetry anymore, but I enjoyed your selection. My mother died in August of 2023, and we had her Celebration of Life this July. We shared memories and sang songs. I read Invictus, which was one of Mom's favorites, and at the end my brother, sister, and I each recited a Little Willie poem. It was quite special.
That is so beautiful, Kurt. Invictus is such an amazing poem and one of my all time favorites as well. Poetry is such a comforting medium for moments that are full of emotions. Thank you so much for reading, and I definitely plan to do more poetry collections in the future! ❤️
I love this article! Great choices! I'd toss in William Trowbridge's "Kong Looks Back on His Tryout with the Bears". Such a bawdy, politically incorrect football poem with lines like "...And if it weren't for love, I'd drop/this shrieking little bimbo sixty stories/and let them take me back to the exhibit..." LOL. I love the fact you went heavy on the formal poets. James Dickey once told me a major fault of contemporary poetry is that no one can remember the lines! Great work!
Thank you so much for reading and sharing! I LOVE that Trowbridge poem and would have never known about it if it weren’t for you. Such a good poem! Dickey, what a poet. And so true. I might not be able to write formal poetry worth a damn but it’s mostly what I read 🤣
I love this! What a beautiful addition to the discussion. I love that last line, "But westward, look, the land is bright." What inspiring words! Thanks so much for reading and sharing this with us!
Good stuff. A poem a day keeps the blues away! I maintain a long list at https://monadnock.net/poems.html but keep finding more.
As to Beowulf (which I happened to read twice recently), I highly recommend sampling the translation by Michael Alexander, for reasons I briefly described here: https://philosopher.coach/2024/10/13/beowulf/
Thank you so much for sharing these links! I love your line, "A poem a day keeps the blues away." Brilliant! I will definitely check out the link regarding Beowulf as well- I'll never tire of reading different translations of that story :)
This is a really neat idea. The arts supported ideas other than the current politically correct ones for a very long time, and could again.
I remember Margaret Atwood (ironically) saying she didn't understand why poetry was unmanly since it was all about battles and so on. Of course that was back in the 50s or so.
There's a long tradition of the warrior-poet in other cultures; Japanese samurai and Chinese warlords composed poetry, Greek philosophers fought, and early-modern Spaniards tried to excel at the sword and pen; Cervantes was injured at Lepanto.
I know a Russian lady who had her son learn 'If' (and it fits Stoic philosophy pretty well). So it's not totally forgotten.
'Invictus' has gotten a bad rap because the Oklahoma City bomber chose it as his final statement before his execution. (Japanese monks and samurai would compose a death-poem, a final statement.)
I grew up reading Kipling, Hemingway, and a host of other guys with plenty of non-compensatory male virility. When I grew up I discovered Bukowski, Stanford, and others. So I always viewed poetry as quite masculine (which is one of the reasons why I gravitated towards it in the first place). I tend to not understand the purpose of flowery poetry unless it's got some bite to it.
"If" is one of my absolute favorite poems (along with Invictus). I think it's important to marry a strong body with a strong mind if one is able to, so I've always viewed warrior-poets with great respect. I could never take a kid seriously who thought he was going to be the next Hemingway while sitting in the safe cage of his collegiate ivory tower (and I've met many of them. Still waiting on the "next Hemingway" to come to fruition though).
He wouldn't get published, though! There's a whole argument about the decline of the male author you've probably been following and know better than me--basically the women running publishing these days are heavily left-leaning and prize diversity, but in particular dislike manly men, seeing them as toxic. So writing from the collegiate ivory tower (a la, say, David Foster Wallace) probably was his best chance, though now he wouldn't get published at all unless he had some diversity angle.
I'm not so sure those guys weren't compensatory, though. In the West in that time period, it was seen as unmanly to be into the arts, so they may have done all that stuff to compensate for a feeling of lacking masculinity. However, I can tell you from the male point of view, the achievement matters, not the motivation. So if you're Hemingway or Kipling and fight in wars, you still get the 'man points' even if it's because people made fun of you when you were younger. Look at how many of the older Hollywood movies have a backstory for the hero where he gets bullied and gets revenge by building himself up.
Oh for sure. There's no way these guys would get published these days. The publishing industry has been completely feminized. Give me Hemingway and his time spent driving ambulances through war zones, and his economical language and gut punch story telling over what they are publishing now any day.
What an interesting and inspiring principle of curation! I don't read much poetry anymore, but I enjoyed your selection. My mother died in August of 2023, and we had her Celebration of Life this July. We shared memories and sang songs. I read Invictus, which was one of Mom's favorites, and at the end my brother, sister, and I each recited a Little Willie poem. It was quite special.
Please keep pieces like this comin'!
That is so beautiful, Kurt. Invictus is such an amazing poem and one of my all time favorites as well. Poetry is such a comforting medium for moments that are full of emotions. Thank you so much for reading, and I definitely plan to do more poetry collections in the future! ❤️
I love this article! Great choices! I'd toss in William Trowbridge's "Kong Looks Back on His Tryout with the Bears". Such a bawdy, politically incorrect football poem with lines like "...And if it weren't for love, I'd drop/this shrieking little bimbo sixty stories/and let them take me back to the exhibit..." LOL. I love the fact you went heavy on the formal poets. James Dickey once told me a major fault of contemporary poetry is that no one can remember the lines! Great work!
Thank you so much for reading and sharing! I LOVE that Trowbridge poem and would have never known about it if it weren’t for you. Such a good poem! Dickey, what a poet. And so true. I might not be able to write formal poetry worth a damn but it’s mostly what I read 🤣
You can write one helluva song, though. And that’s as close to formal poetry as you can get!
Well thank you!! 😊🙏😍
I like "Say not the struggle naught availeth". My favorite verse is:
"And not by eastern windows only,
When daylight comes, comes in the light,
In front the sun climbs slow, how slowly,
But westward, look, the land is bright"
I love this! What a beautiful addition to the discussion. I love that last line, "But westward, look, the land is bright." What inspiring words! Thanks so much for reading and sharing this with us!
Another fav that has and overlapping theme is: "We are the music makers".
It is inspiration for bards and philosophers wondering whether they will have impact.
Some of these are exactly what I needed. I think I'll be reciting Invictus to myself just about everyday now. Thankyou
Thank you so much for reading! Invictus is one of my go-to poems as well. So, so good :) Glad these poems spoke to you! 👏
Good stuff. A poem a day keeps the blues away! I maintain a long list at https://monadnock.net/poems.html but keep finding more.
As to Beowulf (which I happened to read twice recently), I highly recommend sampling the translation by Michael Alexander, for reasons I briefly described here: https://philosopher.coach/2024/10/13/beowulf/
Thank you so much for sharing these links! I love your line, "A poem a day keeps the blues away." Brilliant! I will definitely check out the link regarding Beowulf as well- I'll never tire of reading different translations of that story :)
On second thought, "a poem a day keeps the doldrums away" would better preserve the original rhythm. ;-)
Well now I don’t know which one to choose because I love them both. Though I like any saying that presents me with the opportunity to say “doldrums”😅