Author: Katherine

Poetry writer and author

Their ecstatic yelps

And it came to pass that they ate their dinner and that she did washeth up.

And she did leave the dishes to drain

Whilst she put on the washing machine.

and the man was very pleased.

And it further came to pass that she gave the man some pudding and he was more pleased.

And then it came to pass the he fell asleep

By the fire. And the Lord God,said who is this man that sleepeth by his fire?

And he said,I shall waken him up

And the man awoke,

And God spake unto him

How is it that the woman laboureth in ye kitchen.

And that thou sleepeth here in an armchair.

and the man said,

but Thou didst order women to labour.

And the Lord God said unto the man

Why dost Thou remember so selectively what I have said?

And the man said, I knoweth not and therefore I will help this woman.

And the Lord God said, Why dost thou not think of it thyself?

And the man said in reply, It was Thou that made me,O God

And the Lord God was displeased with the man.

so he called down a plague of butterflies

To prevent him from sleeping.

And when the woman came in

she was much pleased to see these butterflies

and so she fell onto the man

And he did make love unto her.

And the cat was very pleased.

For it thrilled him to watch humans mating and gave him hope

That the Lord God would take his rib and make a mate for him.

And indeed it doth seem to have happened

Judging by all the cats staring in ye old window here

And by their ecstatic yelps

That the Lord God was very generous with them and made them many mates.

For truly there is no jealousy among them

And they mate freely and happily and never have rows

about the washing up..as they eat straight from the can.Amen

From thinking to thoughtfulness

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A week or two ago I was thinking about thinking.There is more than one kkind of thinking.Some kinds,like rumination, are  often self destructive.Other kinds of thinking can turn one outside of one’s self and can become what I call “thoughtfulness”.And that is a a virtue.It combines awareness and caring towards others with standing back and considering what is best for them and ourselves.

Then there is what we might call ” blind thinking” which is totally self centred like the  chattering voices in our head

I want that red dress,he’s nasty,I am fed up being at work. so long…………all going on underneath our consciousness much of the time.We may be unaware of it but it can affect us and how we act towards others.It’s childish,turned inwards and trivial.Can we stop it? I am thinking about that,,, not brooding.I mean,my mind is open and I hope some new ideas will come to help me understand this blind thinking

How can we see and not be blind in our thinking?How can we be wise?

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Continue reading “From thinking to thoughtfulness” →

An interview with the writer Alison Lurie… one of my favourites

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2005/sep/17/fiction.features

Lurie is one of my favorite authors.I recommend,The War Between the  Tates for a start

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Misreading beween the lines

??????????There is  no doubt we  all do this reading between the lines…sometimes consciously,sometimes unwittingly.We attempt to fill in gaps in our knowledge.There are a few problems.One is in cultural differences which may affect us here on the web.We come from very different societies and the meanings of certain words and attitudes does vary considerably;

And another factor is our own desires which we are  not always aware of.We may then interpret someone’s words in a way which fits with our desire or interpret someone using bad language to signify that they do not respect us.If the Soaps are an indication it seems in much of Britain every other word has just four letters. which to me shows poverty of feelings and language… but it means many people are not offended by them…But many still are.

So wishful thinking,ignorance,wanting to believe something,,,,,..cultural ignorance.. all these may make communication difficult.Perhaps we should not read too much between the lines at the beginning of a friendship…and be wary of imputing desires to another when they seem to offer what we are hoping for.

It’s a bit like the way here nearly everyone puts “love” or “xxxxx” at the end of a letter or email… so that in reality it means  almost nothing at all;Words become meaningless through overuse and we  will have to judge in other ways what a person feels for us..

Some people are more prone to seeing patterns or meanings in things which can be creative but it can also lead to paranoia in the insecure or lonely individual who has become the center of a huge important plot.When I was ill as a child I remember seeing faces leering at me from the wallpaper and the oil heater hissed menacingly,,, it was the fever but I was afraid…We need friends to tell us if our interpretations seem sensible and to comfort us when we are low.. and we need to be wary of assuming too much especially when we come from different cultures

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It looks like one,it feels like one,it speaks.

