In this episode of the “Escaping the Brave New World” poets Adam Sedia and David Gosselin revisit Aldous Huxley’s famous work, A Brave New World. That we find ourselves in a culture very much like the one found in his dystopian novel is not a contentious argument, and it is one many people would agree with….
Category: Poetry
Beyond the Lines: Shelley’s “Ozymandias”
By Adam Sedia Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “Ozymandias” is one of his shortest works, but also one of his best known, anthologized to the point of ubiquity. But it deserves every bit of the reputation it has gained. Short, yet powerful and descriptive, it illustrates the sonnet at its best. And it is one of the…
Book Review: Places the Soul Goes by Daniel Leach
By David Gosselin Daniel Leach’s latest collection of poems, Places the Soul Goes, presents the reader with a rich and unique array of places, persons and times, which while perhaps never-before seen or heard of, will appear strangely familiar to the lover of Beauty. The works in this collection are composed in what may be…
On Reviving Plato’s and Shelley’s ‘Enthusiasm’
By Gerry Therrien Here is a transcript of Gerry Therrien lecture as the epilogue to the RTF symposium “Rediscovering the Lost Art of Statecraft.” It is a must see/read! At our Wednesday Evening Reading Club, back in February, we read Michael Billington’s article on ‘The Deconstructionist Assault on China’s Cultural Optimism’, and in the article,…
Beyond the Lines: “Longing” in Schiller and Goethe
By David Gosselin Friedrich Schiller and Johan Wolfgang Goethe stand out as two of the greatest poets in history. Both are celebrated as the fathers of German classicism, which they helped usher in with their scholarly collaborators, including the philosopher Johann Gottfried von Herder and the classical philologist Wilhelm von Humboldt. Schiller and Goethe also…
It’s Time for a New “Age of the Muses”
By David Gosselin “To tame the savageness of man, and make gentle the life of this world” -Aeschylus The twentieth century has been an age fraught with discussion of new ages: the “New Age”, an “Age of Aquarius,” the “Ultimate Revolution”, a “New World Order,” a “New American Century” the age of “Modernism,” a “Post-Modern”…
Beyond the Lines: On Shelley’s “Ode to a Skylark”
By David Gosselin “To a Skylark” is perhaps one of the greatest nests of poetic paradoxes in the history of English poetry. Its language is shaped around the creation of ironical images, starting with the enigmatic “Hail to thee, blithe Spirit/Bird thou never wert!” and proceeding to describe “unpremeditated art,” “a cloud of fire” and…
Profiles in Poetry: Friedrich Schiller
By David Gosselin “Trust me, the fountain of youth, it is no fable. It is running Truly and always. Ye ask, where? In poetical art.” – Friedrich Schiller, The Fountain of Youth Friedrich Schiller was born on November 10th, 1759 in Marbach, Württemberg. He was without question one of the greatest poets and dramatists to…
The Russian Poet of Freedom: On Pushkin’s “Little Tragedies” and the Law of Nemesis
Many in the West are not familiar with the works of Alexander Pushkin. They may not even be aware of his existence and this is a real loss for western thinking. Just as Shakespeare is admired throughout the world and not just in Britain, for his lessons are universal and touch all hearts no matter…
Three Sister Ballads
David Gosselin, author of the three sister ballads feature here composed an accompanying essay showcasing his philosophy of poetry, creativity and the importance of rediscovering classical principles of artistic composition in our modern age which can be read here. The Sea Restless—I awaken—As the city stirs,Street lights flicker like stars,And the sea whispers. Languid ocean…
