A common man marvels at uncommon things. A wise man marvels at the commonplace. CONFUCIUS

Wednesday 5 November 2014

The Hidden Waterfall

Many a calm river begins as a turbulent waterfall. MIKHAIL LERMONTOV

From the introduction to my new poetry discussion site, The Hidden Waterfall :

Hi! My name is Robert, aka The Solitary Walker, former editor of The Passionate Transitory, and this is The Hidden Waterfall, my new site devoted to poetry discussion. We choose poems, we read them, we think about them, we discuss them. If you want to take part, please use the relevant comment box; all serious contributions are eagerly received. The lit-ernet is full of cursory summaries and shallow shorthand — so let's develop a deeper, more questioning, more intellectually satisfying approach to poetry appreciation. I'm thinking it would be good to feature rather-less-well-known 'difficult' poems, rather than popular 'easy' ones, but any ideas and suggestions about content are welcome. There is no pressure to join in, no time limit for responses. Whether you wish to contribute, or just read along, or aren't interested at all, that's fine. Participation should be for the fun of it, and out of a love of poetry and its greater understanding. I'll probably be posting a fresh poem every couple of weeks or so, but there are no hard and fast rules on this exploratory site. A little background reading about each poet and his/her life and work may be useful.

Please come along and join in if you are interested — everyone with a love of poetry is welcome!

The Hidden Waterfall: www.hidden-waterfall.blogspot.com

At the source of the longest river / The voice of the hidden waterfall / And the children in the apple-tree / Not known, because not looked for / But heard, half-heard, in the stillness / between two waves of the sea. TS ELIOT Four Quartets: Little Gidding

11 comments:

donna baker said...

I think one of my favorite lines is from Little Gidding - "and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time".

Anonymous said...

Thanks for this Robert - I won't have time to engage for a week or so, but want to as soon as there is space.

Thank you!

Andy

The Solitary Walker said...

I love that line too, Donna.

See you later, Andy!

am said...

All these waterfall images are quite satisfying. Hidden waterfalls, too.

The Solitary Walker said...

I like the hidden waterfalls best — they sound the most melodious.

Gail said...

I love waterfalls - their strength and intent are empowering - thank you for this image today.
love Gail
peace....

The Solitary Walker said...

Thanks for your visit today, Gail.

Cris M said...

This will be a challenge... poetry and in English... but I would love to join... Just this first sentence always has made sense to me: "But heard, half-heard, in the stillness between two waves of the sea."

I am back from my second Camino, more to share soon.
Many hugs,
Kindly
Cris

Nick said...

An interesting venture. If you ever get round to Four Quartets or anything from DT's 18 Poems (enough there for a lifetime's pondering) I'll join you. Best wishes, Nick

George said...

Sounds like an interesting new adventure, Robert. I look forward to the new blog.

The Solitary Walker said...

Hi Cris M! I look forward to hearing more about your recent Camino.

Nick — yes, we'll definitely feature Eliot and Dylan Thomas.

Hello, George — have seen your comment on the other blog.