This poem is written in the sonnet form
And yet I have my doubts about its shape
Though nearly to that structure it conforms
There may be places where non- essence gapes.

It looks and speaks just as a sonnet would
And talks of metaphysical concerns.
Do we conclude, as poets and writers should,
That in our schizoid age we cannot learn?

For humans may be clothed in skin of wolves;
And lambs be decked with lions’ fearsome furs..
Thus senses can be tricked and problems solved.
Which of us will praise a cat  that purrs?

It looks like one,it feels like one,it speaks.
Yet from these words no  human feeling leaks.

 Dear cat,when old

Lurching yet graceful ,the old black cat sets off.

Slowly he circles the edges of the garden in joy

. In the car ,though still in a shut basket,

He always knew when we came to the turning of the road.

Was it the cherry trees in blossom,a scent

Or something we could never be aware of?

I would open his basket in the car.

He comes out and descends so carefully

Onto the pavement,then tries to bound up the path

, The long wooded back garden is his total joy.

He would sit watching tiny frogs in a deep pond in the sun.

No doubt he longed to catch one.

He once brought a robin indoors,

The bird was unharmed though frightened;

Must have been his gift to me

We released it later after its shock had worn off.

Now the can only hobble,

And soon, his thinness warns me, he’ll be gone.

No cat has ever loved or will love like this cat,

A rescued, terrified animal.

His eyes say everything to me.

I look into their clear-jewelled greenness

I look into a deep,still glowing sea of light.

The last day,finally, all day,he’s on my knee.

I say”goodbye,goodbye,Pussy”.

And he’s gone,just before tea.

Now the garden seems empty.

Love leaves a gap.

Love leaves us bare

Love leaves us stripped.

Yet Love is eternal grace.

A mystery of faith.

I believe.

Believe.

Be.
Read more at: http://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/dear_cat,when_old_480031

Behind a glass wall … a defense

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Have you ever felt you were behind a pane of glass? I did once many years ago after a friend committed  suicide.It must be a protective  condition but it is painful and odd.Everyone else seems ok ,you imagine,but you are not a part..In reality many people may be feeling like you do and putting on a performance while out at work or socialising.We are probably wiser as we grow older as we know more people better and see we are not  unique in our suffering and pain; we know that feelings pass,even the worst ones and we may have become better at judging others and knowing if friends die  by suicide it’s probably not our fault

When one feels that way it has to be accepted for the time being, like all feelings,I found reading poetry helped me and also being with others in a group where I could sit and listen without pressure to speak.I like this poem from then.It was a favorite  of Simone Weil,the mystic.

LOVE BADE ME WELCOME  by George Herbert

Love Bade Me Welcome – from Love (III)

Love bade me welcome: yet my soul drew back.
Guiltie of dust and sinne.
But quick-ey’d Love, observing me grow slack
From my first entrance in,
Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning
If I lack’d anything.

A guest, I answer’d, worthy to be here:
Love said, You shall be he.
I the unkinde, ungrateful? Ah, my deare,
I cannot look on thee.
Love took my hand, and smiling did reply,
Who made the eyes but I?

Truth Lord, but I have marr’d them: let my shame
Go where it doth deserve.
And know you not, sayes Love, who bore the blame?
My deare, then I will serve.
You must sit down, sayes Love, and taste my meat:
So I did sit and eat.

Without knowing

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Always keep a mad god in your pew

I keep his frown frozen on Fridays

Keep your dimple, Cupid
I keep gnats at prayer all gnight
Please keep your fingers lost
Do you keep your chin in a cup?
Keep your eyes coping, please
Keep your heir on tenterhooks
Let your nose be your mind’s bone
Keep your powder gray
Keeping up with her bones is barred
He keeps his cards close to his testes
My hand keeps on tickling men’s ears without me knowing.
Do pluck hacks heads off now and again
Pick on  him with a verb.Mortify him with an adjective.
I kicked some mutt
Kick the socket and blow a fuse!
Why not stick your feet on with UHU?
I kicked your wheels freely till  the horse bolted
He bid for her in a randy store but she preferred candy.
A  handsome  king was X-rated by the public
Why kiss and yell when you can kick butt?

