Fred+Chappell+-+John+Niedzwiecki

=**Wiki-Post One**=
 * 3/26/2012**

//Narcissus and Echo//

Shall the water not remember //Ember// my hand's slow gesture, tracing above //of// its mirror my half-imaginary //airy// portrait? My only belonging //longing// is my beauty, which I take //ache// away and then return, as love //of// of teasing playfully the one being //unbeing.// whose gratitude I treasure //Is your// moves me. I live apart //heart// from myself, yet cannot //not// live apart. In the water's tone, //stone?// that brilliant silence, a flower //Hour,// whispers my name with such slight //light// moment, it seems filament of air, //fare// the world become cloudswell. //well.//

//Narcissus and Echo// is a powerful poem by Fred Chappell that speaks to ancient Greek mythology and transforms two ancient characters into objects modern readers can relate to. In Greek mythology, Echo was a mountain nymph who had a relationship with Zeus and would distract his wife, Hera, with her ability to speak and spin stories while her husband had affairs with the other nymphs. As a punishment, Hera cursed Echo so she could never begin a conversation with another person and could only repeat what another speaker had just said. One day as Narcissus was walking in the woods on a hunting trip, Echo spotted him and immediately fell in love. However, Narcissus eventually spurns her efforts to make him love her in return. Another Greek god fulfills an earlier curse on Narcissus and has him spot his own image in a pool of water. Narcissus falls in love with himself and (according to various versions of the myth) either wastes away and dies or commits suicide. After he dies, a beautiful flower, named the Narcissus flower, takes the place of his body. Readers would have to have a background with this story in order to understand the poem in its entirety.

This poem is written in "echo verse" where the last two words of each line rhyme. This sets up the dual point of view of the poem which relate the thoughts of the two speakers: Narcissus and Echo. Narcissus' lines are in normal font and can relate a larger amount of emotion and ideas while Echo's italic words are limited to mere rhymes of what Narcissus had previously stated. Narcissus' perspective reveals a character who is selfish and perhaps heartless. Lines that include phrases like, "my only belonging is my beauty" and referring to himself as, "the one being whose gratitude I treasure" create an image of a man only interested in serving himself and having no remorse over rejecting the advances of a woman. Echo's lines reveal a different point of view. She can't utilize many words but manages to convey a sorrow stemming from a longing for Narcissus. Her sorrow will ultimately end with her "fare/well" and her departure for her fate of wandering the earth repeating the words of strangers. This poem utilizes imagery that convey the scene found in Greek mythology. There is a body of water that Narcissus stares into and speaks with while Echo's lines appear almost as if from a disembodied voice. The italics and diction make Echo's words appear as if they are mere "filaments of air." The poem includes various allusions to the Greek story itself including the "flower" of Narcissus and the inability of the main character to "live apart from myself." This modern interpretation allows readers to connect to the story in new ways. It relates to any longing a man or woman once felt toward another person and were rejected. Echo's line could be a reader's thoughts today that end in mental or physical failure. Narcissus could be the politician, businessman/woman or student who believes that they are too perfect and only they are truly worthy to love themselves. []: Greek Mythology Guide About Narcissus and Echo

//Message//

True. The first messenger angel may arrive purely clothed in terror, the form he takes a swordblade of unbearable energies, making the air he entered a spice of ozone. And then, the mad inventories. Each force of nature, each small animal and pretty bird, is guilty with persistence. The tear of sorrow, huge as an alien star, invades our sun's little system.

Irrelevant, such enormity: because the man is alone and naked. Even the finely tenuous radiations of the marauding star crush him like falling timbers. The worst is, he must choose among sorrows the one that destroys him most.

But see how all changes in that hour. He ascends a truer dimension of event, he feels with senses newly evolved the wide horizons unknown till now. He is transformed head to foot, taproot to polestar.

//Message// is a highly symbolic poem referencing the Christian end of times and possibly the idea of death and resurrection. To begin, //Message// has no set meter, rhyme scheme or other devices like alliteration that grant the poem power of voice. However, the diction and placement of words serve in the same capacity. At the beginning of each paragraph, there is an offset word that relate part of the meaning of the poem. There are three offset phrases, "True," "Irrelevant," and "But we see how all." These three phrases show readers that truth is irrelevant because it is all subject to change. Life is constantly evolving and shifting; how we determine this idea of "truth?" Chappell utilizes an array of imagery and symbolism to create a scene of power and contrasts. In the opening paragraph, there is a symbol of a great "messenger angel" who is "purely clothed in terror." This is the first reference to a Christian idea of apocalypse. This could be a reference to the seven horsemen and other lore found in Revelations where the end of times is ushered in by one more Angel (foreshadowed in past event by Michael and Satan as well as Gabriel and Mary.) This angel is a bearer of impossible power and can tear the air itself with his blade. This might is compared to a "huge alien star" that overshadows the Sun's solar system. If a space as wide as our solar system can be eclipsed easily, it is a force to be reckoned with. This contrast is continued in the second paragraph between humans and stars. Man is depicted as "alone and naked" (an allusion to Adam in Genesis) who is being crushed by the smallest gasps of radiation from a star. This passage further relates to Christian values as man is said to have to "choose among sorrows the one that destroys him most." This is a reference to sin and free will as human beings to determine the way we wish to destroy our salvation before God. The symbolism continues in the third paragraph with imagery of a resurrection. Man "ascends" presumably towards the heavens in a new form of life and has taken on new dimensions: a taproot and a polestar. Man has been transformed into a small plant and a massive star at the same time. This is only possible through the transformation promised to Christians after their deaths.



