The name of this blog derives from W. S. Merwin’s poem “The Flight”:
At times in the day
I thought of a fire to watch
not that my hands were cold
but to have that doorway to see through
into the first thing
even our names are made of fire
and we feed on night
walking I thought of a fire
turning around I caught sight of it
in an opening in the wall
in another house and another
before and after
in house after house that was mine to see
the same fire the perpetual bird
— by W. S. Merwin, from THE COMPASS FLOWER
Copyright 1977 by W. S. Merwin
My aim is to think out loud about the aspects of poetry that make it both enduring and immediate and to keep an eye out for the perpetual bird in whatever form it comes my way. If you happen to spot it, let me know!
Thanks, Bob! Yeah, I’m hoping to post more consistently as time goes on.<BR/>Bachelard <I>is</I> terrific. I just wrote a piece, in fact, for an online journal<BR/>called Educational Insights, talking about using Bachelard’s approach to the<BR/>image in creative writing exercises. He really helps deepen the otherwise<BR/>superficial exercises….
Great looking site, Joe! I’m looking forward to keeping up with your musings.That Bachelard guy seems pretty important–or inspiring.