Rules for impatient inpatients

No mobile groans are allowed in this hospital.
Please faint on the bed only.Or if pushed,faint on the nurse
No lipstick to be worn at night by spirits

.Do not attack the doctor.He is only a pest here.
Pills must be swallowed before you go to the lavatory… they may fall in and then where would you pee?
Do not undress in this cubicle.Undress outside before entry.Leave your clothes in the bin for
people to steal (X ray unit]
Kindly tell us your name before we drug you.

If afraid please report to the nurse in verse
.If no night nurse is available please die after 8 am.
If you must have sex in the ward, please do not scream or moan as the other patients may be jealous.
If you have no relations please ask the doctor to oblige when he finishes his rounds.
If you feel weak,do not use your Kindle Fire on the bed
After a heart attack do not resume sex until you get home unless you had the heart attack here
in which case please feel free to continue either or both..
Sex is a form of exercise but also can create chaos in public.Try walking instead with or without a partner.
If borderline kindly make your mind up whether you love or hate the pest doctor

If you have no bosom,you are probably a man.Wards are now mixed so there is no.problem apart from a shortage of braziers.
If you have any nuts,please leave them in the hands of a female nurse prior to surgery.
Cover all your parts before the Royals visit.
Please leave me all your money before youleave the ward when about to pass over
Sex changes by an operation or sometimes naturally.
Are you bored in bed?Get out and walk up and down the corridor to annoy the visitors.
Kindly do not drum your fingers all day.Use a drumstick.
If you have erosive dermatitis, please dry carefully.
f you have an egg please donate now.Fertility counts.
Owing to a world shortage of egg cups,we now use mugs.
Do you have any further problems?Please weigh your words.
None of the staff understand the government…so please do not mention David Cameron if youwish to go home on one piece.
Pies are sold in the conservatory.We do not know why.
In fact we know hardly anything but don’t worry,we’ll treat you barbarically anyway.
Be a stoic and keep still

What stops us from forgetting ourselves?

2 my leg

From a photo of my leg after a bite from a mosquito

I was writing yesterday that we enjoy losing ourself in work,creation and other ways. But sometimes we can’t do it so easily.One reason is that we may be experiencing grief or pain and however we try we can’t forget the aching heart we have within.And maybe we should not do so;grief,sorrow,pain take energy and we may need to lie about and allow ourselves to feel these emotions for a time. Another reason may be that we are filled with anger,rage,distress because of someone’s behaviour to us.Sometimes  we will just have to endure this.Ideally we shouldn’t dwell on it overmuch and begin to plan revenge or cruel words to say back.Retaliation may feel good but it can perpetuate a cycle which or other action may be needed but  it never ends as we can see in some countries now. We can decide to avoid the people who have hurt us and that is good. We may say something in the fullness of time..We should not deliberately dwell on their wrongdoing and allow it to take over our mental space.We can still carry on our own work even though it may be hard to start.Eventually we forget it for most of the time.Maybe when we are low in comes back.Then we need to know it happens to everyone,probably.not many folk escape some emotional sufffering in life.

Like the best things in life are free so are the worst but don’t cultivate them in your personal garden… they are weeds,  noxious ones  too

In my end is my beginning

We were  both staring at what was hurting  our shared boundary.

What we had in common was a pasting of grammar and  some full stops from the  old church organ..

not much help to a pair of  old fools.

especially when it was just a mouth organ from a bizarre barre ballet shop in Covent Garden

We were speechless  like  a pair of  cowardly  sheep up a mountain  in  Wales

.Not a baaa baaa between us.

Up till then nothing  had come between us except rhymes or reams of  blotting paper

Well,there is a saying:neither rhyme nor reason  and we certainly had no reason….

I’m only teasing.

We were as irrational as the square root of two.i.e.rational in the wrong  sort of way.

Unexpected, like almost everything in this life, but full of seasoning.

Rationality was  initially based on proportion then subsequently on distortion

and later contortion into  the field of the imaginary

.Everything is imaginary … that’s oblivious to me, anyway.

