More reading log

[justice_turtle]

As I said: I don't stop reading just because LJ goes down. ;-) And I read fast. (Can you imagine if I put fanfics in here as well? I'd never catch up! *g* Actually, that might be fun. Votes?)

Comments

[justice_turtle]

...you've never heard of John Masefield. O_O

Okay - he was the Poet Laureate of England for a while in the early 20th century, and is best known for his sea poems. His most famous is "Sea Fever", which you've probably heard quoted at some point:

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea's face and a grey dawn breaking.

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied,
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying
And the flung spray and the blown spume and the sea-gulls crying.

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way, where the wind's like a whetted knife,
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover
And a quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.

I love his poems; I think I learned "Sea Fever" when I was about eight (and crazy about boats, like your average landlocked kid growing up reading sea stories, lol). He's got some reeeeally long ones that are hard to get through (although it's really incredible to see how he tells a novella-length story in plain words that apparently just happen to rhyme and keep a steady meter without ever straining), but his shorter ones are generally stunning. I've got quite a few of them memorized. ;-)

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As to Service - I was working my way through his Complete Poems, or what I think was complete. It was a pretty old book, so I'm not sure. I liked some of his poems (especially the ones I'd read before, so I'm guessing he's something of an acquired taste for me), but in general... well, the repeated theme of "the men who don't fit in", who are doomed to go seeking adventure all their lives and never find peace, was a pretty big downer for me. (It was hitting too close to home, especially at the point I was reading it. *g* I was a bit depressed anyway, there.) He's a good poet, just - not somebody I can read in large doses, and not somebody I care to have kicking round inside my head too much. Y'know? :-)