Comments for Ship Burial Novel

Comment on Mary Magdalene and the Merovingians by kevin andrew

kevin andrew — Mon, 16 May 2011 19:03:04 +0000

Thank you Emma. Glad you enjoy the blog!

Comment on Mary Magdalene and the Merovingians by kevin andrew

kevin andrew — Mon, 16 May 2011 19:02:05 +0000

Thank you Jan for your thoughts! Yes the Dream of the Rood is a tiny Anglo-Saxon religious masterpiece. Your point about the vaulting of Gothic cathedrals is a fine one. It is hard to imagine a world without trees, after all even the Sahara has its oases, and whilst I do not feel the need to hug every oak or ash that I pass, there is no doubting the sense of wonder that is provoked by being ‘among trees’, and I think that a portion of this wonder has something to do with cultural symbolism.

Comment on Mary Magdalene and the Merovingians by Jan Malaszek

Jan Malaszek — Mon, 16 May 2011 10:19:52 +0000

PS
The special role played by a collectivity (community) in ensuring the wisdom of its members is passed on is explained in ‘The need for roots’ (1949):

” …..a collectivity has its roots in the past. It constitutes the sole agency for preserving the spiritual treasures accumulated by the dead, the sole transmitting agency by means of which the dead can speak to the living.”

Comment on Mary Magdalene and the Merovingians by Jan Malaszek

Jan Malaszek — Mon, 16 May 2011 09:20:16 +0000

I found the piece on Mary of Magdala very moving. However my purpose is to thank you
for bringing ‘The dream of the road’ to my attention’. The story of the crucifixion told from the view point of the cross brings to mind notions of both ‘the wisdom of trees’ and persistance and perserverance, as in old folk tales. The tree forms a powerful motif in
on gothic cathedrals where the vaulting resembles branches & canopy, forming a bridge between heaven & earth. And of course there are the mysterious ‘green men’ with foliage growing out of their mouths (Norwich Cathedral has some fine examples). There is
a large part of the tree we do not see – the roots and again metaphors abound, but I’m digressing! The French philosopher & mystic Simone Weil is rare amongst thinkers of the last century to consider our need for roots in both material & spiritual ways. Sorry I’m digressing once again. Thank you for your writing. JM

Comment on Mary Magdalene and the Merovingians by Emma Goldsmith

Emma Goldsmith — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 15:24:58 +0000

The idea that she represents all three sin, forgiveness and love is very powerful. The depth and feeling in your writing is a breath of fresh air in this world of Easter eggs and Christmas presents. It is always great to see your next post.

Comment on The Goddess Eostre by kevin andrew

kevin andrew — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 17:39:09 +0000

Your support is really appreciated Kevin. I will definitely spend a day in Norwich this summer and visit St John Maddermarket. Yes an educated person (not me) could write a whole comparative thesis about Eostre and her connections to various spring goddesses and rituals around the globe.

Comment on The Goddess Eostre by Kevin Faulkner

Kevin Faulkner — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 16:47:11 +0000

That’s a lovely J.W. Waterhouse painting I’ve not seen before. Interesting speculations and connections abound while the line – ‘stuffing themselves with chocolate eggs in front of the telly’, made me laugh out loud! Good to read the return of the Ship ! Maybe see you in Saint John Maddermarket this summer, Kev?

Comment on Sibelius, the Kalevala, and Finland Awakes! by kevin andrew

kevin andrew — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 16:42:02 +0000

Thank you. I only have the Oxford World Classics edition (translation by Keith Bosley) and it is the only one I am familiar with so can’t advise I’m afraid … I like the edition I have though. The Kalevala is a strange read. It contains a lot of ancient material which is difficult to get a real sense of now, in terms of understanding I mean rather than merely describing what it is likely to be about. It is one thing to describe what a shaman does and quite another to understand it. It is not like reading Homer.

Regarding Sibelius – I chanced upon him in my youth – around the time that Simon Rattle was recording the cycle in the 80s – I saw him conduct the 2nd symphony on the telly – probably the Proms, and I was hooked. I agree that there is little of humour and perhaps it is because his ambition was never to encompass ‘the world’ but to strip life down to its essentials. When life is stripped bare like this there is no place for humour imo. Love Karajan’s versions but then is there anything he conducted badly? Don’t know the Maazal.

The only Neilsen I know is his Inextinguishable symphony. I like it but unfortunately have it on a crappy CD.

Look forward to your post on Prokofiev!

Comment on Sibelius, the Kalevala, and Finland Awakes! by Kevin Faulkner

Kevin Faulkner — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 15:01:49 +0000

Brilliant return of the Ship! Which translated edition of the Kavevala do you recommend?
A most appropriate post addition for the Anglo-Saxon/Viking world!

Ever since hearing ‘The Swan of Tuonela’ aged 13 have been an admirer of Sibelius’ austere music and have the symphony cycle as interpreted by Maazal, Karajan and Rattle. One really can hear the Norse nature gods a-stir in the music of Sibelius, not a lot of humour in his grandeur though. ‘Tapiola’ a very scary tone-poem, no human life anywhere!

But the composer i sometimes hear an ancient strain of East Anglia’s landscape in is the Danish composer Carl Nielsen.

Permission to link this perceptive twinning of epic and composer with a post on Prokofiev requested!

Comment on Seamus Beowulf by kevin andrew

kevin andrew — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 17:30:54 +0000

Hi Jacob,

Yes, I agree wholeheartedly. I love the Michael Alexander translation. Obviously like any poetic translation there are points of accuracy that some scholars disapprove of. But as I’m sure you are well aware this is not the point of a poetic translation. The difference it seems to me is what you might call a greater ‘lack of ego’ in the Alexander translation. Seamus Heaney is a Nobel prize winning poet not a scholar and the very thing that one might have thought to lend strength to his translation seems to me to be its weakness.

No I do not read Anglo-Saxon myself, although I have picked up quite a bit of vocabulary, as I am far more interested in writerly aspects of the modern language. I keep meaning to take up its study more seriously, you know, I have books, primers, even CD versions all sitting on the shelf gathering dust … I always seem to get sidetracked into other things like deciding to read another translation!

Sometimes it seems to me that, rather than struggling ‘scriptorium slow’, my time is better spent mulling over the poem itself which, thanks to these wonderful translations, I am able to read. I have a couple of word for word literal translations as well.