And everything  is abstract too.

Except lions in the zoo and me and you.

Shall we call it a day now?

I  am happy with my sentence of a week in the wilderness.

Call that a sentence?

No arguing, as you may be persecuted and scolded at an auction sale.

And that is  only the end of it all.. we lost the beginning in the womb of time.

Well,may be you can remember In my end is my beginning

The Other

Lemon lover - Glimpses between the cracks:Alice's Looking Glass

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-chameides/the-art-of-connecting-to_b_4310221.html?ir=Green

 

“But to Levinas, the Other provides a path to transcendence, a way to find meaning, indeed ecstasy. In Totality and Infinity Levinas writes, “Meaning is the face of the Other.” Face-to-face relations with the Other imparts knowledge, creates connection. As Levinas scholar Adriaan Peperzak writes:

“When Levinas meditates on the significance of the face, he does not describe the complex figure that could be portrayed by a picture or painting; rather, he tries to make us ‘experience’ or ‘realize’ what we see, feel, ‘know’ when another, by looking at me, ‘touches’ me: autrui me vise; the other’s visage looks at me, ‘regards’ me.”

From this notion flows a responsibility we all share for the Other.”

Sad news for literature and languages studies

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/31/education/as-interest-fades-in-the-humanities-colleges-worry.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20131031&_r=0

In the USA and in the UK  we find fewer people are studying the humanities.Here it is because of the economic climate.. people wish to study “useful” subjects.Literature won’t get you a job,perhaps.It only enables you to live better.Already in schools the study of Greek and Latin has almost gone.

Economics still gets students………. odd considering that economists did not forecast the recession but were up to their necks in mathematical models.Economicis not a science and cannot be.I believe it’s a branch of philosophy in a broad sense.

I admit I did not study what we called “The Arts” at University but most of my friends did.But I read poetry.I liked Auden greatly.I read all the great novels.I read Doris Lessing and Iris Murdoch.I read Evelyn Waugh/I even readNabokov…. what a writer!And I read Shakespeare Plays.

But with the much higher fees,recession and other worries,fewer students will spend three years studying the humanities.Plumbing or Carpentry are better options

I am thinking of writing some new plays.

A  Fit Plumber’s Nightly Schemes

Witches astir.

Ham to let.

Sing Fear.

Make up for the Mind

A Midsummer Balls Up.

The Emptiest.

Please defreeze me,let me grow.

A man without limits

Much Ado about Hacking.

As you Recycle it.

Julius Seized the Emails.

Fool Us and Squeeze Us.

Twelfth Fright.

Hacked to Death.

The Blaming of the Guru,

Prospero Not.

http://www.debate.org/opinions/are-the-arts-too-elitist

http://theamericanscholar.org/the-decline-of-the-english-department/?key=55705194

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English grammar for forgetful people!

I used to publish on  an American website and somtimes people who were aspiring writers got teased  about their grammar so I wrote this for them and also to remind myself of a few of the rules… so it’s not meant to be condescending,

It’s and its

A cat loves its kitten.It's lovely to see them
A cat loves its kitten.It’s lovely to see them.

Three confusions

I learned grammar at school but when I began writing found I’d forgotten a lot of it .Here are three sets of confusing words

1. Its and it’s….This is the one many of us get wrong.

:”It’s” is usually  short for” it is”. sometimes for “It has” Otherwise there is no apostrophe separating the it and the s. So if you say “The cat took its prey behind the dresser” there is no apostrophe.

But if you say “It’s cold today” there is.

Sometimes “It’s” can be short for “It has” eg “It’s been raining all day”

2.Their and there.

Their coats,their possessions.Usage  is like that of my or your.

“They took off their clothes and fell into their cosy bed”

“There” refers to a place.”I thought I left my keys just there on the desk,but when I came in I found them there on the table.It’s related to “Here”

“Did you leave your coat here or was it out there by the porch?Isn’t it cold? It’s really freezing

tonight.The cat brought its kittens inside by the fire,.I gave the dog a bone and it’s really happy

now,out there.They have their own lives.”

