ABC OF READING
Hi Simon, the first thing Hitler did in Berlin to the city was to move the statues of Bismarck, Roon, Moltke and the Siegsaule. These monuments are commerate Prussian militarism, obviously. So H wanted to distance himself from these, yet kept the monuments in Berlin as well. Essentially his time in power marks a break from traditional Prussian conservative militarism, obviously.
Yesterday I re-read ABC of Reading by Ezra Pound, a very interesting book. Yes, Pound knows a deal about language. The great break between the ancient world and the inflected languages of Greece and Rome, and the modern world, the rise of uninflected languages. The exception to this is German, which is still highly inflected, the Germans consciously harkened back to Rome and Greece, especially in the 19th century, but also in the iconography of Nazism with its eagles and monumentalism. Nazism is obviously nostalgic for an idealised political ordering in which plebians and patricians are strongly delineated and there is little or no mercantile class (Jews). But the ideal is far from the reality. Of course we could talk all day about this.
But Pound's book is interesting, I recommend it. Also flicked through a photo-book depicting Pound's last visit to Italy. He stopped off at Zurich on the way, noting James Joyce and Nora's gravestone at the Fluntern cemetery. It was overgrown with weeds, while other graves were decorated with the usual. The book is overly indulgent, weird photos of Pound, densely lit close-ups. I felt like getting a biro out and drawing a toothbrush moustache on him, as well as a swastika armband. That's the kind of thing we did at school, and I'd presently be wary or chary of defacing any book.
(by the way your not chary your terrified. I mean, the reason you don't speak out. Your terrified. Only conservative types detest the internet, because it means their views might be contradicted or that people, like me, will just use it to do anarchic scrawls. For me its the ultimate graffiti, where everything is permissable. Your position can only be rationalised in terms of fear but its an irrational fear, a running away from freedom.)
best wishes,
Yesterday I re-read ABC of Reading by Ezra Pound, a very interesting book. Yes, Pound knows a deal about language. The great break between the ancient world and the inflected languages of Greece and Rome, and the modern world, the rise of uninflected languages. The exception to this is German, which is still highly inflected, the Germans consciously harkened back to Rome and Greece, especially in the 19th century, but also in the iconography of Nazism with its eagles and monumentalism. Nazism is obviously nostalgic for an idealised political ordering in which plebians and patricians are strongly delineated and there is little or no mercantile class (Jews). But the ideal is far from the reality. Of course we could talk all day about this.
But Pound's book is interesting, I recommend it. Also flicked through a photo-book depicting Pound's last visit to Italy. He stopped off at Zurich on the way, noting James Joyce and Nora's gravestone at the Fluntern cemetery. It was overgrown with weeds, while other graves were decorated with the usual. The book is overly indulgent, weird photos of Pound, densely lit close-ups. I felt like getting a biro out and drawing a toothbrush moustache on him, as well as a swastika armband. That's the kind of thing we did at school, and I'd presently be wary or chary of defacing any book.
(by the way your not chary your terrified. I mean, the reason you don't speak out. Your terrified. Only conservative types detest the internet, because it means their views might be contradicted or that people, like me, will just use it to do anarchic scrawls. For me its the ultimate graffiti, where everything is permissable. Your position can only be rationalised in terms of fear but its an irrational fear, a running away from freedom.)
best wishes,
posted by Paul Murphy at
March 06, 2008
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home