From Charles-Sligh at utc.edu Wed Jul 8 06:46:20 2009 From: Charles-Sligh at utc.edu (Charles Sligh) Date: Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:46:20 +0100 Subject: [ilds] the bold, colourful designs that adorned books by writers like Lawrence Durrell Message-ID: <4A54A32C.6060704@utc.edu> Good news here for those interested in Wolpe's designs for Durrell's books at Faber. Charles **** http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/the-art-of-book-cover-design-1736014.html > > * > The art of book cover design > > Doomsayers predict its death in the age of Kindle but as Faber & Faber > celebrates 80 years of artwork and independent imprints flourish, the > book has never looked more beautiful, says Jonathan Gibbs > > Wednesday, 8 July 2009* > > It's no surprise that good book design often comes with reissues, not > least of classics. > > Wherever you stand on the future of the book ? doomed to oblivion by > the Kindle, or an indestructible part of our cultural life ? there's > no doubt that recent years have seen a golden age of book design. > There are of course whole bookshop shelves full of cheap, dull, > generic products, but for those who know where to look, books have > rarely been more interesting to look at, hold and open. > > Partly this is a case of big publishers relying on brilliant design to > make their goods stand out in an increasingly difficult market; but > partly, too, it's a case of small, independent publishers springing up > to provide a certain kind of reader with what they want, more than > ever: the book as beautiful, covetable, keep-able object. > > You could argue that the current renaissance in book design came about > thanks to Penguin, always the most design-savvy of publishers. In 2004 > they produced their first series of Great Ideas ? small paperback > editions of classic, mostly philosophical texts. They had highly > tactile covers and used bold period typography to give a sense of when > and where each book was coming from. The following year we got Penguin > by Design, an illustrated history of 70 years of Penguin covers, and > then, in 2007, Seven Hundred Penguins, a two-inch-thick collection of > the best covers, shown life-size, one to a page. For seasoned haunters > of second-hand bookshops, this particular item was as thrilling as a > similar-sized brick of Class A drugs. > > Now that other venerable British publisher, Faber & Faber, has stepped > up to the plate. Eighty Years of Book Cover Design seems very much a > retort to Penguin, as if to say, 'Hey, we were putting out distinctive > books six years before you ever came on the scene'. Looking through > this beautifully presented book, however, it's clear that Faber's > design only really came into its own in the 1940s, with the arrival of > the German designer Berthold Wolpe. Wolpe designed the Albertus font, > immediately evocative of Faber, and also supplied many of the bold, > colourful designs that adorned books by writers like Lawrence Durrell, > William Golding and Ted Hughes. > > Also as part of their 80th birthday celebrations, Faber have reissued > some classic first novels as Faber Firsts, with new covers harking > back to their original era (check out particularly The Bell Jar and > Paul Auster's The New York Trilogy), and a collection of poetry > hardbacks, with wood- and lino-cut illustrations on their jacketless > covers and endpapers. > > It's no surprise that good book design often comes with reissues, not > least of classics. After all, anything out of copyright leaves more > money for the presentation. Persephone Books, Hesperus Press, Pushkin > Press and Capuchin Classics are four British independent publishers > that specialise in bringing back into print often long-neglected > works, helped along by some beautiful design. Persephone are > distinctive for their uniform grey jackets ? it's only when you open > them that you find the bright-coloured endpapers, sourced from fabrics > dating from the time of the book's setting or writing. > > Capuchin Classics, by contrast, hark back to the classic Penguin "grid > format", with bands of signature mint-green and original illustrations > by Angela Landels. For Capuchin's editor-in-chief, Emma Howard, this > aspect of the cover design was crucial. "We thought that using line > drawings would be a refreshing antidote to the ghastly photographic > covers that you see everywhere," she says. > > While these four publishers all work in paperback, White's Books is > one that is taking on the hardback ? at a time when these are fast > disappearing from our shelves. They're not quite an endangered species > yet: literary imprint Picador announced that they were doing away with > hardbacks altogether last year, before quietly backing down. White's > stick resolutely to the classics ? their list runs to six titles so > far, including Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and Treasure Island ? but > go all out in design terms, from the thickness of the paper to the > exquisite covers. > > White's art director, David Pearson, has commissioned illustrations > from such people as textile designer Celia Birtwell and Stanley > Donwood, better known for his work with Radiohead. The results stand > out a mile in your average bookshop, thanks to the books' use of what > Pearson calls "non-repeating narrative pattern" ? images that look > like a simple pattern from a distance, but which open up when seen at > close quarters. > > It's not all classics and rediscoveries, though. Some of the most > eye-catching design in recent years has been in paperback originals ? > the pricier paperbacks that have increasingly replaced hardbacks for > first-run printings of literary fiction. These can be jacketed, with > cut-outs or flaps, and appeal to a young, stylish readership that > expects the same degree of sophistication from their books as they do > from their music or clothing. "Books are like small posters for > themselves," says Suzanne Dean, creative director at Random House. "We > have roughly a two-minute window to seduce the reader and bookshop > browser." > > Yet it's still the familiar names that are most likely to have that > extra care lavished upon them. Coming to bookshelves soon will be fine > editions of books by Margaret Atwood, Donna Tartt, George Orwell and > Michael Ondaatje. Covetable, certainly, and beautifully produced, but > considering that most of the people who will buy the books will own > them already, in a previous format, the terrible thought occurs: will > they ever be read? > > 'Eighty Years of Book Cover Design' by Joseph Connolly is published by > Faber & Faber, priced ?40 (hardback) and ?25 (paperback) -- ******************************************** Charles L. Sligh Assistant Professor Department of English University of Tennessee at Chattanooga charles-sligh at utc.edu ******************************************** From godshawl at ucmail.uc.edu Wed Jul 8 08:33:51 2009 From: godshawl at ucmail.uc.edu (Godshalk, William (godshawl)) Date: Wed, 8 Jul 2009 11:33:51 -0400 Subject: [ilds] the bold, colourful designs that adorned books by writers like Lawrence Durrell In-Reply-To: <4A54A32C.6060704@utc.edu> References: <4A54A32C.6060704@utc.edu> Message-ID: <94B18F18BF859846A11A82A6166B6C4201736212F4A2@UCMAILBE2.ad.uc.edu> Hope you are having a good time. I work away here by the tide of the Ohio. Bill W. L. Godshalk * Department of English * University of Cincinnati* *** Stellar Disorder OH 45221-0069 * * ________________________________________ From: ilds-bounces at lists.uvic.ca [ilds-bounces at lists.uvic.ca] On Behalf Of Charles Sligh [Charles-Sligh at utc.edu] Sent: Wednesday, July 08, 2009 9:46 AM To: ilds at lists.uvic.ca Subject: [ilds] the bold, colourful designs that adorned books by writers like Lawrence Durrell Good news here for those interested in Wolpe's designs for Durrell's books at Faber. Charles **** http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/the-art-of-book-cover-design-1736014.html > > * > The art of book cover design > > Doomsayers predict its death in the age of Kindle but as Faber & Faber > celebrates 80 years of artwork and independent imprints flourish, the > book has never looked more beautiful, says Jonathan Gibbs > > Wednesday, 8 July 2009* > > It's no surprise that good book design often comes with reissues, not > least of classics. > > Wherever you stand on the future of the book ? doomed to oblivion by > the Kindle, or an indestructible part of our cultural life ? there's > no doubt that recent years have seen a golden age of book design. > There are of course whole bookshop shelves full of cheap, dull, > generic products, but for those who know where to look, books have > rarely been more interesting to look at, hold and open. > > Partly this is a case of big publishers relying on brilliant design to > make their goods stand out in an increasingly difficult market; but > partly, too, it's a case of small, independent publishers springing up > to provide a certain kind of reader with what they want, more than > ever: the book as beautiful, covetable, keep-able object. > > You could argue that the current renaissance in book design came about > thanks to Penguin, always the most design-savvy of publishers. In 2004 > they produced their first series of Great Ideas ? small paperback > editions of classic, mostly philosophical texts. They had highly > tactile covers and used bold period typography to give a