3.Your and you’re

again,like in 1. an apostrophe indicates a missing letter.So” you’re” means”you are”

“You’re crazy if you believe that Hitler was not a dictator”

“You’re late again”

“You’re mine,You’re divine.You’re practically sublime”

“Your” denotes belonging to you.Like “Where is your coat? It’s on the chair with yours”

“What is your dad saying?”

“Your country needs you”

4.Conclusion:Apostrophes are a problem.We see signs in the market “apple’s 20p each”If in doubt,leave it out!

These are the three commonest confusions.Your work will look more professional if you’re well

versed in grammar.Other bloggers will  sometimes like to help you with your work.It’s nothing to be ashamed of  to ask for guidance.Or consult your public library or buy a secondhand English grammar [but they can be too complicated]

Every dog has its day,Every cloud has its silver lining.It’s time for me to go so I’ll end there and let

everyone find their own needs out.

******Words or phrases that sound the same are not always written the same.****************

I hoope this iss a helpful shart articel fur mi reeder’s to larn frum.Iff nott ,kindley iggnore

Photo

Everyone can get their own shopping there
Everyone can get their own shopping there

Life and other terminals

The main purpose of sex is multiple onanisms.
Children are deceived half way through a womans bicycle.
Sex should not cause rubble in bed.
Remember a joke can aid your text life
Married folk can kiss on the Sabbath only and must not work at it
Please do not whore coal in the bath.
Please repress yourself in the kitchen.
Do not split up before dinner.
Do not separate eggs in a bowl.
Please warm the oven before cooking your goose.
Please light the fire before putting Polly on.
Coal is back in fashion.Smoke in comfort,just breathe.
Do you have trouble weeping?
Did your wife leave home with a suitcase?
Better the devil you sow.
After a time,life will be deranged.So bear up
Do you prefer text to sex?You are not alone!
Try to remember all the other people of worth.
If self involved you will save money on dates and raisins.
My whole life flashed by as I fell off the step.Then I fell off a ladder and it flashed by again in colour.Now I’ve had enough and am moving to a bungalow in Holland.
Sex is not bad as things go and being a thing it went
The weals of life are mainly on the interface.
My husband wears rubber pyjamas so I bounce around all night and I’ve lost a stone already.It was in my ureter.Then it wasn’t.
Please get divorced before marriage as a refusal often offends.Two cats

Post sent from my u- phone.
Fly with Whore Airlines cheap and fast.
Also whore multimedia is the best.
Try our new smartbones for the dead.
Swearing a problem?I have a degree in cursing.
Get yours in a month with my free u boat.
Sorry,F”””.. book.Only £7 to pensioners.Free to bankers
Angels needed.Apply with sin
,

Paul Tillich and I: The Courage To Be

Paul Tillich photo

Tillich 1You know this experience, sometimes when you are browsing in a bookshop you come across a book with a wonderful title. This happened to me as  student when I saw a book with this title:

“The courage to be ”

by Paul Tillich

I was going through a hard time and just the title alone helped me as no one I knew had ever said it takes courage to live well.So I bought this book and dipped in. I found it interesting and thoughtful.Sometimes I would just look at the front cover and repeat the title.I had discovered mantra meditation.in a sense.

This morning I was listening to a radio programme  about poetry in England and tidying up. Suddenly my old battered copy fell out of a shelf and into my hand.And I said, thank you. Because I had  lost this companion and now it’s restored to me when I need again to say the words to help me in a personal crisis.

The Courage to Be

And to recognise the power of words on the human mind and thus to take care of  self and others and what we say to them for they too are struggling humans as we ourselves are.

And to discover virtue is not faux piety which suddenly reminded me that Tillich had a weakness for women. He was no plaster saint. I am not saying. I approve.

Had he stayed in Germany he would no doubt have been imprisoned even killed like Dietrich Bonhoeffer.He would not have been silent

Books… they save lives. I was so grateful and still am for education, books, people who talk to me .Had I lived a few years earlier it would have been different.

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/595850/Paul-Tillich/7266/Development-of-his-philosophy

Tillich was expelled from Germany in 1933,the first non-Jewish theologian to have this honor bestowed on him.I never saw him but I love him for his writing.

