Emily Dickinson

185

"Faith" is a fine invention
When Gentlemen can see—
But Microscopes are prudent
In an Emergency.

This poem is about the importance of being sensible; one cannot merely rely on prayer. Faith is important, but so is cleverness in the management of practical affairs. She is not totally renouncing faith, but understands the value of logic and reason. Herein lies the complexity of this powerful little poem. The tone is sarcastic and playful, which thing is expressed with the word faith being in quotation marks, calling it an "invention." Also, consider what meaning it takes when "microscope" and "faith" are swapped:

Microscopes are a fine invention
When Gentlemen can see—
But "Faith" is prudent
In an Emergency.

It is sensible, this version. With the original poem being opposite this, the sarcasm is detected.
Faith means trust, and therefore it is a type of gamble. "Faith" in this poem is an "invention," but the irony in stanzas 1-2 is that one does not need faith to "see." One can put faith in a slide and view it in a microscope and understand that it has its important place, and so does reason.

In Dickinson's poetry to renounce is to possess more. Therefore, while this poem seems to renounce faith, Dickinson, by right of her own patterns and style, is actually describing how one can actually possess more faith by questioning and scrutinizing the faith in others, in herself as one would examine a specimen through a microscope.

This is an original manuscript of her poem "Wild nights, wild nights"

The Emily Dickinson Lexicon

Impressionist Paintings by Paul Cézanne

La Douleur ou la Modeleine
Paul Cezanne 1839-1906
1869
oil on canvas 165 x 124
Musée d'Orsay, Paris

This is a tragic piece. The darkness in the child's face, the woman, and in the background are ominous. The feeling of despair is summoned in the exaggerated facial expressions and one feels compelled to cry for her, to cry for oneself in the tragedies of one's own life. The image of a caring mother and the innocent child also help carry the tragic feeling to the viewer, for they are personal and up close in function and in meaning. It is beautiful when an artist can portray real feelings in the annals of our hearts, and open them back up again, when we thought we had folded them up and put them away in the back of the bottom drawer of the dresser, to be forgotten.

Le Christ aux Limbes
Paul Cezanne 1839-1906
1869
oil on canvas 170x97cm
Musée d'Orsay, Paris

I love this painting because its depiction of the condescension of Christ is shown in such an emotional manner. In many ways it is a Christ that I envision: one that I look up to in my wretchedness, while He in solemn care and love, suffering with the weight of all on his back, reaches to help even I. Once again, the colors and lines of the faces are exaggerated to create extreme emotion, here with deep set dark eyes especially. The action in this one is also up close which helps to isolate the message, theme, meaning, or emotion expressed.

Wanting to Know is What Makes Us Matter

"Oh, that. It's all trivial—your grouse, my hermit, Bernard's Byron. Comparing what we're looking for misses the point. It's wanting to know that makes us matter. Otherwise we're going out the way we came in. That's why you can't believe in the afterlife., Valentine. Believe in the after, by all means, but not the life. Believe in God, the soul, the spirit, the infinite, believe in angels if you like, but not in the great celestial get-together for an exchange of views. If the answers are in the back of the book I can wait, but what a drag. Better to struggle on knowing that failure is final,"
(Act II.7)

says Hannah in Tom Stoppard's play Arcadia on living. That no matter what the outcome is, it is the hunting and searching and learning and living that make our lives important. It is not to wait until the other side because we'll find out all anyway.

She is also commenting on the chaos theory; that there really is no chaos at all because it is all self-contained and will infinitely increase in disorder until it explodes and is back to where it started and begin the chaos process all over again. In our own way we are finding out the same things others before us have found out. However likely it is that the thing has already been realized, brilliant moments and epiphanies are worth searching for.

It is noted in my copy that "Arcadia is a mountainous region of central Peloponnese, Greece; scene of idealized and idyllic country life in the pastoral poetry of ancient Greece, notably that of Theocritus, and Italy, notably that of Virgil; its shepherds are called 'Arcades'" (The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Twentieth Century and After, 2753). Thus suggesting a sort of Eden for the location where 'finding out' is the focus.