=Wiki Post 2= April 12, 2012

//Down with Democracy//

I am no longer deceived by politicians all their judgments are mere prejudice they strive to eradicate the spiritual

the ascetic age has found abstention beautiful the politicians scheme to stamp out hunger

the prophets tell us to fear God and grovel the pols declare War on Terror

they threaten to eradicate poverty St. Francis has taken a vow of poverty he'll be the first one they shoot

concerning love they have but a single thought: //thou shall not --// so what will they do about Jesus? they can't shoot him like St. Francis that's a political nono distasteful to Christian and Jew alike they'll probably exile him to the Bible hoping to hide him among the //begats//

and they say we must fight for our country fight fight fight otherwise we'll have to go to war

me, I favor tyranny at least the tyrant doesn't simper

you don't have to try to like the bastard

//“//Down with Democracy//”// is a work taken from Chappell’s book of poetry entitled //Backsass// and is primarily focused on satirizing modern American society. This poem has a few interesting features that breathe life into the humor and cynicism present in the text. This poem is a modern piece that contains no set rhyme scheme or use of techniques like alliteration; it is entirely in free verse. The way the poem is structured grants it an informal air. There is no punctuation present in the poem save for a dash and the author utilizes spacing to signify a change in topic. The spacing between lines break up common political issues like hunger, poverty and sexual preference laws. This structure allows the poem to flow similar to a “stream of thought” exercise where the speaker can simply allow his/her thoughts to continue uninterrupted as if they were emerging in his/her consciousness naturally. It allows the poem to have a more personal tone to it which allows the “sass” or biting cynicism to affect the reader in a greater way. An additional structural point is the use of the poem as an argument. The title postulates a thesis, that democracy should be discontinued, and the poet continues on in the poem to lay out various supporting arguments in favor of the thesis. It’s almost a debating form of poetry or persuasive argumentation.

The diction of the poem adds other interesting elements to this piece. Chappell chose to use Christian and secular terms throughout the piece to create a juxtaposition of old values and new values. “Politicians” and their “prejudice” are trying to eliminate all things “spiritual.” At other points in the poem, “ascetic sage[s],” “St. Francis,” and “Christian[s] and Jew[s]” come into conflict with secular items like, “politicians schem[ing] to stamp out poverty,” “war,” and “tyrants.” Two different worlds and their inhabitants (those focused on the spiritual parts of life and those focused on getting votes) are fighting to shape the world. The poet’s diction reveals a Christian perspective of the modern conflict of science and religion.



//Losing It// I can't reason anymore all my thoughts come to me as if translated from Polish by someone ignorant of the language when you asked about my politics I felt my sullen stupor becoming contagious when you said the word //liberal// there arose a smell of unwed mothers and the intimidating urinals of grammar school when you said //conservative// I heard some sort of German word Hosentasche or was it Schaftreinigung I looked up Hosentasche "trouser pocket" and was not encouraged you asked my opinions about various and I said that must have passed for opinions because you said Hmm and Interesting and now and again looked at me liked I'd farted when you claimed to be from the census bureau I told you I didn't need any more having 5 already when you asked my citizenship I offered to trade with you in short, I think I've been pleasantly cooperative so tell me what it is you want let us cut to the chase "Are you now or ever have you been" before I am I was before I was I cannot recall but you must have it on the computer anything else? "Sign here please" what will you give me if I do? "You will receive by Priority Mail a certificate certifying your status as a statistic" “Losing It” is another poem by Fred Chappell featured in his book //Backsass//. “Losing It” does deal with common Chappell themes like cynicism about American society and politics on both sides of the aisle, but this piece also features a commentary on loneliness and isolation. To begin, Chappell utilizes his own structure for this piece. There is a single voice speaking in a stream of consciousness allowed the conversation or monologue to shift easily from topic to topic. The poem has no punctuation and spacing it utilized between lines to indicate that the speaker is shifting from one topic to another. This gives the work an informal tone that indicates the speaker is narrating in a conversational, comfortable perspective. This is not meant to be a formal speech; it is just a reflection. The diction of the piece gives the work its power. Chappell fills “Losing It” with words that have negative connotations. “Liberals” are associated with “unwed mothers” and “urinals” while “conservatives” are associated with “German word[s]” which points to fascism and aggressive behavior. Chappell clearly doesn’t enjoy the political world. He also includes words that set up the isolation theme of the poem. Words like “statistic,” “computer,” and “census bureau” creates imagery of a distant and impersonal place. The speaker is feeling like he/she is being relegated to a sheet of paper as a set of preferences and data. His/her humanity is being lost to the numbers. Finally, the tone of the piece indicates a negative, cynical view of the world the speaker lives in. The speaker obviously has animosity towards liberals and conservatives and cannot hold faith in the political system. He has been failed by both sides’ politicians. He has become certified as a statistic to his own government and indicates in the first stanza that he is beginning to lose his mind. The world around him has beaten him in a “sullen stupor” and his own thoughts are becoming garbled as if coming from a poor translation. Chappell is certainly taking the modern American world to task and reflecting on his own loss of individuality to the political and bureaucratic world.