Loneliness expresses the pain of being alone and solitude expresses the glory of being alone.
Paul Tillich
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/p/paul_tillich.html#y15kkZigwdviBd76.99

My toes

I have to go to the gynae oncology
So they can study my ass’s topology.
I can’t see it myself
For love or for wealth.
But I do feel what one might call neurotology

I sleep with a light on my nose
And a flask of gin next to my toes
I dream through the dark
As I sail on my ark.
But where that is, only me knows.

In dreams we can process our lives
without cutting our brains up with knives.
Mind surgery’s free
Or at least it should be.
But who knows what surgeons connive?

He rolled his own eyes and smoked them

He rolled his eyes on the television.Je ne pays pas son license.
She met his eyes down the street en passant and pleasant
His eyes narrowed as they passed through the Thames Barrier;quod errant demons tantrum
His eyes were askew as they sailed in the dinghy down the river bed.Que sera tara
His eyes said,hello babe.Non erat liberace
His eyes roamed about wildly. Kyrie eleison
The cat’s eyes were missing as they drove down the main road. Ite missa pest
His eyes were all over her and she was a full bosomed lady of ample means. Heilige snacked
Her eyes never mated with his although he gave her a large glowering look.Stille nacht.
Your eyes are not sharp enough,the teacher said as I broke the lead in my pencil.Mal a la tete!
His eyes melted the ice round her heart as they caressed her with tender pity.
Oh,mio solo
His eyes spoke volumes but no-one wrote it down so it is lost to posteriority.Amen
Her eyes were as hard as diamonds but in reality she was a soft touch.O mio sho low
My eyes dropped and I looked ashamed of myself.Kyrie illusion
My eyes stammered all down his sweet face. Que sera?
Her eyes ran and so did she…. that seems logical to me.QED
My eyes watered and the plants were rejuvenated.Non tolerante les diables.
Your eyes are too bold,the doctor said.Wear dark glasses and keep away.Niger est superiore
I put my eyes on hold and then forgot!Esta la vista de pleurs
Do eyes count? Numinousity
Are eyes free? Liberare mei
My eyes twinkled when I read his letters.Je l’adore.
My eyes are just stars really.Visible retinae
My eyes are in bed today,Ou est le trouve?
My eye,my eye,my kingdom for an eye….le chat est le mort d’arthur.

Last requiem in pace

acw

‘The joy of losing one’s self

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There are trends in society to encourage us to build our self esteem and to value ourselves… to develop and achieve  a place suited to our talents.. but what is best for me is when I lose myself in something.I was reading an old blog of a friend and was quite absorbed and went into a different state of mind..then I regretted I don’t manage to lose myself enough being  a housewife and having much on my mind and being busy.

Sometimes it can happen when we love a person.Sometimes a wonderful landscape feels like home.. other times a sunset across the Irish sea from the cliffs of the Isle of Man where myriad butterflies swirl and float over flowers and rocks.

Modern life, the News,talk,excitement of the wrong sort seem to lock us into  our self and frighten us so we forget the value of fining something in which to lose ourselves and grow as a result. Sitting by a river  fishing,knitting,sewing,a book, many things can elicit this response  And remember how horror filled was the self consciousness of adolescence and how good to forget one’s self being more comfortable and accepting of appearance and image..How to live like a wild flower for a time… and be happy not to be a rose but just a tiny wild geranium or a moderate  sized  gentle pink flower in a arden

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How even the best writers are affected by bad reviews

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I have mentioned that I very much liked the writer Kenneth Gergen and especially his book,” The saturated society”

http://identitythoughts.wordpress.com/2009/02/11/the-saturated-self-dilemmas-of-identity-in-contemporary-life-kenneth-j-gergen-pt-2/

http://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/553/1198e”

I think it’s  beautifully written and explains the bad side of post modernism but also how differently it could be used.He got a very good review on the Washington Post but later got a terrible one in the NYT.In an interview he told how this affected him badly until the man who wrote the review died ten years later,I’ll put a link in here later.http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=SweMLEe6TpgC&pg=PA294&lpg=PA294&dq=kenneth+gergen+the+saturated+self++washington+post+review&source=bl&ots=_lKF4I_lVi&sig=VEbgQl1ZpIwcLgfw3S5M5sI9__U&hl=en&sa=X&ei=JJ_VUtfLEeaP7AaviYHwCA&ved=0CGwQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=kenneth%20gergen%20the%20saturated%20self%20%20washington%20post%20review&f=false.