Rebecca

Hitchcock's only film to win an Academy Award for best picture and also his first American movie is Rebecca (1940). It is a gothic film based on the novel by Daphne du Maurier starring Sir Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, and an incredibly frightening Judith Anderson. Hitchcock's infamous intensity and mesmerizing cinematography, for me, make this movie one that I can never get enough of. It is my favorite film. The acting is superb and a great example of Hitchcock's innovations and unique style.

Below is a list of Hitchcockian elements found in the film:

• The presence of a domineering mother (mother figure in this case Mrs. Edythe Van Hopper


• An innocent man accused (Maxim de Winter).


• Characters who switch sides or who cannot be trusted (Jack Favell.)


• Tension building through suspense to the point where the audience enjoys seeing the character in a life-threatening situation (Mrs. Danvers at the end).


• Average people thrust into strange or dangerous situations (the 2nd Mrs. de Winter).


• Use of darkness to symbolise impending doom (dark clothing of Mrs. Danvers).


• The use of a staircase as a motif for impending danger or suspense (the scene of the costume ball).


• Undertones of or characters implied as being homosexual, presented in a frightening way, such as Mrs. Danvers and the 1st Mrs. de Winter.
  

Others include:

• The close shot behind Maxim De Winter's head as he stares down into the swirling sea. It gives the impression that he is about to jump; this is paralleled later in the film when the second Mrs. de Winter has a similar moment.


• The use of "the subjective" or a world Hitchcock creates to reflect the principal characters and their essential egoism (Manderley and all the people within).


• Much of the tension is psychological (what is the 2nd Mrs. de Winter's name?)


• A meditative focus on death (scenes mentioned in the 1st bullet of this list).


• Motivated accidents (death of 1st Mrs. de Winter).


• The use of miniature sets in the film.
  

Other Hitchcock films I recommend are:

We are the witnesses by which the universe realizes its beauty.

Werner Herzog is the director of many films and documentaries that show life in extremes. He is famous for his visionary film-making and for putting himself in extremes and danger for his films. The film I just saw and recommend to you is his latest: Encounters at the End of the World

In Grizzly Man I saw Herzog's reverence for realism. It is a documentary about Timmy Treadwell, the man who lived with grizzly bears for over 6 summers, alone and unprotected. One of my first impressions from the film was that he reminded me of Hamlet. Like Hamlet, he starts off pretty normal. Then, one begins to question Timmy's sanity. Eventually it is clear that he is crazy, but it is obscure how crazy and when he actually goes crazy. However, by the end both Hamlet and Timmy have saving characteristics, leaving the reader/viewer bewildered as to whether the protagonist is crazy or not.

"He's famous for moving between fiction and nonfiction -- sometimes within the same film -- and for dismissing the distinction between the two as arbitrary" (ref).

In Rescue Dawn I saw yet again Herzog's respect for the real events in an individual's life. It is based on the survival of Dieter Dengler's, a US fighter pilot, after being shot down in Laos. Through jarring but not gratuitous images Herzog draws one into the experience and creates feelings of sympathy. It is what I imagine to be the antithesis of Mel Gibson's intentions in The Passion of the Christ. Fear is the heart of the feelings evoked from his "realistic" images. While equally convincing are the horrors that face the protagonist in Rescue Dawn, they are conveyed in a manner that is respectful to the sufferer. Fear is not the outcome in the viewer but respect.

Herzog's view of the world that we see : nature and humanity, is truly something that we all could use an extra dose of. In the words of Arthur Conan Doyle, "Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself; but talent instantly recognizes genius" (The Valley of Fear).