sense of when > and where each book was coming from. The following year we got Penguin > by Design, an illustrated history of 70 years of Penguin covers, and > then, in 2007, Seven Hundred Penguins, a two-inch-thick collection of > the best covers, shown life-size, one to a page. For seasoned haunters > of second-hand bookshops, this particular item was as thrilling as a > similar-sized brick of Class A drugs. > > Now that other venerable British publisher, Faber & Faber, has stepped > up to the plate. Eighty Years of Book Cover Design seems very much a > retort to Penguin, as if to say, 'Hey, we were putting out distinctive > books six years before you ever came on the scene'. Looking through > this beautifully presented book, however, it's clear that Faber's > design only really came into its own in the 1940s, with the arrival of > the German designer Berthold Wolpe. Wolpe designed the Albertus font, > immediately evocative of Faber, and also supplied many of the bold, > colourful designs that adorned books by writers like Lawrence Durrell, > William Golding and Ted Hughes. > > Also as part of their 80th birthday celebrations, Faber have reissued > some classic first novels as Faber Firsts, with new covers harking > back to their original era (check out particularly The Bell Jar and > Paul Auster's The New York Trilogy), and a collection of poetry > hardbacks, with wood- and lino-cut illustrations on their jacketless > covers and endpapers. > > It's no surprise that good book design often comes with reissues, not > least of classics. After all, anything out of copyright leaves more > money for the presentation. Persephone Books, Hesperus Press, Pushkin > Press and Capuchin Classics are four British independent publishers > that specialise in bringing back into print often long-neglected > works, helped along by some beautiful design. Persephone are > distinctive for their uniform grey jackets ? it's only when you open > them that you find the bright-coloured endpapers, sourced from fabrics > dating from the time of the book's setting or writing. > > Capuchin Classics, by contrast, hark back to the classic Penguin "grid > format", with bands of signature mint-green and original illustrations > by Angela Landels. For Capuchin's editor-in-chief, Emma Howard, this > aspect of the cover design was crucial. "We thought that using line > drawings would be a refreshing antidote to the ghastly photographic > covers that you see everywhere," she says. > > While these four publishers all work in paperback, White's Books is > one that is taking on the hardback ? at a time when these are fast > disappearing from our shelves. They're not quite an endangered species > yet: literary imprint Picador announced that they were doing away with > hardbacks altogether last year, before quietly backing down. White's > stick resolutely to the classics ? their list runs to six titles so > far, including Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and Treasure Island ? but > go all out in design terms, from the thickness of the paper to the > exquisite covers. > > White's art director, David Pearson, has commissioned illustrations > from such people as textile designer Celia Birtwell and Stanley > Donwood, better known for his work with Radiohead. The results stand > out a mile in your average bookshop, thanks to the books' use of what > Pearson calls "non-repeating narrative pattern" ? images that look > like a simple pattern from a distance, but which open up when seen at > close quarters. > > It's not all classics and rediscoveries, though. Some of the most > eye-catching design in recent years has been in paperback originals ? > the pricier paperbacks that have increasingly replaced hardbacks for > first-run printings of literary fiction. These can be jacketed, with > cut-outs or flaps, and appeal to a young, stylish readership that > expects the same degree of sophistication from their books as they do > from their music or clothing. "Books are like small posters for > themselves," says Suzanne Dean, creative director at Random House. "We > have roughly a two-minute window to seduce the reader and bookshop > browser." > > Yet it's still the familiar names that are most likely to have that > extra care lavished upon them. Coming to bookshelves soon will be fine > editions of books by Margaret Atwood, Donna Tartt, George Orwell and > Michael Ondaatje. Covetable, certainly, and beautifully produced, but > considering that most of the people who will buy the books will own > them already, in a previous format, the terrible thought occurs: will > they ever be read? > > 'Eighty Years of Book Cover Design' by Joseph Connolly is published by > Faber & Faber, priced ?40 (hardback) and ?25 (paperback) -- ******************************************** Charles L. Sligh Assistant Professor Department of English University of Tennessee at Chattanooga charles-sligh at utc.edu ******************************************** _______________________________________________ ILDS mailing list ILDS at lists.uvic.ca https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds From vcel at ix.netcom.com Thu Jul 9 03:49:44 2009 From: vcel at ix.netcom.com (Vittorio Celentano) Date: Thu, 9 Jul 2009 06:49:44 -0400 Subject: [ilds] Enigma Machine References: Message-ID: <000801ca0082$f97f52e0$29d878d0@earthlink.net> One computer is out of order, call me on this one. Ever Vittorio ----- Original Message ----- From: "Michael Haag" To: "Bruce Redwine" ; Sent: Sunday, July 22, 2007 4:49 PM Subject: Re: [ilds] Enigma Machine > Du Maurier wrote Rebecca in Alexandria. The Germans in the Western > Desert used Rebecca as their code book when communicating with their > spy in Cairo. Their spy was an Alexandrian, half Egyptian, half > German, called John Eppler, and he operated a wireless on a houseboat > in the Nile. He was assisted by an Egyptian officer called Anwar > Sadat. Eppler was delivered to Cairo across the Western Desert by > Count Almasy, the English Patient. One of the men who arrested Eppler > was John Cromer Braun, the man who interviewed Durrell as he stepped > off the boat in Alexandria in 1941. Durrell and Eppler later met in > Paris and got on well. > > It is not Rebecca that is Durrell's life story. But the role played by > Rebecca in the war is the role played by Durrell's life story in > decoding his poems. > > :Michael > > > On Sunday, July 22, 2007, at 09:21 pm, Bruce Redwine wrote: > > > I haven't read du Maurier's Rebecca. Think I'll rent the Hitchock > > movie instead (1940). Do you think Durrell saw the film? > > > > Bruce > > > > -----Original Message----- > >> From: Michael Haag > >> Sent: Jul 22, 2007 11:46 AM > >> To: ilds at lists.uvic.ca > >> Subject: Re: [ilds] Enigma Machine > >> > >> > >> Durrell's Rebecca is his life story. > >> > >> :Michael > >> > >> > >> > >> On Sunday, July 22, 2007, at 07:22 pm, william godshalk wrote: > >> > >>> Very nice idea! An encryption machine. So we have to break the code > >>> of > >>> Durrell Enigma Machine. Too bad we don't have his copy of Rebecca. > > > > _______________________________________________ > > ILDS mailing list > > ILDS at lists.uvic.ca > > https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds > > > > _______________________________________________ > ILDS mailing list > ILDS at lists.uvic.ca > https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds > From bredwine1968 at earthlink.net Thu Jul 9 07:11:45 2009 From: bredwine1968 at earthlink.net (Bruce Redwine) Date: Thu, 9 Jul 2009 07:11:45 -0700 Subject: [ilds] Enigma Machine In-Reply-To: <000801ca0082$f97f52e0$29d878d0@earthlink.net> References: <000801ca0082$f97f52e0$29d878d0@earthlink.net> Message-ID: Now this is a delayed response. On the other hand, if Michael means Durrell's life is the mechanism by which Durrell's poems are decoded, then this is not a particularly profound statement. When is this not true? Vittorio's idea, however, that a life may be as complicated as the German "Enigma Machine" is apt and fascinating. The Brits supposedly reconstructed one during WWII from scratch ? thus breaking into German high level cyphers ? but I doubt this. I think they just stole or captured one, which is what we Americans also did during the Vietnam War. I guess I'm saying I don't think "lives" can be fully reconstructed. Personalities remain largely enigmata, both to outsiders and insiders as well. Bruce On Jul 9, 2009, at 3:49 AM, Vittorio Celentano wrote: > One computer is out of order, call me on this one. > Ever > Vittorio > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Michael Haag" > To: "Bruce Redwine" ; > Sent: Sunday, July 22, 2007 4:49 PM > Subject: Re: [ilds] Enigma Machine > > >> Du Maurier wrote Rebecca in Alexandria. The Germans in the Western >> Desert used Rebecca as their code book when communicating with their >> spy in Cairo. Their spy was an Alexandrian, half Egyptian, half >> German, called John Eppler, and he operated a wireless on a houseboat >> in the Nile. He was assisted by an Egyptian officer called Anwar >> Sadat. Eppler was delivered to Cairo across the Western Desert by >> Count Almasy, the English Patient. One of the men who arrested >> Eppler >> was John Cromer Braun, the man who interviewed Durrell as he stepped >> off the boat in Alexandria in 1941. Durrell and Eppler later met in >> Paris and got on well. >> >> It is not Rebecca that is Durrell's life story. But the role >> played by >> Rebecca in the war is the