Tag Archives: Poetry

1828: Sala Dante

Posted on May 5, 2019 by corvusfugit

Joseph Anton Koch’s frescos of Dante’s Inferno (1825-28) decorate the Sala Dante in the Casino Massimo, a Roman Villa. Several scenes from the poem are illustrated here, including Dante and Virgil’s ride on the monster Geryon (upper right) and Count … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 14th Century, 1820's, 19th Century, Animals, Art, Austria, Christianity, Dante, Demons, Italy, Joseph Anton Koch, Mammals, Painting, Poetry, Religion | Comments Off

1750 BC: Let Man Bear the Load of the Gods!

Posted on April 20, 2019 by corvusfugit

In one of the oldest surviving creation myths, humankind originates from a labor action. The story, told in the Babylonian Atrahasis Epic, goes like this: long before humankind, only gods exist, with some more powerful than others. These greater gods—the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 18th Century BC, Iran, Iraq, Labor, Mythology, Poetry, Strikes | Leave a comment

1964: Oh, My Mangled Head!

Posted on April 14, 2019 by corvusfugit

In his book Alice in Many Tongues (1964), Warren Weaver spends the last chapter using a curious method to evaluate various translations of Alice in Wonderland. He takes the same passage from each translation—a portion of the Mad Tea-Party—and asks … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 1960's, 20th Century, Africa, Alice, Books, Children, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Japan, Language, Poetry, Poland, Russia, South America, Soviet Union, Spain, Sweden, Translation, USA, Warren Weaver | Leave a comment

1946: First They Came

Posted on March 16, 2019 by corvusfugit

Although this is one of the world’s most famous poems, there is no definitive version of it. Indeed, there is no clear evidence that its author, the Lutheran pastor Martin Niemöller, ever put it into poetic form. Several variations exist, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 1940's, 20th Century, Christianity, Disability, Fascism, Germany, Harold Marcuse, Holocaust, Judaism, Martin Niemöller, Museums, Poetry, Religion, Socialism & Communism, Unions, WWII | Leave a comment

1871: Wasp in a Wig

Posted on March 13, 2019 by corvusfugit

In 1870, illustrator John Tenniel wrote to Lewis Carroll suggesting that he delete an episode from Through the Looking-Glass: Don’t think me brutal, but I am bound to say that the ‘wasp’ chapter doesn’t interest me in the least, & … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 1870's, 1970's, 19th Century, Alice, Animals, Art, Books, Great Britain, Illustration, Insects, John Tenniel, Lewis Carroll, Martin Gardner, Poetry, Ralph Steadman, Wasps, Wigs | Leave a comment

1802: The Mammoth Cheese

Posted on March 9, 2019 by corvusfugit

On the first day of 1802, President Thomas Jefferson received a gift of mythic proportions. Amid great fanfare, a “mammoth” Cheshire cheese was delivered to the President’s House by the itinerant Baptist preacher and political gadfly Elder John Leland (1754-1841). … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 1800's, 19th Century, Food and Drink, John Leland, Poetry, Religion, Slavery, Thomas Jefferson, USA, Words | Leave a comment

1989: Inferno Joe

Posted on February 28, 2019 by corvusfugit

Robert Sikoryak’s version of Dante’s Inferno as a series of “Bazooka Joe” comics (1989). Sikoryak has also done a version of The Scarlet Letter as a series of “Little Lulu” strips, a “Peanuts” version of Kafka’s Metamorphosis, Crime and Punishment … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 1980's, 20th Century, Art, Comic Strips, Comics, Dante, Poetry, R. Sikoryak, Translation, USA | Leave a comment

1897: C.3.3.

Posted on December 1, 2018 by corvusfugit

When Oscar Wilde’s poem The Ballad of Reading Gaol was published in February, 1898, the author’s name appeared only as “C.3.3.,” which had been the number of Wilde’s tiny room in the prison: block C, landing 3, cell 3. It … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 1890's, 19th Century, Art, Books, Doors, Ireland, LGBTQ, Oscar Wilde, Poetry, Prisons | Leave a comment

1943: Eine Kleine Nachtmusik

Posted on November 21, 2018 by corvusfugit

Dorothea Tanning: Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (1943) Artspeak If Art would only talk it would, at last, reveal itself for what it is, what we all burn to know. As for our certainties, it would fetch a dry yawn then take … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 1940's, 2010's, 20th Century, 21st Century, Art, Dorothea Tanning, Flowers, Painting, Poetry, USA, Women | Leave a comment

2017: Walt Whitman’s House

Posted on October 30, 2018 by corvusfugit

Marsden Hartley: Walt Whitman’s House, 328 Mickle Street, Camden, New Jersey (c. 1905) From 2017 Google Streetview: Whitman’s house today—now 328 Dr Martin Luther King Blvd—and the view from its windows, Camden County Jail: We two, how long we were … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 1860's, 18th Century, 1900's, 2010's, 20th Century, 21st Century, LGBTQ, Marsden Hartley, Martin Luther King Jr., Photography, Poetry, Prisons, USA, Walt Whitman | Leave a comment