tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post216743281749795997..comments2023-12-30T17:31:11.883+00:00Comments on The Solitary Walker: Miracles, And The Glory Of The CommonplaceThe Solitary Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11284354541952038339noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-13337264209903285762009-01-10T15:57:00.000+00:002009-01-10T15:57:00.000+00:00I stand corrected, Grizzled. A slight emendation w...I stand corrected, Grizzled. A slight emendation will be made forthwith!The Solitary Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11284354541952038339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-24399155190713663072009-01-10T15:40:00.000+00:002009-01-10T15:40:00.000+00:00Solitary…I just need to correct something re. the ...Solitary…<BR/><BR/>I just need to correct something re. the riverine patch upon which I perch and ponder—and occasionally launch my long-winded missives upon the world. It is not located on the banks of THE Ohio River, but on the sycamore-lined banks of AN Ohio river…the difference being about the same as that between the hole in the earth you might dig to plant, say, a rose, and that hole in the earth called the Grand Canyon. <BR/><BR/>Well, perhaps I exaggerate, though only slightly. I can easily throw a rock across my river, or cast a fly; the Ohio is a half-mile or more from one side to the other—one of the world's truly great rivers.Grizz…………https://www.blogger.com/profile/04828454689578685330noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-76735883551007204532009-01-10T15:18:00.000+00:002009-01-10T15:18:00.000+00:00Strangely enough, Hopkins' poem 'Pied Beauty' is o...Strangely enough, Hopkins' poem 'Pied Beauty' is on the page next to 'Miracles' in The Golden Treasury book!The Solitary Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11284354541952038339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-40944939722026209082009-01-10T15:16:00.000+00:002009-01-10T15:16:00.000+00:00I loved that line too, Raph - and had half a mind ...I loved that line too, Raph - and had half a mind to try and elucidate it in my post. I think it brings together brilliantly and very satisfyingly all the seemingly disparate strands (city, country, the natural world, an ordinary dinner table) preceding it in a connective and holistic (a word that wasn't invented in Whitman's time!) way.The Solitary Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11284354541952038339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-27174584589165629752009-01-10T15:08:00.000+00:002009-01-10T15:08:00.000+00:00I can't thank everyone enough for these wonderfull...I can't thank everyone enough for these wonderfully interesting comments!<BR/><BR/>Grizzled, that was so beautifully reasoned and expressed - I could almost hear your meditative thought processes whirring away...The Solitary Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11284354541952038339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-76075775526128809662009-01-10T00:00:00.000+00:002009-01-10T00:00:00.000+00:00Absolutely....Wonder is the key. Blogging, writing...Absolutely....<BR/>Wonder is the key. Blogging, writing, photography - all begin with observation and patient attention is rewarded with ...miracles, wonder...astonishment. I'm sure that it helps to be on the Ohio River or in the Yorkshire Dales, but perhaps any environment has its secrets to reveal to those who seek.<BR/>Forest Wisdom has been quoting Wendell Berry and these lines seemed apposite:<BR/><BR/>There are no unsacred places;<BR/>there are only sacred places<BR/>and desecrated places.<BR/><BR/>Now, I have a pencil stub somewhere - let me make a note: Walt Whitman and Wendell Berry. The reading list for this course is getting out of hand!<BR/><BR/>I've been mulling this over all day. Thanks for the food for thought.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-61899730346764913252009-01-09T23:51:00.000+00:002009-01-09T23:51:00.000+00:00Oh so true! I've been soaking this up all day! (I ...Oh so true! I've been soaking this up all day! (I like to do that with your posts because there's so much to contemplate).<BR/><BR/>I've not read Whitman for many years, and this was so refreshing and inspiring. He describes so much what I feel - and I'm glad he includes 'sit at table at dinner with the rest' and travelling on transport too.<BR/><BR/>I love the phrase 'The whole referring, yet each distinct and in its place'.<BR/><BR/>Reminds me of Gerard Manly Hopkins' nature poems in its sense of wonder. (He was etymologically experimental too, wasn't he!)