role played by Durrell's life story in >> decoding his poems. >> >> :Michael >> >> >> On Sunday, July 22, 2007, at 09:21 pm, Bruce Redwine wrote: >> >>> I haven't read du Maurier's Rebecca. Think I'll rent the Hitchock >>> movie instead (1940). Do you think Durrell saw the film? >>> >>> Bruce >>> >>> -----Original Message----- >>>> From: Michael Haag >>>> Sent: Jul 22, 2007 11:46 AM >>>> To: ilds at lists.uvic.ca >>>> Subject: Re: [ilds] Enigma Machine >>>> >>>> >>>> Durrell's Rebecca is his life story. >>>> >>>> :Michael >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> On Sunday, July 22, 2007, at 07:22 pm, william godshalk wrote: >>>> >>>>> Very nice idea! An encryption machine. So we have to break the >>>>> code >>>>> of >>>>> Durrell Enigma Machine. Too bad we don't have his copy of Rebecca. >>> From odos.fanourios at gmail.com Thu Jul 9 09:33:34 2009 From: odos.fanourios at gmail.com (James Gifford) Date: Thu, 9 Jul 2009 10:33:34 -0600 Subject: [ilds] Enigma Machine In-Reply-To: References: <000801ca0082$f97f52e0$29d878d0@earthlink.net> Message-ID: <2bfc74100907090933u26e7d8d8j1c448d6fd9c0359d@mail.gmail.com> Hi Bruce, It's been a while! I'd agree with this enigmatic nature of the poet's life, and I suspect it would have been in Durrell's 'milieu' via Eliot's notions of impersonality and tradition. That said, I have to agree with Michael that Durrell's magpie mind grabbed whatever was handy around him at the time, and hence the poems take on much greater intensity once we know the location, context, emotional and intellectual life, and the network of poets around him at the time. I'm thinking in part of the WWII poems from Greece and Egypt in contrast to their adamantly 'personal' perspective. Too many critics have seen this as an egotistical exclusion of the war or at an apolitical stance, but taking them in context with Durrell's other publications of the period, whom he sent them to for publication, and the groups that had been circling around the Villa Seurat, I think there's much more at play than a reductive egoism. (not that you've suggested that's the case!!) That said, the few times I've used Durrell's poetry in the classroom, I've been more drawn to repetitions across poems as a formal trait for interpretation. There's the landscape and lyrical quality that ties them to Romanticism, but I actually see a lot of Wordsworth in the "this lemon rind," "this dry inkwell," "this plate of olives" pattern. Everything is specific, and it makes me think of the likes of "Tintern Abbey." Colours do the same with "green" and it follows with beaks, antlers, animal parts and such as well -- Robert Duncan picked up on that in his "Ark for Lawrence Durrell." But, I'm not sure if this is getting at the meat of your post. I want the life of Durrell beside the poetry, but I'll also be ready to admit he's a poet who lies... I know it's cliche for me, but I want to have the life as just one text among the many I'd set beside the poetry, and I wouldn't fully trust it in any case, even when it offers a beautiful reading... Are you thinking of any poem in particular? Best, James 2009/7/9 Bruce Redwine : > Now this is a delayed response. ?On the other hand, if Michael means > Durrell's life is the mechanism by which Durrell's poems are decoded, > then this is not a particularly profound statement. ?When is this not > true? ?Vittorio's idea, however, that a life may be as complicated as > the German "Enigma Machine" is apt and fascinating. ?The Brits > supposedly reconstructed one during WWII from scratch ? thus breaking > into German high level cyphers ? but I doubt this. ?I think they just > stole or captured one, which is what we Americans also did during the > Vietnam War. ?I guess I'm saying I don't think "lives" can be fully > reconstructed. ?Personalities remain largely enigmata, both to > outsiders and insiders as well. > > > Bruce > > > On Jul 9, 2009, at 3:49 AM, Vittorio Celentano wrote: > >> One computer is out of order, call me on this one. >> Ever >> Vittorio >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: "Michael Haag" >> To: "Bruce Redwine" ; >> Sent: Sunday, July 22, 2007 4:49 PM >> Subject: Re: [ilds] Enigma Machine >> >> >>> Du Maurier wrote Rebecca in Alexandria. ?The Germans in the Western >>> Desert used Rebecca as their code book when communicating with their >>> spy in Cairo. ?Their spy was an Alexandrian, half Egyptian, half >>> German, called John Eppler, and he operated a wireless on a houseboat >>> in the Nile. ?He was assisted by an Egyptian officer called Anwar >>> Sadat. ?Eppler was delivered to Cairo across the Western Desert by >>> Count Almasy, the English Patient. ?One of the men who arrested >>> Eppler >>> was John Cromer Braun, the man who interviewed Durrell as he stepped >>> off the boat in Alexandria in 1941. ?Durrell and Eppler later met in >>> Paris and got on well. >>> >>> It is not Rebecca that is Durrell's life story. ?But the role >>> played by >>> Rebecca in the war is the role played by Durrell's life story in >>> decoding his poems. >>> >>> :Michael >>> >>> >>> On Sunday, July 22, 2007, at 09:21 ?pm, Bruce Redwine wrote: >>> >>>> I haven't read du Maurier's Rebecca. ?Think I'll rent the Hitchock >>>> movie instead (1940). ?Do you think Durrell saw the film? >>>> >>>> Bruce >>>> >>>> -----Original Message----- >>>>> From: Michael Haag >>>>> Sent: Jul 22, 2007 11:46 AM >>>>> To: ilds at lists.uvic.ca >>>>> Subject: Re: [ilds] Enigma Machine >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> Durrell's Rebecca is his life story. >>>>> >>>>> :Michael >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> On Sunday, July 22, 2007, at 07:22 ?pm, william godshalk wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> Very nice idea! An encryption machine. So we have to break the >>>>>> code >>>>>> of >>>>>> Durrell Enigma Machine. Too bad we don't have his copy of Rebecca. >>>> > > > _______________________________________________ > ILDS mailing list > ILDS at lists.uvic.ca > https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds > -- _________________________________________ James Gifford, University Core Director Fairleigh Dickinson University, Vancouver 842 Cambie Street Vancouver, BC V6B 2P6 http://members.shaw.ca/james.gifford From bredwine1968 at earthlink.net Thu Jul 9 10:01:45 2009 From: bredwine1968 at earthlink.net (Bruce Redwine) Date: Thu, 9 Jul 2009 10:01:45 -0700 Subject: [ilds] the bold, colourful designs that adorned books by writers like Lawrence Durrell In-Reply-To: <94B18F18BF859846A11A82A6166B6C4201736212F4A2@UCMAILBE2.ad.uc.edu> References: <4A54A32C.6060704@utc.edu> <94B18F18BF859846A11A82A6166B6C4201736212F4A2@UCMAILBE2.ad.uc.edu> Message-ID: <38A90EF4-0EC2-4DA2-9552-6FCB51D47AA3@earthlink.net> Charles, any idea what Faber has in mind by reissuing "some classic first novels as Faber Firsts?" I wouldn't bother with the "first" dust cover of Justine. David Gentleman's evocative covers for various paperback editions is a another matter, however. Gentleman is one of Durrell's best interpreters. Bruce On Jul 8, 2009, at 8:33 AM, Godshalk, William (godshawl) wrote: > Hope you are having a good time. > > I work away here by the tide of the Ohio. > > Bill > > > > W. L. Godshalk * > Department of English * > University of Cincinnati* *** Stellar Disorder > OH 45221-0069 * * > ________________________________________ > From: ilds-bounces at lists.uvic.ca [ilds-bounces at lists.uvic.ca] On > Behalf Of Charles Sligh [Charles-Sligh at utc.edu] > Sent: Wednesday, July 08, 2009 9:46 AM > To: ilds at lists.uvic.ca > Subject: [ilds] the bold, colourful designs that adorned books by > writers like Lawrence Durrell > > Good news here for those interested in Wolpe's designs for Durrell's > books at Faber. > > Charles > > **** > > http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/the-art-of-book-cover-design-1736014.html >> >> * >> The art of book cover design >> >> Doomsayers predict its death in the age of Kindle but as Faber & >> Faber >> celebrates 80 years of artwork and independent imprints flourish, the >> book has never looked more beautiful, says Jonathan Gibbs >> >> Wednesday, 8 July 2009* >> >> It's no surprise that good book design often comes with reissues, not >> least of classics. >> >> Wherever you stand on the future of the book ? doomed to oblivion by >> the Kindle, or an indestructible part of our cultural life ? there's >> no doubt that recent years have seen a golden age of book design. >> There are of course whole bookshop shelves full of cheap, dull, >> generic products, but for those who know where to look, books have >> rarely been more interesting to look at, hold and open. >> >> Partly this is a case of big publishers relying on brilliant design >> to >> make their goods stand out in an increasingly difficult market; but >> partly, too, it's a case of small, independent publishers springing >> up >> to provide a certain kind of reader with what they want, more than >> ever: the book as beautiful, covetable, keep-able object. >> >> You could argue that the current renaissance in book design came >> about >> thanks to Penguin, always the most design-savvy of publishers. In >> 2004 >> they produced their first series of Great Ideas ? small paperback >> editions of classic, mostly philosophical texts. They had highly >> tactile covers and used bold period typography to give a sense of >> when >> and where each book was coming from. The following year we got >> Penguin >> by Design, an illustrated history of 70 years of Penguin covers, and >> then, in 2007, Seven Hundred Penguins, a two-inch-thick collection of >> the best covers, shown life-size, one to a page. For seasoned >> haunters >> of second-hand bookshops, this particular item was as thrilling as a >> similar-sized brick of Class A drugs. >> >> Now that other venerable British publisher, Faber & Faber, has >> stepped >> up to the plate. Eighty Years of Book Cover Design seems very much a >> retort to Penguin, as if to say, 'Hey, we were putting out >> distinctive >> books six years before you ever came on the scene'. Looking through >> this beautifully presented book, however, it's clear that Faber's >> design only really came into its own in the 1940s, with the arrival >> of >> the German designer Berthold Wolpe. Wolpe designed the Albertus font, >> immediately evocative of Faber, and also supplied many of the bold, >> colourful designs that adorned books by writers like Lawrence >> Durrell, >> William Golding and Ted Hughes. >> >> Also as part of their 80th birthday celebrations, Faber have reissued >> some classic first novels as Faber Firsts, with new covers harking >> back to their original era (check out particularly The Bell Jar and >> Paul Auster's The New York Trilogy), and a collection of poetry >> hardbacks, with wood- and lino-cut illustrations on their jacketless >> covers and endpapers. >> >> >> 'Eighty Years of Book Cover Design' by Joseph Connolly is published >> by >> Faber & Faber, priced ?40 (hardback) and ?25 (paperback) > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.uvic.ca/pipermail/ilds/attachments/20090709/1d055429/attachment.html From billyapt at hotmail.com Thu Jul 9 11:10:45 2009 From: billyapt at hotmail.com (William Apt) Date: Thu, 9 Jul 2009 13:10:45 -0500 Subject: [ilds] Enigma Machine In-Reply-To: <2bfc74100907090933u26e7d8d8j1c448d6fd9c0359d@mail.gmail.com> References: <000801ca0082$f97f52e0$29d878d0@earthlink.net> <2bfc74100907090933u26e7d8d8j1c448d6fd9c0359d@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: James: On page 127 of the Penguin ed. of Justine: what does "porpentine" mean? The only definition I can locate says it means "porcupine". But that doesn't make sense, as it is lumped in with nautical instrument terms in Durrell's sketch of Scobie. Thanks! Billy Apt Austin TX > Date: Thu, 9 Jul 2009 10:33:34 -0600 > From: odos.fanourios at gmail.com > To: ilds at lists.uvic.ca > Subject: Re: [ilds] Enigma Machine > > Hi Bruce, > > It's been a while! I'd agree with this enigmatic nature of the poet's > life, and I suspect it would have been in Durrell's 'milieu' via > Eliot's notions of impersonality and tradition. That said, I have to > agree with Michael that Durrell's magpie mind grabbed whatever was > handy around him at the time, and hence the poems take on much greater > intensity once we know the location, context, emotional and > intellectual life, and the network of poets around him at the time. > > I'm thinking in part of the WWII poems from Greece and Egypt in > contrast to their adamantly 'personal' perspective. Too many critics > have seen this as an egotistical exclusion of the war or at an > apolitical stance, but taking them in context with Durrell's other > publications of the period, whom he sent them to for publication, and > the groups that had been circling around the Villa Seurat, I think > there's much more at play than a reductive egoism. (not that you've > suggested that's the case!!) > > That said, the few times I've used Durrell's poetry in the classroom, > I've been more drawn to repetitions across poems as a formal trait for > interpretation. There's the landscape and lyrical quality that ties > them to Romanticism, but I actually see a lot of Wordsworth in the > "this lemon rind," "this dry inkwell," "this plate of olives" pattern. > Everything is specific, and it makes me think of the likes of > "Tintern Abbey." Colours do the same with "green" and it follows with > beaks, antlers, animal parts and such as well -- Robert Duncan picked > up on that in his "Ark for Lawrence Durrell." > > But, I'm not sure if this is getting at the meat of your post. I want > the life of Durrell beside the poetry, but I'll also be ready to admit > he's a poet who lies... I know it's cliche for me, but I want to have > the life as just one text among the many I'd set beside the poetry, > and I wouldn't fully trust it in any case, even when it offers a > beautiful reading... > > Are you thinking of any poem in particular? > > Best, > James > > 2009/7/9 Bruce Redwine : > > Now this is a delayed response. On the other hand, if Michael means > > Durrell's life is the mechanism by which Durrell's poems are decoded, > > then this is not a particularly profound statement. When is this not > > true? Vittorio's idea, however, that a life may be as complicated as > > the German "Enigma Machine" is apt and fascinating. The Brits > > supposedly reconstructed one during WWII from scratch ? thus breaking > > into German high level cyphers ? but I doubt this. I think they just > > stole or captured one, which is what we Americans also did during the > > Vietnam War. I guess I'm saying I don't think "lives" can be fully > > reconstructed. Personalities remain largely enigmata, both to > > outsiders and insiders as well. > > > > > > Bruce > > > > > > On Jul 9, 2009, at 3:49 AM, Vittorio Celentano wrote: > > > >> One computer is out of order, call me on this one. > >> Ever > >> Vittorio > >> ----- Original Message ----- > >> From: "Michael Haag" > >> To: "Bruce Redwine" ; > >> Sent: Sunday, July 22, 2007 4:49 PM > >> Subject: Re: [ilds] Enigma Machine > >> > >> > >>> Du Maurier wrote Rebecca in Alexandria. The Germans in the Western > >>> Desert used Rebecca as their code book when communicating with their > >>> spy in Cairo. Their spy was an Alexandrian, half Egyptian, half > >>> German, called John Eppler, and he operated a wireless on a houseboat > >>> in the Nile. He was assisted by an Egyptian officer called Anwar > >>> Sadat. Eppler was delivered to Cairo across the Western Desert by > >>> Count Almasy, the English Patient. One of the men who arrested > >>> Eppler > >>> was John Cromer Braun, the man who interviewed Durrell as he stepped > >>> off the boat in Alexandria in 1941. Durrell and Eppler later met in > >>> Paris and got on well. > >>> > >>> It is not Rebecca that is Durrell's life story. But the role > >>> played by > >>> Rebecca in the war is the role played by Durrell's life story in > >>> decoding his poems. > >>> > >>> :Michael > >>> > >>> > >>> On Sunday, July 22, 2007, at 09:21 pm, Bruce Redwine wrote: > >>> > >>>> I haven't read du Maurier's Rebecca. Think I'll rent the Hitchock > >>>> movie instead (1940). Do you think Durrell saw the film? > >>>> > >>>> Bruce > >>>> > >>>> -----Original Message----- > >>>>> From: Michael Haag > >>>>> Sent: Jul 22, 2007 11:46 AM > >>>>> To: ilds at lists.uvic.ca > >>>>> Subject: Re: [ilds] Enigma Machine > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> Durrell's Rebecca is his life story. > >>>>> > >>>>> :Michael > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> On Sunday, July 22, 2007, at 07:22 pm, william godshalk wrote: > >>>>> > >>>>>> Very nice idea! An encryption machine. So we have to break the > >>>>>> code > >>>>>> of > >>>>>> Durrell Enigma Machine. Too bad we don't have his copy of Rebecca. > >>>> > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > ILDS mailing list > > ILDS at lists.uvic.ca > > https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds > > > > > > -- > _________________________________________ > James Gifford, University Core Director > Fairleigh Dickinson University, Vancouver > 842 Cambie Street > Vancouver, BC V6B 2P6 > http://members.shaw.ca/james.gifford > > _______________________________________________ > ILDS mailing list > ILDS at lists.uvic.ca > https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds _________________________________________________________________ Windows Live?: Keep your life in sync. http://windowslive.com/explore?