Love is.

Love, for whatever reason, is inexplicable. Generations of men, from kings to plebeians, from poets to peasants, had tried to define what love is, and encountered only confusions, and the fact that love can only be sensed—like a very basic instinct—not defined and confined in words of psychology, philosophy, or math rules.

Ezra Pound, one of those poets, did not try to do that. But he found love, or courage—in the sense that it comes from love—, or whatever term he chose, instilled in the life of his mistress, Olga Rudge. I have read and love The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt. Beside his talents that Berendt had poured into the book, he also had captured the love story between the poet and his mistress of 50 years, and devoted a chapter, "The Last Canto", for them.

Ezra had been imprisoned and put away in an asylum for criminally insane, and yet Olga stood by him and encouraged others writers to mount a petition for his release. After twelve years he was released, lived with his wife and children, but in 1962, "depressed and ill, Pound chose to put himself in Olga’s hands". And so they had lived until the day he died in The Hidden Nest, Olga’s little house in Dorsoduro, Venezia. Olga outlived him by 24 years, in which she had become so forgetful that Ezra’s papers finally ended up in Yale. She continued to stay in Venezia, and then finally passed away at the age of 101 in their daughter’s house.

Ezra’s love for his beloved Olga was evident in his request to include a verse at the end of his epic work, The Cantos.

That her acts

Olga’s acts

of beauty

be remembered.

Her name was Courage

& is written Olga

Kings and plebians, poets and peasants. If that wasn’t love, then what is?

Reflections | Comment (1)

Sexy Playlist: Update

Ahem.

Yes, there was a bottle of pinot noir. But we opted for a chardonnay instead. There was no luring, because you needn’t lure the willing. And that playlist… let’s just say it worked darn well. And then he added a playlist of his own.

Can’t wipe this big grin off of my face. Sorry guys.

Music | Comment (0)