Don't quite know how to blog, in a series that's usually fleeting comments on newish contemporary things, a "classic." Marvell pour les enfants: the bridge (to my ears) between the Metaphysicals & Dryden's couplet wit; co-worker with Milton, & author of a tremendous introductory poem to Paradise Lost, in which Marvell lavishly praises Milton's blank verse, even if he can't let go of rhyme himself; ardent Republican; later ardent suck-up (at least in print) to Charles II; author of a couple of endless topical satires, mostly incomprehensible to contemporary readers (Calvin Trillin to readers in 2350 CE); one of the greatest political poets in English, not least because of his painful grasp of the ambiguities of power. By far the greatest garden poet before Finlay.
A handy edition, this Penguin; quite as good, if not as complete, as the Oxford Authors; high points for no-nonsense, non-condescending annotations. And a dandy cover illustration of "King Charles II being presented with a Pineapple by Mr Rose the Royal Gardener" (Thomas Hewart). Remind me to tell you the one about Louis Zukofsky's father, Whittaker Chambers, and the pineapple.
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10 comments:
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"Remind me to tell you the one about Louis Zukofsky's father, Whittaker Chambers, and the pineapple."
So... tell.
.
Yes, tell!
The recent Longman annotated Marvell is a marvel, if you're a big fan...
Chambers was around here D.C. and Md I think that he died during the 60's in same town Jesse Glass is from ..
(I had a Professor who was Whittaker Chamber's friend at Mont Jr College 1959-63 ...Jacoby... a "communist" anyway I think WC hid some Alger Hiss "stuff" film or something in a "pineapple" hid the evidence from that McCarthy "purge" crap.
maybe Zukofsky wrote a poem about that pinapple?
LZ and he were fellow students at Columbia! and we all know what "Columbia" was..
and, I just bought 3 cans of pineapple chunks in pear juice (?)
for tonight's stir-fried chicken and peppers.
Wait, lemme guess. It begins like this:
So, Louis Zukofsky's father, Whittaker Chambers, and a pineapple walk into a fruit bar...
Am I missing a joke here? Please, people, tell me you know it was a pumpkin.
Ah, on rereading this I see it's only Ed who seems to be conflating the pineapple and the pumpkin. Never mind.
oh yeah he worked in a pinapple canning facvtory
didn't hide the micro-fiche in a can of
pinapples..
he actually stashed it in a pumpkin as you say...
but, I got the Alger Hiss part right...
and, since when did Whit Chambers be LZ's father?
"since when did Whit Chambers be LZ's father?"
Oh Ed, now you're just being difficult!!
I'm ashamed of myself...
sort of
but I'll get over it.
I actually "pick-up" on lots from where you lead ;via some of your posts...
not the least of which is How to Spell
(get 'it'? How to Write by GS).
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