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_BR_life_in_synch_062009 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.uvic.ca/pipermail/ilds/attachments/20090709/60a2f66d/attachment.html From bredwine1968 at earthlink.net Thu Jul 9 11:55:36 2009 From: bredwine1968 at earthlink.net (Bruce Redwine) Date: Thu, 9 Jul 2009 11:55:36 -0700 Subject: [ilds] Enigma Machine In-Reply-To: <2bfc74100907090933u26e7d8d8j1c448d6fd9c0359d@mail.gmail.com> References: <000801ca0082$f97f52e0$29d878d0@earthlink.net> <2bfc74100907090933u26e7d8d8j1c448d6fd9c0359d@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <7436D5B1-A2BF-404B-905F-69D0127BC8B3@earthlink.net> James, I absolutely do not speak for Michael Haag, who has his own theories and interpretations of Durrell's life and habits, some of which I agree with, some I don't. When his new biography of LD comes out, then all that will be open to discussion. Meanwhile, the thrust of Haag's remark below, if I may interpret the interpreter, emphasizes the highly cryptic nature of Durrell's writings, a personal code based on the author's personal mythology, derived from his own experiences and psychology. And that I agree with. Nothing particularly profound here, for it's true of all writers in varying degrees. The difference with Durrell being the great degree of difference. Durrell is hard to understand because he intentionally ? or unintentionally ? makes it hard. The patterns in his work are obsessive and compulsive, and I doubt that he fully understood himself or even wanted to (writers must guard the sources of creativity). What you say below about the persistence of Durrell's imagery fits in well with what I have in mind. "What needs this iteration?" as Othello says, preparing to murder Desdemona. Why all the obsessive repetitions in Durrell, like the haunting sound of those waves at the end of "Bitter Lemons"? I may also be repeating myself here, so bear with me. To take another minor example, in "Bitter Lemons" we have the line, "Beauty, darkness, vehemence." What does this refer to? It's rather cryptic, or in Durrell's own words, "Better leave the rest unsaid." As Haag has pointed out, a similar phrase occurs at the end of Reflections on a Marine Venus: "the dark vehement grace of E." So an equation readily sets itself up. We know who the beautiful "E" is, we know about the tribulations of Durrell's marriage to Eve Cohen, and we also know the biographical circumstances of the book, Bitter Lemons. QED? The line thus explicated? Maybe. I would suggest this is only part of a regress, perhaps an infinite regress, and here I emphasize the importance of "darkness," both in this poem ("the dark globes of the fruit," which are not actually dark, except in Durrell's personal mythology, for lemons are in fact bright yellow) and elsewhere, as in Prospero's Cell, where we have that "dark crystal," which I have already discussed in my Arion article. Durrell's darkness, in my view, is highly personal and only understood in terms of his peculiar psychology. I assume Michael Haag will be offering his own decryption of that personality, one which, as you rightly point out, indeed "lies." Bruce On Jul 9, 2009, at 9:33 AM, James Gifford wrote: > Hi Bruce, > > It's been a while! I'd agree with this enigmatic nature of the poet's > life, and I suspect it would have been in Durrell's 'milieu' via > Eliot's notions of impersonality and tradition. That said, I have to > agree with Michael that Durrell's magpie mind grabbed whatever was > handy around him at the time, and hence the poems take on much greater > intensity once we know the location, context, emotional and > intellectual life, and the network of poets around him at the time. > > I'm thinking in part of the WWII poems from Greece and Egypt in > contrast to their adamantly 'personal' perspective. Too many critics > have seen this as an egotistical exclusion of the war or at an > apolitical stance, but taking them in context with Durrell's other > publications of the period, whom he sent them to for publication, and > the groups that had been circling around the Villa Seurat, I think > there's much more at play than a reductive egoism. (not that you've > suggested that's the case!!) > > That said, the few times I've used Durrell's poetry in the classroom, > I've been more drawn to repetitions across poems as a formal trait for > interpretation. There's the landscape and lyrical quality that ties > them to Romanticism, but I actually see a lot of Wordsworth in the > "this lemon rind," "this dry inkwell," "this plate of olives" pattern. > Everything is specific, and it makes me think of the likes of > "Tintern Abbey." Colours do the same with "green" and it follows with > beaks, antlers, animal parts and such as well -- Robert Duncan picked > up on that in his "Ark for Lawrence Durrell." > > But, I'm not sure if this is getting at the meat of your post. I want > the life of Durrell beside the poetry, but I'll also be ready to admit > he's a poet who lies... I know it's cliche for me, but I want to have > the life as just one text among the many I'd set beside the poetry, > and I wouldn't fully trust it in any case, even when it offers a > beautiful reading... > > Are you thinking of any poem in particular? > > Best, > James > > 2009/7/9 Bruce Redwine : >> Now this is a delayed response. On the other hand, if Michael means >> Durrell's life is the mechanism by which Durrell's poems are decoded, >> then this is not a particularly profound statement. When is this not >> true? Vittorio's idea, however, that a life may be as complicated as >> the German "Enigma Machine" is apt and fascinating. The Brits >> supposedly reconstructed one during WWII from scratch ? thus breaking >> into German high level cyphers ? but I doubt this. I think they just >> stole or captured one, which is what we Americans also did during the >> Vietnam War. I guess I'm saying I don't think "lives" can be fully >> reconstructed. Personalities remain largely enigmata, both to >> outsiders and insiders as well. >> >> >> Bruce >> >> >> On Jul 9, 2009, at 3:49 AM, Vittorio Celentano wrote: >> >>> One computer is out of order, call me on this one. >>> Ever >>> Vittorio >>> ----- Original Message ----- >>> From: "Michael Haag" >>> To: "Bruce Redwine" ; >> > >>> Sent: Sunday, July 22, 2007 4:49 PM >>> Subject: Re: [ilds] Enigma Machine >>> >>> >>>> Du Maurier wrote Rebecca in Alexandria. The Germans in the Western >>>> Desert used Rebecca as their code book when communicating with >>>> their >>>> spy in Cairo. Their spy was an Alexandrian, half Egyptian, half >>>> German, called John Eppler, and he operated a wireless on a >>>> houseboat >>>> in the Nile. He was assisted by an Egyptian officer called Anwar >>>> Sadat. Eppler was delivered to Cairo across the Western Desert by >>>> Count Almasy, the English Patient. One of the men who arrested >>>> Eppler >>>> was John Cromer Braun, the man who interviewed Durrell as he >>>> stepped >>>> off the boat in Alexandria in 1941. Durrell and Eppler later met >>>> in >>>> Paris and got on well. >>>> >>>> It is not Rebecca that is Durrell's life story. But the role >>>> played by >>>> Rebecca in the war is the role played by Durrell's life story in >>>> decoding his poems. >>>> >>>> :Michael >>>> >>>> >>>> On Sunday, July 22, 2007, at 09:21 pm, Bruce Redwine wrote: >>>> >>>>> I haven't read du Maurier's Rebecca. Think I'll rent the Hitchock >>>>> movie instead (1940). Do you think Durrell saw the film? >>>>> >>>>> Bruce >>>>> >>>>> -----Original Message----- >>>>>> From: Michael Haag >>>>>> Sent: Jul 22, 2007 11:46 AM >>>>>> To: ilds at lists.uvic.ca >>>>>> Subject: Re: [ilds] Enigma Machine >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> Durrell's Rebecca is his life story. >>>>>> >>>>>> :Michael >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> On Sunday, July 22, 2007, at 07:22 pm, william godshalk wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>>> Very nice idea! An encryption machine. So we have to break the >>>>>>> code >>>>>>> of >>>>>>> Durrell Enigma Machine. Too bad we don't have his copy of >>>>>>> Rebecca. >>>>> -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.uvic.ca/pipermail/ilds/attachments/20090709/220e99f2/attachment.html From odos.fanourios at gmail.com Thu Jul 9 12:14:20 2009 From: odos.fanourios at gmail.com (James Gifford) Date: Thu, 9 Jul 2009 13:14:20 -0600 Subject: [ilds] Enigma Machine In-Reply-To: References: <000801ca0082$f97f52e0$29d878d0@earthlink.net> <2bfc74100907090933u26e7d8d8j1c448d6fd9c0359d@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <2bfc74100907091214y37f9ccfetd36e0438e7b1665@mail.gmail.com> This is indeed a mystery -- the OED also renders a secondary definition: "2. Astron. (The name of) a star in or near the constellation Libra, perh. the bright star Spica in Virgo. Obs." It can also apply to images of spike-wearing rodents, but that seems out of place. It's the same in the revised omnibus edition of the Quartet as a whole, so it's likely intentional, and perhaps it has to do with the images of antlers and such that follow shortly after... Anyone else have ideas? Is there a distinctly nautical association? Best, James 2009/7/9 William Apt : > James: > > On page 127 of?the Penguin ed. of Justine:? what does "porpentine" > mean???The only definition I can locate says it means?"porcupine".? But that > doesn't make sense, as it is lumped in with nautical instrument terms in > Durrell's sketch of Scobie. > > Thanks! > > Billy Apt > Austin TX > >> Date: Thu, 9 Jul 2009 10:33:34 -0600 >> From: odos.fanourios at gmail.com >> To: ilds at lists.uvic.ca >> Subject: Re: [ilds] Enigma Machine >> >> Hi Bruce, >> >> It's been a while! I'd agree with this enigmatic nature of the poet's >> life, and I suspect it would have been in Durrell's 'milieu' via >> Eliot's notions of impersonality and tradition. That said, I have to >> agree with Michael that Durrell's magpie mind grabbed whatever was >> handy around him at the time, and hence the poems take on much greater >> intensity once we know the location, context, emotional and >> intellectual life, and the network of poets around him at the time. >> >> I'm thinking in part of the WWII poems from Greece and Egypt in >> contrast to their adamantly 'personal' perspective. Too many critics >> have seen this as an egotistical exclusion of the war or at an >> apolitical stance, but taking them in context with Durrell's other >> publications of the period, whom he sent them to for publication, and >> the groups that had been circling around the Villa Seurat, I think >> there's much more at play than a reductive egoism. (not that you've >> suggested that's the case!!) >> >> That said, the few times I've used Durrell's poetry in the classroom, >> I've been more drawn to repetitions across poems as a formal