!He used to wake up at night with thoughts of what he’s like to do to this person.This shows how even someone of high quality can be wounded easily/

Most people who read English novels have heard of Virginia Woolf. She was highly acclaimed yet had breakdowns whilst awaiting reviews .Eventually she committed suicide during WW2.Her husband was Jewish and she was afraid of what would happen if the Germans invaded Britain.

But her mental health was fragile after losing her mother and favourite older sister in her teens and also possibly being sexually assaulted by her half brother.Despite al this she had  much happiness and is one  of the most highly acclaimed women writers of the 20th century…not much good  to her of course

Sylvia Plath a great poet  a generation after Woolf also committed suicide and later became known as one of the best poets of our time

http://www.neatorama.com/2008/03/18/writers-who-suffered-from-the-sylvia-plath-effect/#!scilW

Would you like to be a tormented genius and enter the literary canon or just be an ordinary,moderately happy person? Most of us are not so gifted in any case.

Some of us believe that others with more gifts,more money,more winning personalities are much happier,but it’s not true.Many geniuses are troubled.

On the other hand being troubled ,by itself, will not make you a genius.

Trapped

monday-30-april-2012-034Trapped behind bars?

Can’t stop thinking?Read this article.Can’t stop reading.

Think about :

Doris Lessing

Moving house

Extending your kitchen

Getting your hair cut off and buying a wig.

Streaking in church

Shrieking in church

Seeing visions

Having a siesta

Fantasise about sex

Fantasise about chastity

Take a quiz for Aspergers

Take a test for mensa.

Convert to a new religion

See a therapist.

Bake a cake.

Have a bath

Go to bed with the Vicar

Go to bed with the Rabbi

Buy a bike

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It seems we all have a touch of narcissism As well as paranoia and grief.

Sometimes it’s hard to realise
that other people are our equals
in this existence game;
that they each have a mind and world of their own.
But now I think of this,
Isn’t it wonderful that there are all these worlds
And that I’m not the centre of the universe.
And if God cares for a sparrow
I like Him.
Though what He is
Is not expressible in our language.
How dull life would be
If I were the only real person in it
And if I wanted every one to admire me
And think well of me.
And how sweet it is to love an other,
Eye to eye,
Skin to warm skin.
and how the sun was so red at daybreak
and the bare twigs gleamed in its light.
and how precisely you are different from me
Yet I can understand you, at least in part.
We are all absolutely important
And yet paradoxically unimportant.
And how sweet it can be to lose oneself
to become entranced by creation,In or with another
Or by a loved one;
By being with children.
Worlds and worlds unfold.
All we need is respect.
Be an other lover,today
.

