CAMILLE PAGLIA STOOPS TO CONQUER

Just sitting here with my husband reading Camille Paglia’s wonderful Break, Blow, Burn—close readings of her favourite poems. It is such a fierce and thrilling ride. Her views divide but her deep understanding of art and poetry always enthrals. She is one in a million. Love, Susie x

“We cannot have a world where everyone is a victim. "I'm this way because my father made me this way. I'm this way because my husband made me this way." Yes, we are indeed formed by traumas that happen to us. But then you must take charge, you must take over, you are responsible.”

Camille Paglia

WE COME FROM THE LAND OF THE ICE AND SNOW

My husband showed me this piece of footage of a concert by Led Zeppelin from 1972 in Sydney, Australia. He says that he saw this same concert in Melbourne when he was fourteen years old. It was one of the first concerts he ever went to. This video is a mash-up of two performances in Sydney and Long Beach, Los Angeles. What extraordinary energy this band had, and what an amazing song.

YOUR BODY IS AWAY FROM ME

Who doesn’t love a bit of Rumi on a Sunday morning, one of the most influential poets of all time. A beautiful reflection on what my husband calls the ‘impossible realm’ of grief. The person whom we have lost physically remains as an interior, secret and saving force.

I COME FROM THERE

I love this poem, Tropical Town, by Salomón de la Selva. The poet was born in 1893, in León, Nicaragua, writing in both Spanish and English. He was active throughout his life in numerous labour and political movements He died on February 5, 1959. I love the line ‘I come from there…’, suggesting that the poet is an immigrant, far from home, dreaming of the repose of the cemetery, ‘where the green trees are.’ So very beautiful.

We don't seem to have the style you are searching for, may we suggest the following styles?