<BR/><BR/>I love Grizzled's term 'temporary etymological fence' - sounds like something which could be used as an ecologically sound harm-free mole deterrent - must ask Weaver!Raph G. Neckmannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02468502742144495020noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-27885415407250332632009-01-09T19:19:00.000+00:002009-01-09T19:19:00.000+00:00Well, Solitary…you certainly put me on something o...Well, Solitary…you certainly put me on something of a temporary etymological fence with this Whitman poem and “miracle.” <BR/><BR/>Leaves of Grass was one of the first books of poetry I ever bought—a lovely fine-bound, oversized, limited press printing which I still have and enjoy. I think I paid maybe six dollars (how much is that in pounds?) for it about five thousand books (and what seems like years!) ago. A great buy. Whitman ought to be fundamental reading for every budding writer—especially those with outdoor/nature leanings. <BR/><BR/>Ol’ Walt, like many of us (you, certainly) heard the call of the open road, listened awhile, and set off. A kindred spirit, no?<BR/><BR/>But my copy of the OED defines “miracle” as being “a marvelous event not ascribable to human or natural agency…” which pretty much leaves only the supernatural; religious, whether sectarianly or pantheistically. <BR/><BR/>But that’s not my quandary. Because you’re right in that what I try to do on my blog (at least occasionally) and throughout my writing is find delight and meaning and story in the daily miracles of life, living, the world around. All the great life lessons can be learned on a stream bank, in a forest, beside the sea, or in an urban back yard. You don’t even need to live there, just visit and pay attention. Life’s mystery is laid out and explained daily, the great questions answered, if we only look and see with heart and mind.<BR/><BR/>Which is why I’m willing—as is the OED, by the way—to expand the definition of miracle to include “wonder.” What I certainly seek to convey via my writings—what Whitman so eloquently managed time and again—was wonder. Wonder, wondrous, wonderful…it is all there in even a blade of grass. <BR/><BR/>The world is indeed filled with wonder; or, as we have perhaps agreed, miracles. <BR/><BR/>Thank you sharing and causing me to think about this again.Grizz…………https://www.blogger.com/profile/04828454689578685330noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-55536804696177264362009-01-09T18:12:00.000+00:002009-01-09T18:12:00.000+00:00I think we should reclaim the word "miracle&q...I think we should reclaim the word "miracle", wrest it away from the sectarianly religious. Sure, Whitman's use of the word comes from a religious background & culture, but he's using it more broadly - & pantheistically. <BR/><BR/>I like this word (and of course it's only meaningful within its context, like all words!) It means something different from, and is stronger than, any possible synonyms like wonder, marvel etc.<BR/><BR/>A bit like how Dylan Thomas used Biblically influenced rhetoric to bolster his own paeans to nature & childhood - "legends of the green chapels" & so on.The Solitary Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11284354541952038339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-55346572068138452822009-01-09T16:01:00.000+00:002009-01-09T16:01:00.000+00:00Robert. It is easy when you get to my somewhat ad...Robert. It is easy when you get to my somewhat advanced age to put on one's slippers and sit by the fire and do nothing. I would find that impossible. Doing my blog means that every day I have to think of something new, photograph it, write about it, research it - get off my bottom and do something about it. I can fully recommend it to anyone over the age of 21!!The Weaver of Grasshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13947971556343746883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-20651971812477103932009-01-09T11:04:00.000+00:002009-01-09T11:04:00.000+00:00Yesterday I saw a red squirrel while out walking t...Yesterday I saw a red squirrel while out walking the dog. Today the frosty beach was glittering in the sun so it looked like the contents of every jewelry shop in the world was lying at our feet. I don't know if I'd use the word miracle but it's true that every day you can experience the most amazing things and moments and sights.Rachel Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11803852725693518924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-46668003119717105152009-01-09T10:03:00.000+00:002009-01-09T10:03:00.000+00:00A great post, SW.I don't really have the words to ...A great post, SW.<BR/><BR/>I don't really have the words to express the greatness of Whitman or his importance in the history of poetry. Certainly he has been a huge influence to me personally. Thank you, SW, for this reminder today of this shining poetic light, and of "the glory of the commonplace."Ahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00652718092147177168noreply@blogger.com