trait for >> interpretation. There's the landscape and lyrical quality that ties >> them to Romanticism, but I actually see a lot of Wordsworth in the >> "this lemon rind," "this dry inkwell," "this plate of olives" pattern. >> Everything is specific, and it makes me think of the likes of >> "Tintern Abbey." Colours do the same with "green" and it follows with >> beaks, antlers, animal parts and such as well -- Robert Duncan picked >> up on that in his "Ark for Lawrence Durrell." >> >> But, I'm not sure if this is getting at the meat of your post. I want >> the life of Durrell beside the poetry, but I'll also be ready to admit >> he's a poet who lies... I know it's cliche for me, but I want to have >> the life as just one text among the many I'd set beside the poetry, >> and I wouldn't fully trust it in any case, even when it offers a >> beautiful reading... >> >> Are you thinking of any poem in particular? >> >> Best, >> James >> >> 2009/7/9 Bruce Redwine : >> > Now this is a delayed response. ?On the other hand, if Michael means >> > Durrell's life is the mechanism by which Durrell's poems are decoded, >> > then this is not a particularly profound statement. ?When is this not >> > true? ?Vittorio's idea, however, that a life may be as complicated as >> > the German "Enigma Machine" is apt and fascinating. ?The Brits >> > supposedly reconstructed one during WWII from scratch ? thus breaking >> > into German high level cyphers ? but I doubt this. ?I think they just >> > stole or captured one, which is what we Americans also did during the >> > Vietnam War. ?I guess I'm saying I don't think "lives" can be fully >> > reconstructed. ?Personalities remain largely enigmata, both to >> > outsiders and insiders as well. >> > >> > >> > Bruce >> > >> > >> > On Jul 9, 2009, at 3:49 AM, Vittorio Celentano wrote: >> > >> >> One computer is out of order, call me on this one. >> >> Ever >> >> Vittorio >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> >> From: "Michael Haag" >> >> To: "Bruce Redwine" ; >> >> Sent: Sunday, July 22, 2007 4:49 PM >> >> Subject: Re: [ilds] Enigma Machine >> >> >> >> >> >>> Du Maurier wrote Rebecca in Alexandria. ?The Germans in the Western >> >>> Desert used Rebecca as their code book when communicating with their >> >>> spy in Cairo. ?Their spy was an Alexandrian, half Egyptian, half >> >>> German, called John Eppler, and he operated a wireless on a houseboat >> >>> in the Nile. ?He was assisted by an Egyptian officer called Anwar >> >>> Sadat. ?Eppler was delivered to Cairo across the Western Desert by >> >>> Count Almasy, the English Patient. ?One of the men who arrested >> >>> Eppler >> >>> was John Cromer Braun, the man who interviewed Durrell as he stepped >> >>> off the boat in Alexandria in 1941. ?Durrell and Eppler later met in >> >>> Paris and got on well. >> >>> >> >>> It is not Rebecca that is Durrell's life story. ?But the role >> >>> played by >> >>> Rebecca in the war is the role played by Durrell's life story in >> >>> decoding his poems. >> >>> >> >>> :Michael >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> On Sunday, July 22, 2007, at 09:21 ?pm, Bruce Redwine wrote: >> >>> >> >>>> I haven't read du Maurier's Rebecca. ?Think I'll rent the Hitchock >> >>>> movie instead (1940). ?Do you think Durrell saw the film? >> >>>> >> >>>> Bruce >> >>>> >> >>>> -----Original Message----- >> >>>>> From: Michael Haag >> >>>>> Sent: Jul 22, 2007 11:46 AM >> >>>>> To: ilds at lists.uvic.ca >> >>>>> Subject: Re: [ilds] Enigma Machine >> >>>>> >> >>>>> >> >>>>> Durrell's Rebecca is his life story. >> >>>>> >> >>>>> :Michael >> >>>>> >> >>>>> >> >>>>> >> >>>>> On Sunday, July 22, 2007, at 07:22 ?pm, william godshalk wrote: >> >>>>> >> >>>>>> Very nice idea! An encryption machine. So we have to break the >> >>>>>> code >> >>>>>> of >> >>>>>> Durrell Enigma Machine. Too bad we don't have his copy of Rebecca. >> >>>> >> > >> > >> > _______________________________________________ >> > ILDS mailing list >> > ILDS at lists.uvic.ca >> > https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds >> > >> >> >> >> -- >> _________________________________________ >> James Gifford, University Core Director >> Fairleigh Dickinson University, Vancouver >> 842 Cambie Street >> Vancouver, BC V6B 2P6 >> http://members.shaw.ca/james.gifford >> >> _______________________________________________ >> ILDS mailing list >> ILDS at lists.uvic.ca >> https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds > > ________________________________ > Windows Live?: Keep your life in sync. Check it out. > _______________________________________________ > ILDS mailing list > ILDS at lists.uvic.ca > https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds > > -- _________________________________________ James Gifford, University Core Director Fairleigh Dickinson University, Vancouver 842 Cambie Street Vancouver, BC V6B 2P6 http://members.shaw.ca/james.gifford From billyapt at hotmail.com Thu Jul 9 12:49:14 2009 From: billyapt at hotmail.com (William Apt) Date: Thu, 9 Jul 2009 14:49:14 -0500 Subject: [ilds] Enigma Machine In-Reply-To: <2bfc74100907091214y37f9ccfetd36e0438e7b1665@mail.gmail.com> References: <000801ca0082$f97f52e0$29d878d0@earthlink.net> <2bfc74100907090933u26e7d8d8j1c448d6fd9c0359d@mail.gmail.com> <2bfc74100907091214y37f9ccfetd36e0438e7b1665@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: James: The star reference is probably right. Durrell uses the word "porpentine" in the plural, so it may mean obscure stars. This would jive with the immediately preceding "astrolabes" and with the immediately following "isobars": all tools of the sailor. Billy > Date: Thu, 9 Jul 2009 13:14:20 -0600 > From: odos.fanourios at gmail.com > To: ilds at lists.uvic.ca > Subject: Re: [ilds] Enigma Machine > > This is indeed a mystery -- the OED also renders a secondary definition: > > "2. Astron. (The name of) a star in or near the constellation Libra, > perh. the bright star Spica in Virgo. Obs." > > It can also apply to images of spike-wearing rodents, but that seems > out of place. It's the same in the revised omnibus edition of the > Quartet as a whole, so it's likely intentional, and perhaps it has to > do with the images of antlers and such that follow shortly after... > > Anyone else have ideas? Is there a distinctly nautical association? > > Best, > James > > 2009/7/9 William Apt : > > James: > > > > On page 127 of the Penguin ed. of Justine: what does "porpentine" > > mean? The only definition I can locate says it means "porcupine". But that > > doesn't make sense, as it is lumped in with nautical instrument terms in > > Durrell's sketch of Scobie. > > > > Thanks! > > > > Billy Apt > > Austin TX > > > >> Date: Thu, 9 Jul 2009 10:33:34 -0600 > >> From: odos.fanourios at gmail.com > >> To: ilds at lists.uvic.ca > >> Subject: Re: [ilds] Enigma Machine > >> > >> Hi Bruce, > >> > >> It's been a while! I'd agree with this enigmatic nature of the poet's > >> life, and I suspect it would have been in Durrell's 'milieu' via > >> Eliot's notions of impersonality and tradition. That said, I have to > >> agree with Michael that Durrell's magpie mind grabbed whatever was > >> handy around him at the time, and hence the poems take on much greater > >> intensity once we know the location, context, emotional and > >> intellectual life, and the network of poets around him at the time. > >> > >> I'm thinking in part of the WWII poems from Greece and Egypt in > >> contrast to their adamantly 'personal' perspective. Too many critics > >> have seen this as an egotistical exclusion of the war or at an > >> apolitical stance, but taking them in context with Durrell's other > >> publications of the period, whom he sent them to for publication, and > >> the groups that had been circling around the Villa Seurat, I think > >> there's much more at play than a reductive egoism. (not that you've > >> suggested that's the case!!) > >> > >> That said, the few times I've used Durrell's poetry in the classroom, > >> I've been more drawn to repetitions across poems as a formal trait for > >> interpretation. There's the landscape and lyrical quality that ties > >> them to Romanticism, but I actually see a lot of Wordsworth in the > >> "this lemon rind," "this dry inkwell," "this plate of olives" pattern. > >> Everything is specific, and it makes me think of the likes of > >> "Tintern Abbey." Colours do the same with "green" and it follows with > >> beaks, antlers, animal parts and such as well -- Robert Duncan picked > >> up on that in his "Ark for Lawrence Durrell." > >> > >> But, I'm not sure if this is getting at the meat of your post. I want > >> the life of Durrell beside the poetry, but I'll also be ready to admit > >> he's a poet who lies... I know it's cliche for me, but I want to have > >> the life as just one text among the many I'd set beside the poetry, > >> and I wouldn't fully trust it in any case, even when it offers a > >> beautiful reading... > >> > >> Are you thinking of any poem in particular? > >> > >> Best, > >> James > >> > >> 2009/7/9 Bruce Redwine : > >> > Now this is a delayed response. On the other hand, if Michael means > >> > Durrell's life is the mechanism by which Durrell's poems are decoded, > >> > then this is not a particularly profound statement. When is this not > >> > true? Vittorio's idea, however, that a life may be as complicated as > >> > the German "Enigma Machine" is apt and fascinating. The Brits > >> > supposedly reconstructed one