[ilds] Gifford's "Late Modernism's Migrations and peasants"

[Denise Tart & David Green]

I doubt the eco poets will discover Durrell, but what stuck me when I began 
reading Larry's poetry years was its reverence for nature. in fact it 
reverberates throughout his writing. And of course we note that Durrell - 
and Miller later on - preferred to live in the country as, as you say, an 
anti Marxist proletarian. Or perhaps I could put up the idea of 'peasant 
libertine'. I once discovered that Larry's daily wine consumption was about 
the same as the rustic average for the men of Provence. I am about to head 
over there to check this out. We are staying in Sommierres for a week to do 
some Durrell tourism. For copyright reasons the program I wrote is not 
available on line. You could check out the ABC Radio National site - past 
programs. It may still be up on the summer features. I have copies anyway 
if'n you want one. It will cost you a beer when we meet, hopefully on Crete 
next year.

Now I have peasants to unearth. And yes, peasants have a role in the 
Heraldic Universe as you say, they represent the past into the present, they 
are outside the capitalist norm. they measure distance by the number of 
cigarettes. they believe in evil sprits in the form of eels. The peasants of 
Homer's time are still catching octopus today in Durrell's world (and they 
are).
Funny that Larry got so pissed off when his brother Leslie married one.



David Green
16 William Street
Marrickville NSW 2204
+61 2 9564 6165
0412 707 625


--------------------------------------------------
From: "James Gifford" <james.d.gifford at gmail.com>
Sent: Saturday, May 02, 2015 9:13 AM
To: <ilds at lists.uvic.ca>
Subject: Re: [ilds] Gifford's "Late Modernism's Migrations and peasants"

> On 2015-05-01 3:41 PM, Denise Tart & David Green wrote:
>> You may recall that we ended the Durrell Miller program with that final
>> piece and the 'so that....'. The producer loved it. Allusion to Pound or
>> not, it is a nice link to a potential follow up book.
>
> Is that program still available online anywhere?
>
>> he had little time for communism
>
> That runs deep and long in Durrell's works.  The anti-communist stance is 
> firm right from the start, even while his entire generation was flocking 
> in the opposite direction.  The sniping is already present in /Panic 
> Spring/ (1937, written mainly in 1936).
>
>> Must get around to my examination of Durrell
>> and peasants. He dressed like them, ate like them, drank like them and
>> said writing was like chopping wood. He was short and stocky like them
>> too. His fondness for flannelette shirt was have seen him labeled as a
>> bogan in my country. Perhaps you Americans would say Redneck. Peasant
>> are also often anti authoritarian.
>
> The anti-Marxist proletarian is a fascinating concept...  The peasants are 
> also frequently outside of modern notions of time and capital in Durrell 
> too.  How do they measure time?  How do they think of value?  To be a 
> rural man in a modern world sets Durrell (and Miller) so much apart from 
> their generation.
>
> I'm still waiting for ecopoetics to discover Durrell...
>
> Best,
> James
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