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capri0mniFirst time I've gone out for something other than groceries or doctor's appointment (other than the road trip to Galley) since I can't remember when ... Last July, maybe? Yes, I know, that's sad. It's not so much what I picked up there, as it is reconnecting with a community resource (and I must say, the Central Library of the Chesapeake Public Library system is a beautiful space to be in). I didn't spend much time wallowing, but it still felt good.
For the record, though, I picked up two things: the original A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeline L'Engle (I wanted to double check my memory of it, after the recent TV movie version), and The Winter's Tale by William Shakespeare.
As it happens, the library had just one copy of each, and they are both audio versions on CD. I find this mildly satisfying, as I've been reading How to Read an Oral Poem by John Miles Foley, and he makes the point that the "art of letters" on a page (or computer screen) isn't all it's cracked up to be.
I find this especially appropriate for The Winter's Tale, since in the common parlance of Shakespeare's day, people went to hear a play, rather than see a play (I guess that's why we have "audiences" instead of, oh, I dunno ... "Vidiences," maybe?). Also, for the record, I consider Winter's Tale to be one of the most under-rated of Shakespeare's plays. A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Tempest get nearly all the attention from the New-Agey, magic-loving crowd, because both have got fairies and magic spells in them. But The Winter's Tale has magic, too (though perhaps not as flashy), and it's the women characters who are the real moral center of the play -- something that would appeal to all the Goddess-worshippers out there. Plus, it's got a whole death-and-ressurection theme, comedy, adventure, and tragedy, all rolled up into one. I can see a performance of it as a perfect way to celebrate Imbolc, if you're one of those Neo-Pagan types. If you haven't seen/heard/read/met this play, I urge you to do so!
Also, tonight is the opening of that series "Colonial House" on PBS... And the contrast is striking: at around the same time as Shakespeare, Marlowe and Donne, and Sir Francis Drake, in the new American colony, you were tied to the whipping post for uttering a wrong word. It occurred to me a while back, while watching a promo for the series, that this new community was basically a religious cult: People completely cutting themselves off from any outside culture, and strictly narrowing all modes of thought an speach. Something that makes you (Well, me, anyway) go: Hmmmnn.
But, now that the season of "reality" tv has even taken over PBS, I have two well written fictions to listen to, instead.
Hooray for the verbal arts!
For the record, though, I picked up two things: the original A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeline L'Engle (I wanted to double check my memory of it, after the recent TV movie version), and The Winter's Tale by William Shakespeare.
As it happens, the library had just one copy of each, and they are both audio versions on CD. I find this mildly satisfying, as I've been reading How to Read an Oral Poem by John Miles Foley, and he makes the point that the "art of letters" on a page (or computer screen) isn't all it's cracked up to be.
I find this especially appropriate for The Winter's Tale, since in the common parlance of Shakespeare's day, people went to hear a play, rather than see a play (I guess that's why we have "audiences" instead of, oh, I dunno ... "Vidiences," maybe?). Also, for the record, I consider Winter's Tale to be one of the most under-rated of Shakespeare's plays. A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Tempest get nearly all the attention from the New-Agey, magic-loving crowd, because both have got fairies and magic spells in them. But The Winter's Tale has magic, too (though perhaps not as flashy), and it's the women characters who are the real moral center of the play -- something that would appeal to all the Goddess-worshippers out there. Plus, it's got a whole death-and-ressurection theme, comedy, adventure, and tragedy, all rolled up into one. I can see a performance of it as a perfect way to celebrate Imbolc, if you're one of those Neo-Pagan types. If you haven't seen/heard/read/met this play, I urge you to do so!
Also, tonight is the opening of that series "Colonial House" on PBS... And the contrast is striking: at around the same time as Shakespeare, Marlowe and Donne, and Sir Francis Drake, in the new American colony, you were tied to the whipping post for uttering a wrong word. It occurred to me a while back, while watching a promo for the series, that this new community was basically a religious cult: People completely cutting themselves off from any outside culture, and strictly narrowing all modes of thought an speach. Something that makes you (Well, me, anyway) go: Hmmmnn.
But, now that the season of "reality" tv has even taken over PBS, I have two well written fictions to listen to, instead.
Hooray for the verbal arts!
no subject
Date: 2004-05-17 04:56 pm (UTC)And hey, if you have to go out I'm with you: the library's the place to go:)
Yay!!
Date: 2004-05-17 05:40 pm (UTC)Okay, so it's not really a cause, I just think some of Shakespeare's plays don't get nearly the high praise they deserve. And some (::cough::RomeoAndJuliet::cough::), get far too much.
I hope you enjoy it, when you get around to it...
Re: Yay!!
Date: 2004-05-17 05:43 pm (UTC)