during WWII from scratch ? thus breaking > >> > into German high level cyphers ? but I doubt this. I think they just > >> > stole or captured one, which is what we Americans also did during the > >> > Vietnam War. I guess I'm saying I don't think "lives" can be fully > >> > reconstructed. Personalities remain largely enigmata, both to > >> > outsiders and insiders as well. > >> > > >> > > >> > Bruce > >> > > >> > > >> > On Jul 9, 2009, at 3:49 AM, Vittorio Celentano wrote: > >> > > >> >> One computer is out of order, call me on this one. > >> >> Ever > >> >> Vittorio > >> >> ----- Original Message ----- > >> >> From: "Michael Haag" > >> >> To: "Bruce Redwine" ; > >> >> Sent: Sunday, July 22, 2007 4:49 PM > >> >> Subject: Re: [ilds] Enigma Machine > >> >> > >> >> > >> >>> Du Maurier wrote Rebecca in Alexandria. The Germans in the Western > >> >>> Desert used Rebecca as their code book when communicating with their > >> >>> spy in Cairo. Their spy was an Alexandrian, half Egyptian, half > >> >>> German, called John Eppler, and he operated a wireless on a houseboat > >> >>> in the Nile. He was assisted by an Egyptian officer called Anwar > >> >>> Sadat. Eppler was delivered to Cairo across the Western Desert by > >> >>> Count Almasy, the English Patient. One of the men who arrested > >> >>> Eppler > >> >>> was John Cromer Braun, the man who interviewed Durrell as he stepped > >> >>> off the boat in Alexandria in 1941. Durrell and Eppler later met in > >> >>> Paris and got on well. > >> >>> > >> >>> It is not Rebecca that is Durrell's life story. But the role > >> >>> played by > >> >>> Rebecca in the war is the role played by Durrell's life story in > >> >>> decoding his poems. > >> >>> > >> >>> :Michael > >> >>> > >> >>> > >> >>> On Sunday, July 22, 2007, at 09:21 pm, Bruce Redwine wrote: > >> >>> > >> >>>> I haven't read du Maurier's Rebecca. Think I'll rent the Hitchock > >> >>>> movie instead (1940). Do you think Durrell saw the film? > >> >>>> > >> >>>> Bruce > >> >>>> > >> >>>> -----Original Message----- > >> >>>>> From: Michael Haag > >> >>>>> Sent: Jul 22, 2007 11:46 AM > >> >>>>> To: ilds at lists.uvic.ca > >> >>>>> Subject: Re: [ilds] Enigma Machine > >> >>>>> > >> >>>>> > >> >>>>> Durrell's Rebecca is his life story. > >> >>>>> > >> >>>>> :Michael > >> >>>>> > >> >>>>> > >> >>>>> > >> >>>>> On Sunday, July 22, 2007, at 07:22 pm, william godshalk wrote: > >> >>>>> > >> >>>>>> Very nice idea! An encryption machine. So we have to break the > >> >>>>>> code > >> >>>>>> of > >> >>>>>> Durrell Enigma Machine. Too bad we don't have his copy of Rebecca. > >> >>>> > >> > > >> > > >> > _______________________________________________ > >> > ILDS mailing list > >> > ILDS at lists.uvic.ca > >> > https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds > >> > > >> > >> > >> > >> -- > >> _________________________________________ > >> James Gifford, University Core Director > >> Fairleigh Dickinson University, Vancouver > >> 842 Cambie Street > >> Vancouver, BC V6B 2P6 > >> http://members.shaw.ca/james.gifford > >> > >> _______________________________________________ > >> ILDS mailing list > >> ILDS at lists.uvic.ca > >> https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds > > > > ________________________________ > > Windows Live?: Keep your life in sync. Check it out. > > _______________________________________________ > > ILDS mailing list > > ILDS at lists.uvic.ca > > https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds > > > > > > > > -- > _________________________________________ > James Gifford, University Core Director > Fairleigh Dickinson University, Vancouver > 842 Cambie Street > Vancouver, BC V6B 2P6 > http://members.shaw.ca/james.gifford > > _______________________________________________ > ILDS mailing list > ILDS at lists.uvic.ca > https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds _________________________________________________________________ Hotmail? has ever-growing storage! Don?t worry about storage limits. http://windowslive.com/Tutorial/Hotmail/Storage?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_HM_Tutorial_Storage_062009 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.uvic.ca/pipermail/ilds/attachments/20090709/ebb3633b/attachment.html From dtart at bigpond.net.au Thu Jul 9 15:01:33 2009 From: dtart at bigpond.net.au (Denise Tart & David Green) Date: Fri, 10 Jul 2009 08:01:33 +1000 Subject: [ilds] The Prince of Darkness Message-ID: <4D679FA4EA114D23AF038C7F36CFD39D@MumandDad> Bruce brings us back to the theme of darkness in Durrell, to the dark globes of fruit when in fact lemons are bright even under moonlight, a metaphor for Cyprus 1955, bright and sunny on the outside consealing a darkness within as Durrell certainly experienced, or perhaps a metaphor for Durrell himself, the champagne cork personality, bubbly, laughing and talkative, consealing within the dark labyrinth of soul and we note in this context a revue of The Avignon Quintet by Patrick Parrinder: "The Avignon Quintet is an enigmatic and secretive work, a cluster of dark passages and gaudy, treasure filled caves.." The Vampire House in sunny Provence. Perhaps the interior darkness of soul is the key to Durrell. If we consider Durrell's journey from the sun drenched olive groves of idylic pre war Corfu to the haunted world of the Quintet, we see in effect the writers personal journey, a jouney marred by war, loss and modernisation tarnishing the world he loved, the world he created, the world he went to to make sense of it all. ....in the darkness on the edge of town.. David In the darkness of a winters' morn. 16 William Street, Marrickville NSW 2204 +61 2 9564 6165 0412 707 625 dtart at bigpond.net.au -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.uvic.ca/pipermail/ilds/attachments/20090710/ddb4552b/attachment.html From bredwine1968 at earthlink.net Thu Jul 9 17:22:19 2009 From: bredwine1968 at earthlink.net (Bruce Redwine) Date: Thu, 9 Jul 2009 17:22:19 -0700 Subject: [ilds] The Prince of Darkness In-Reply-To: <4D679FA4EA114D23AF038C7F36CFD39D@MumandDad> References: <4D679FA4EA114D23AF038C7F36CFD39D@MumandDad> Message-ID: <005D1372-E63B-4190-9527-433EEDA0F2CE@earthlink.net> All very well said ? and true, I think. Bruce On Jul 9, 2009, at 3:01 PM, Denise Tart & David Green wrote: > Bruce brings us back to the theme of darkness in Durrell, to the > dark globes of fruit when in fact lemons are bright even under > moonlight, a metaphor for Cyprus 1955, bright and sunny on the > outside consealing a darkness within as Durrell certainly > experienced, or perhaps a metaphor for Durrell himself, the > champagne cork personality, bubbly, laughing and talkative, > consealing within the dark labyrinth of soul and we note in this > context a revue of The Avignon Quintet by Patrick Parrinder: > > "The Avignon Quintet is an enigmatic and secretive work, a cluster > of dark passages and gaudy, treasure filled caves.." > > The Vampire House in sunny Provence. > > Perhaps the interior darkness of soul is the key to Durrell. If we > consider Durrell's journey from the sun drenched olive groves of > idylic pre war Corfu to the haunted world of the Quintet, we see in > effect the writers personal journey, a jouney marred by war, loss > and modernisation tarnishing the world he loved, the world he > created, the world he went to to make sense of it all. > > ....in the darkness on the edge of town.. > > > David > In the darkness of a winters' morn. > > > 16 William Street, Marrickville NSW 2204 > > +61 2 9564 6165 > 0412 707 625 > dtart at bigpond.net.au -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.uvic.ca/pipermail/ilds/attachments/20090709/741f1bdd/attachment.html From clawson at gmail.com Fri Jul 10 13:09:33 2009 From: clawson at gmail.com (James Clawson) Date: Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:09:33 -0400 Subject: [ilds] Porpentines In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <62A32F14-3E78-4748-9852-8AD136047CD8@gmail.com> The OED also has a tertiary definition of "porcupine" (to which "porpentine" defers), which suggests a general physical description of something mechanical, like a "spiky thingamabob" in the first instance: 3. A machine or machine part having many projecting spikes or blades; spec. a drum for straightening textile fibres; a kind of masher used in brewing (obs. rare). Cf. porcupine roller n. at Compounds 2, porcupine tooth n. at Compounds 2. The OED doesn't have any listings for using the word astronomically to name a star since around 1570. I'd not be surprised if Durrell were aware of obscure and old texts, but I'd wager he used the word more generally and without any deliberate meaning. Next to all those other words, doesn't it sound nice? Scobie's conversation is "an antique shop of polite fable bristling with" [all those old things you don't know anything about, like] "sextants, astrolabes, porpentines and isobars." (Incidentally, an "isobar" is a line on a map -- not entirely consistent with something one can imagine sitting on a table in an antique shop. Unless of course this is "an antique shop of polite fable.") Best, Jimmy On 10 Jul 2009, at 15:00, ilds-request at lists.uvic.ca wrote: > ------------------------------ > > Message: 3 > Date: Thu, 9 Jul 2009 14:49:14 -0500 > From: William Apt > Subject: Re: [ilds] Enigma Machine > To: > Message-ID: > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252" > > > James: > > > > The star reference is probably right. Durrell