That is what we humble viewers get simply from the purchase of a movie ticket: Herzog's unfailing ability to see art and genius in the world around us. He brings us the world of Antarctica via cinema in Encounters at the End of the World. His aspirations tend toward the Luddite's as he brings together sounds, cinematography, landscape, clips from the rarely explored and even less understood, and the individual who is always looking in the opposite direction in a great artistic masterpiece. In as much as art asks questions, the documentary begins with questions that might easily have answers through science or pop culture or simply societal trends and needs. The Iliad and the Odyssey are both mentioned at the beginning of the film suggesting that the film is a journey for the dreamer. It asks questions about the end of the human race, global warming, and emphasizes the disharmony in the juxtaposition of human and nature. The answers only create more questions, but in the end the universe is said to only be beautiful because we can see it, hear it.

The places and people in this film are like the penguin it shows that for unknowable reasons journeys away from the nesting sight and not toward the ocean, but straight into 5,000 miles of nothing but ice and mountains. The reasonable outcome is certainly eventual death. Everyone in this site on Antarctica is like that penguin. While the world turns to milk and honey, they went the other way. They went to a place not meant to sustain human life. Our own nothingness is everywhere manifest in this film, until the end. Herzog said, "this is probably the deepest film I've ever made" (The LA Times).

Throughout the movie this scripture kept knocking at the door of my mind:

Moses beheld the world and the ends thereof, and all the children of men which are, and which were created; of the same he greatly marveled and wondered.
And he said unto himself: Now, for this cause I know that man is nothing, which thing I never had supposed.
Moses 1:8, 10

**Update**

Thanks to a friend, Mike, it was found out that "Kindling," the poem featured below was likely written by BYU professor John Talbot. See what a good thing blogging can be? I always wanted to know who wrote that poem ~ Thanks Mike!

Peanut Butter Cookie Paradise

I am always on the prowl for a great recipe and these are the perfect peanut butter cookies! For reals! If you think I'm lying then try them for yourselves . . . I dare you. They are chewy and crunchy, salty and sweet, and oh so delicious. They came from The Best Recipe cookbook. But, I will provide it for you below. Thank me later.

Everything I have made from this cookbook is fantastic. I highly recommend it because there are so many tempting cookbooks out there that, once bought, are hardly used. This one is different in that way. The recipes are sure to please as they have already been tried and proved. If you are unfamiliar with the process a recipe goes through before it makes it into the cookbook I will explain. Basically, the team of chefs prepare countless batches or dishes of the same item, each time with slight variations in order to find out the exact ingredients and amounts that yield the tastiest outcome. They even describe the process at the head of each recipe and tell you why they opted to add just 1/2 t of water to chocolate chip cookies, why Jif peanut butter is better for the recipe than other brands, or why superfine sugar is best for Mexican wedding cakes while regular granulated is best for sugar cookies.

The cookies make about 3 dozen, so they are great for entertaining because they yield so many, if you are willing to share them. Put this America's Test Kitchen recipe to the test and I am sure they will put a smile on your face as they so easily do mine. :)

Peanut Butter Cookies

2 1/2 cups all-purpose
1/2 t (teaspoon) baking soda
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 pound (2 sticks) salted butter, softened
1 cup brow sugar, packed
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup extra-crunchy peanut butter, preferably Jif, at room temperature
2 large eggs
2 t vanilla extract
1 cup roasted, salted peanuts, ground in a food processor to resemble bread crumbs, about 14 pulses (don't over pulse or you might end up making peanut butter)

1. Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350º. Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper (I have never had these handy when I have made these and the cookies were just fine).
2. Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.
3. Either by hand or with an electric mixer, beat butter until creamy. Add sugars; beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes with an electric mixer. Beat in peanut butter until fully incorporated, then eggs, one at a time, then vanilla. Gently stir dry ingredients into peanut butter mixture. Add ground peanuts; stir gently until incorporated.
4. Working with generous 2 T (tablespoons) each time, roll dough into 2-inch balls. Place balls on prepared cookie sheets, leaving 2 1/2 inches between each ball. Press each dough ball twice with dinner fork dipped in ice water, to make crisscross design.
5. Bake reversing positions of cookie sheets halfway through baking time (from top to bottom racks and back to front), until cookies are puffed and slightly brown along edges but not on top (this is the most important part), 10 to 12 minutes. (Cookies will not look fully baked.) Cool cookies on cookie sheet until set, about 4 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Ahhh, Joanna