The tale of the coffee loving cat  

Stan was sweeping the garden path.He had a stiff broom with a small head that was useful for cleaning the edges of the steps.Emile, his beautiful cat was sitting in the old apple tree Tiggergazing down on Stan.
“Is it time for coffee yet,”Stan asked himself.He had forgotten to put on his watch.
Suddenly he heard a shriek.He peered through a hole in the fence.His neighbor Anne was lying on her back in some mud.
“Hang on,I’ll come round!” he called.
There was a gate in the old fence which was rarely locked
since she loved to drop in on Stan.
“Oh,,how are you feeling?” he asked her anxiously.
“Bloody annoyed.I’ve only just bought these,”Not your daughter’s jeans” and now I’ve torn them,” she replied politely.
“But you don’t have a daughter!” he informed her loudly.
“I know that.It’s just they are better cut for the mature figure.”
“Your figure is not mature.You are quite slender.my dear,” he murmured lovingly.
“Well,I never feel happy with it!” she said mutinously.
“Whereas I am very happy feeling it,” he responded romantically.
Tears came into her green eyes lined with purple eye shadow.Alas,it was not waterproof and purple rivulets ran down her cheeks across the peach blusher with which she had valiantly decorated herself earlier.
“Can you get up?” he asked tenderly.
“Yes, but it would be nice if you picked me up.”
He leaned over her and licked the purple streams of tears off her cheeks.
“I hope it’s not poisonous,” she murmured.
Then with the aid of Emile,he lifted her to her feet and helped her into her large trendy kitchen.
The kettle switched itself on as they entered and a robotic voice asked if they’d like coffee.
“God in heaven,what the hell is that?” he cried confusedly.
“It’s my new computerized hot drink maker.After that fall I think a double espresso would be good.”
Emile ran in and asked for coffee too.
“Emile,you usually have milk,”Stan reminded him softly.
“Well,coffee is a new taste for me but I like a little.”
the cat whispered sweetly.
“I’ll give you some of mine in a saucer,” Stan replied.
Emile began to sob.
“Why Emile,whatever is wrong?”
“I want a cup and saucer just like you” the cat howled.
But you have no hands,Emile,” Stan reminded him.
The poor cat was crying loudly now.So Stan rang 999.
“Can you please send the emergency ambulance round.the cat’s crying and all his hankies are in the wash.”#
Soon Dave,the transvestite paramedic appeared.
“I love your light teal kitchen,” he informed Annie,
“And your eyes look like two deep pools in a coal mine.”
She slapped his cheek naughtily.
“Have a look at Emile” she ordered him sweetly.
He turned to the cat who was sitting on the dark pine table.
“Here,Emile,I got you some Kleenex for Cats in Sainsbury’s.” he said gaily.
“I want a real hanky,”cried Emile.Dave took a clean hanky from his own pocket and dried the cats tears.
“What made you cry.Are you feeling bad.”
“Yes,I want to go to Cafe Nero,” Emile mioawed.
“Who told you about that?”
“Another cat down the road has been and he said it’s lovely for people watching.”
“The town is not safe for cats like you,Emile.”
Dave urbanely replied,
“But when summer come I’ll take you to the out of town
Marks and Spencer’s.They have a cat’s coffee corner upstairs.”
“Wow,isn’t it amazing,”Stan wondered out loud.
So Dave poured out the coffee and they all sat down and
discussed Ray Monk’s Life of Wittgenstein.
Ray has discovered that Wittgenstein liked cats but as he moved around quite a bit,he never owned his own cat
though Elizabeth Anscombe let him play with her three cats now and then.
We may all be different but most of us value the love of a good cat.Even boiling their hankies and ironing them is very nice.We all have this problem though.
Where can a cat carry his own hanky?
Do cats need shoulder bags?
What would Wittgenstein say?
Nothing is my guess.
Whereof one cannot speak..

Wire lambs embolden

Silence emboldens.
See red ,sweet maid,I bet you’re very clever.
He looks as bold as he feels.
He feels me very touching
Thank you very much for the poetry ironer.
So is this a good mien…
Some clotheads insult me without even gnawing.
He broke up with her as all the windows in his house fell in when he made love on Sundays.
But surely it was an act of God; he was trying to reap moles on the Sabbath.
And he shot a chicken when it tried to cross the road.
He was deficient in elasticity….he needs a rubber soul…………………. and a tin heart
She has Mall a la tete.
I have ’em all a ma tete.Wire lambs

Thank you for your funny face

Photo1401

Thanks for all  those calls and emails,
Thanks for caring that I’m here.
In my darkest, lonesome moments
These replies will keep you near.

Thanks for answering all my letters
Thanks for the rich time you give.
Thanks for sharing heartfelt thoughts
And being so generous with your love.

Thank you for your wit and grace,
Thank for your funny face.
Thank you for your deep blue gaze and
Thank you for your warm embrace.

Thank you,thank you,thank you,thank.
Love you,love you,love you,Love.
Thank you,thank you,thanks to you,
Because,because,because,Becaus all