uses the word > "porpentine" in the plural, so it may mean obscure stars. This > would jive with the immediately preceding "astrolabes" and with the > immediately following "isobars": all tools of the sailor. > > > > Billy > > > > > >> Date: Thu, 9 Jul 2009 13:14:20 -0600 >> From: odos.fanourios at gmail.com >> To: ilds at lists.uvic.ca >> Subject: Re: [ilds] Enigma Machine >> >> This is indeed a mystery -- the OED also renders a secondary >> definition: >> >> "2. Astron. (The name of) a star in or near the constellation Libra, >> perh. the bright star Spica in Virgo. Obs." >> >> It can also apply to images of spike-wearing rodents, but that seems >> out of place. It's the same in the revised omnibus edition of the >> Quartet as a whole, so it's likely intentional, and perhaps it has to >> do with the images of antlers and such that follow shortly after... >> >> Anyone else have ideas? Is there a distinctly nautical association? >> >> Best, >> James >> >> 2009/7/9 William Apt : >>> James: >>> >>> On page 127 of the Penguin ed. of Justine: what does "porpentine" >>> mean? The only definition I can locate says it means >>> "porcupine". But that >>> doesn't make sense, as it is lumped in with nautical instrument >>> terms in >>> Durrell's sketch of Scobie. >>> >>> Thanks! >>> >>> Billy Apt >>> Austin TX >>> >>> From bredwine1968 at earthlink.net Fri Jul 10 16:17:46 2009 From: bredwine1968 at earthlink.net (Bruce Redwine) Date: Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:17:46 -0700 Subject: [ilds] Porpentines In-Reply-To: <62A32F14-3E78-4748-9852-8AD136047CD8@gmail.com> References: <62A32F14-3E78-4748-9852-8AD136047CD8@gmail.com> Message-ID: <8F8FA6AF-1D3A-492A-AB6E-965E79473DBB@earthlink.net> "I'd not be surprised if Durrell were aware of obscure and old texts, but I'd wager he used the word more generally and without any deliberate meaning." I'd wager you're right in all respects, especially, as an example of Durrell's sense of mischief. BR On Jul 10, 2009, at 1:09 PM, James Clawson wrote: > The OED also has a tertiary definition of "porcupine" (to which > "porpentine" defers), which suggests a general physical description of > something mechanical, like a "spiky thingamabob" in the first > instance: > > 3. A machine or machine part having many projecting spikes or > blades; spec. a drum for straightening textile fibres; a kind of > masher used in brewing (obs. rare). Cf. porcupine roller n. at > Compounds 2, porcupine tooth n. at Compounds 2. > > The OED doesn't have any listings for using the word astronomically to > name a star since around 1570. I'd not be surprised if Durrell were > aware of obscure and old texts, but I'd wager he used the word more > generally and without any deliberate meaning. Next to all those other > words, doesn't it sound nice? Scobie's conversation is "an antique > shop of polite fable bristling with" [all those old things you don't > know anything about, like] "sextants, astrolabes, porpentines and > isobars." (Incidentally, an "isobar" is a line on a map -- not > entirely consistent with something one can imagine sitting on a table > in an antique shop. Unless of course this is "an antique shop of > polite fable.") > > Best, > Jimmy > > On 10 Jul 2009, at 15:00, ilds-request at lists.uvic.ca wrote: > >> ------------------------------ >> >> Message: 3 >> Date: Thu, 9 Jul 2009 14:49:14 -0500 >> From: William Apt >> Subject: Re: [ilds] Enigma Machine >> To: >> Message-ID: >> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252" >> >> >> James: >> >> >> >> The star reference is probably right. Durrell uses the word >> "porpentine" in the plural, so it may mean obscure stars. This >> would jive with the immediately preceding "astrolabes" and with the >> immediately following "isobars": all tools of the sailor. >> >> >> >> Billy >> >> >> >> >> >>> Date: Thu, 9 Jul 2009 13:14:20 -0600 >>> From: odos.fanourios at gmail.com >>> To: ilds at lists.uvic.ca >>> Subject: Re: [ilds] Enigma Machine >>> >>> This is indeed a mystery -- the OED also renders a secondary >>> definition: >>> >>> "2. Astron. (The name of) a star in or near the constellation Libra, >>> perh. the bright star Spica in Virgo. Obs." >>> >>> It can also apply to images of spike-wearing rodents, but that seems >>> out of place. It's the same in the revised omnibus edition of the >>> Quartet as a whole, so it's likely intentional, and perhaps it has >>> to >>> do with the images of antlers and such that follow shortly after... >>> >>> Anyone else have ideas? Is there a distinctly nautical association? >>> >>> Best, >>> James >>> >>> 2009/7/9 William Apt : >>>> James: >>>> >>>> On page 127 of the Penguin ed. of Justine: what does "porpentine" >>>> mean? The only definition I can locate says it means >>>> "porcupine". But that >>>> doesn't make sense, as it is lumped in with nautical instrument >>>> terms in >>>> Durrell's sketch of Scobie. >>>> >>>> Thanks! >>>> >>>> Billy Apt >>>> Austin TX From billyapt at hotmail.com Sat Jul 11 07:44:45 2009 From: billyapt at hotmail.com (William Apt) Date: Sat, 11 Jul 2009 09:44:45 -0500 Subject: [ilds] Porpentines In-Reply-To: <8F8FA6AF-1D3A-492A-AB6E-965E79473DBB@earthlink.net> References: <62A32F14-3E78-4748-9852-8AD136047CD8@gmail.com> <8F8FA6AF-1D3A-492A-AB6E-965E79473DBB@earthlink.net> Message-ID: Thanks for the insights: all good theories! Billy > From: bredwine1968 at earthlink.net > To: ilds at lists.uvic.ca > Date: Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:17:46 -0700 > Subject: Re: [ilds] Porpentines > > "I'd not be surprised if Durrell were aware of obscure and old texts, > but I'd wager he used the word more generally and without any > deliberate meaning." > > > I'd wager you're right in all respects, especially, as an example of > Durrell's sense of mischief. > > > BR > > > On Jul 10, 2009, at 1:09 PM, James Clawson wrote: > > > The OED also has a tertiary definition of "porcupine" (to which > > "porpentine" defers), which suggests a general physical description of > > something mechanical, like a "spiky thingamabob" in the first > > instance: > > > > 3. A machine or machine part having many projecting spikes or > > blades; spec. a drum for straightening textile fibres; a kind of > > masher used in brewing (obs. rare). Cf. porcupine roller n. at > > Compounds 2, porcupine tooth n. at Compounds 2. > > > > The OED doesn't have any listings for using the word astronomically to > > name a star since around 1570. I'd not be surprised if Durrell were > > aware of obscure and old texts, but I'd wager he used the word more > > generally and without any deliberate meaning. Next to all those other > > words, doesn't it sound nice? Scobie's conversation is "an antique > > shop of polite fable bristling with" [all those old things you don't > > know anything about, like] "sextants, astrolabes, porpentines and > > isobars." (Incidentally, an "isobar" is a line on a map -- not > > entirely consistent with something one can imagine sitting on a table > > in an antique shop. Unless of course this is "an antique shop of > > polite fable.") > > > > Best, > > Jimmy > > > > On 10 Jul 2009, at 15:00, ilds-request at lists.uvic.ca wrote: > > > >> ------------------------------ > >> > >> Message: 3 > >> Date: Thu, 9 Jul 2009 14:49:14 -0500 > >> From: William Apt > >> Subject: Re: [ilds] Enigma Machine > >> To: > >> Message-ID: > >> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252" > >> > >> > >> James: > >> > >> > >> > >> The star reference is probably right. Durrell uses the word > >> "porpentine" in the plural, so it may mean obscure stars. This > >> would jive with the immediately preceding "astrolabes" and with the > >> immediately following "isobars": all tools of the sailor. > >> > >> > >> > >> Billy > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >>> Date: Thu, 9 Jul 2009 13:14:20 -0600 > >>> From: odos.fanourios at gmail.com > >>> To: ilds at lists.uvic.ca > >>> Subject: Re: [ilds] Enigma Machine > >>> > >>> This is indeed a mystery -- the OED also renders a secondary > >>> definition: > >>> > >>> "2. Astron. (The name of) a star in or near the constellation Libra, > >>> perh. the bright star Spica in Virgo. Obs." > >>> > >>> It can also apply to images of spike-wearing rodents, but that seems > >>> out of place. It's the same in the revised omnibus edition of the > >>> Quartet as a whole, so it's likely intentional, and perhaps it has > >>> to > >>> do with the images of antlers and such that follow shortly after... > >>> > >>> Anyone else have ideas? Is there a distinctly nautical association? > >>> > >>> Best, > >>> James > >>> > >>> 2009/7/9 William Apt : > >>>> James: > >>>> > >>>> On page 127 of the Penguin ed. of Justine: what does "porpentine" > >>>> mean? The only definition I can locate says it means > >>>> "porcupine". But that > >>>> doesn't make sense, as it is lumped in with nautical instrument > >>>> terms in > >>>> Durrell's sketch of Scobie. > >>>> > >>>> Thanks! > >>>> > >>>> Billy Apt > >>>> Austin TX > > _______________________________________________ > ILDS mailing list > ILDS at lists.uvic.ca > https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds _________________________________________________________________ Lauren found her dream laptop. Find the PC that?s right for you. http://www.microsoft.com/windows/choosepc/?ocid=ftp_val_wl_290 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.uvic.ca/pipermail/ilds/attachments/20090711/8e83e260/attachment.html