Poetry Night, April 17, 2021

Here is a summary of the recent Section for Literary Arts & Humanities meeting of the local group in Fair Oaks, CA. This meeting occurred on April 17, 2021 via Zoom.

“At a Glance . . .”

Poetry Night!
Our weekly local meeting of the Literary Arts & Humanities Section highlighted original poetry and translations and poems of favorite poets. These were read by the members of the group.

“Hearing Rilke” / An Essay
This essay, which appeared originally in German in the recent Easter issue of the magazine Stil, is now on the website in English. You can read the Rilke essay by clicking this sentence. Stil is a publication of the Literary Arts, Visual Arts, and Performing Arts Sections of the Free School for Spiritual Science; Dornach, Switzerland. You can find Stil subscription information by clicking this sentence.

Upcoming Salon Celebration
In celebration of the birthday of Friedrich von Hardenberg, the poet Novalis, we will have a salon on May 2. More details will be forthcoming.

Artwork above: “The Youthful Poet’s Dream” by William Blake, 1820.

“Tell me more . . .”

An Evening of Poetry
The poets who read original poetry at our meeting on April 17 have kindly given permission to have their poems available on a folder on our shared drive. Click this sentence to read the original poems. Many thanks to everyone who read original poetry and who read a poem by a favorite poet. Some of the poems of favorite poets are in that shared folder also.

“The Muse Inspiring the Poet,” by Henri Rousseau, 1909

Christian Morgenstern
Next week’s meeting will feature a presentation on poet Christian Morgenstern by poet / translator / eurythmist Clifford Venho. Cliff recently attended one of our meetings to share his translation of Hymns to the Night by Novalis. Christian Morgenstern had, as many of my readers know, a very important friendship with Rudolf Steiner. Cliff will walk us into the poetry and the biography. Thank you, Cliff, for inviting Christian Morgenstern to the meetings!

“The Stars Once Spoke to the Human Being”
Brian Gray is on the calendar to give a presentation on May 1. Brian will speak about the star events around the year 1790 — a time which Rudolf Steiner repeatedly recommended to our attention. Brian’s presentation builds on his previous discussion of the birth chart of Novalis, given on August 29, 2020.

______

“Home is not where you live but where they understand you.”
— Christian Morgenstern
“One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words.”
— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
“In the daytime Remi and I went out with the gun and tried to shoot quail in the hills. Remi sneaked up to within three feet of the clucking birds and let go a blast of the .32. He missed. His tremendous laugh roared over the California woods and over America. “The time has come for you and me to go and see the Banana King.”
— Jack Kerouac