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Borges and His “Christ on the Cross”
I’ve been following a fine freelance translator named A. Z. Foreman, who it seems has never met a language he doesn’t know. His Poems in Translation site is full of gems imported from a dozen or more different languages, including ancient Greek, Persian, Arabic, French, German, and Russian.Read More
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Friday Notebook 12.23.11
From Last Summer to Ancient Greece Rain in the west between us and Mount EvansAugust 30, 2011 * * * Titian, Danaë and the Shower of Gold(1554) * * * A Discreet Purchase Zeus bought Danaë with golden rain and I purchase you with a gold coin. I can’t, after all, pay more than Zeus. ______________________ Macedonian poet Parmenion, between 50 BCE and 50 CE (tr. Willis Barnstone) * * * Vase painting of Danaë and the Shower of Goldc.Read More
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Cunning v. Clever
I just finished Willis Barnstone‘s intriguing memoir of his friendship with Jorge Luis Borges, With Borges on an Ordinary Evening in Buenos Aires. Barnstone is what I would call a transparent writer: his style is plain, direct, reserved, more interested in accuracy than fancy effects, but always open to Big Questions: Why do I exist? What do my dreams mean? Is there a real difference between dreams and waking experience? How do our creations originate and why? It’s no surprise that he was drawn to Borges, nor is it surprising that he treats Borges with great honesty and respect.Read More
Joseph Hutchison, Colorado Poet Laureate 2014-2019, has published 20 collections of poems and edited or co-edited three poetry anthologies. He currently directs two master’s-level programs for University College at the University of Denver: Professional Creative Writing and Arts & Culture Management. Joe lives with his wife, Melody Madonna, in the mountains southwest of Denver, Colorado, the city where he was born. 