When life is biting at your heals or the wind is in the east it is such a relief to hear the very first words of Joanna Newsom's last full-length album come softly like a rain and then poring over, so that before you realize it you are pleasantly soaked. Released when Joanna was only 26 Ys, pronounced the same as the feeling it gives: ease, has received perfect reviews from many critics in such publications as The Times and The Guardian (click for reviews). So, perhaps I feel somewhat justified with my seemingly never ending infatuation with this artist.

Part of the power of her music is due to her incredibly complex lyrics and abstract subject matter (death, love). She had a child- or nymph-like voice in her first album which has definitely matured by her second, however, retaining an equal other-worldliness. Her voice is powerful, but that power is multiplied through the perturbing lyrics that certainly always tell a story, but it is less certain what about. In the beginning of so many songs, such as Sawdust & Diamonds, Emily, and Only Skin, Joanna's voice is like a Pied Piper's first mesmerizing blows in his horn. Sweetly they sound and inviting, but in the end they have taken you to a far and foreign place.

I love her music because it is both beautiful and challenging to the listener, I believe. The orchestrations and arrangements of her music seem beyond what could be produced by the offspring of the unchallenging nature of this everything-at-your-fingertips modern world.

There - even in trying to write how I feel about her music I have created a paradox by calling it both easy and provoking. Well, I hope you will give her a good listen to before making up your mind. As for me, there will always be a separate place in my museum for Joanna.

Interviews:

Interview: Joanna Newsom, Interview by Brian Howe, Pitchfork Media
NPR All Songs Considered: Joanna Newsom

Scroll down below to listen to Joanna Newsom.

Nature Morph

Goldfinch by Amy Ross

Goldfinch by me

I had wanted to learn to paint for years. My natural inclinations towards watercolor drew my gaze in its general direction and recently more specifically on the artist Amy Ross. I found her by chance in a publication of the up-and-comingers in the art world and fell in love with her simplicity, singularity, and beauty right away. As soon as I was home I googled her images and information online. I have learned to paint by studying and attempting to recreate her style.

Amy Ross describes her art thus:

"My drawings offer visual hypotheses to the question: what would happen if the DNA sequence of a plant or mushroom were spliced with that of an animal?" (ref)

Her artwork is a type of hyper realism that leaves one feeling peaceful rather than shocked at the fantastical images. They suggest a unity between all living things: man & beast, hunter & hunted, blossoms & birds in a sort of matter-of-fact magnificence. It seems natural that a sheep is born of a magnolia blossom, that a female hunts fowl in the woods like a wolf, or that the fox hunting a rabbit both have the same roots.

The best thing about her art is that everything else is swallowed in white space, while one submissively regards the one single image, the unity of all living.



The full painting by Amy Ross. These were based . . .


. . . on these from her backyard.

Kindling

You gone, i thought to look
for warmth in the pith of trees,
so i went to the chopping-block,
brought axes edge to kiss
soft, knotty-hearted pine
whose sinews might warm mine.

Matchsticks rasp, blue chuff:
the fine shaved kindling caught,
curled into twenty fists
that cupped their fingers shut,
till fire fastened to the wood
and wooed it close and hot,
and soon the room was warm enough
but i was not.

I wish I wrote this poem. I found it by chance outside of a professor's office. I have no idea who wrote it. Anyone know? Please let me know.

JULIE HEFFERNAN Self Portrait as Post Script 2007

oil on canvas, 67 x 56 inches

Art critic David Cohen describes Heffernan's art thus: "These paintings are a hybrid of genres and styles, mixing allegory, portraiture, history painting, and still life, while in title they are all presented as self portraits." I appreciate her artwork as a collage of styles bringing together history and nature within the individual, thus creating a reason for the individual in a single window. These windows can be as broad as "World," as abstract as "Holes in my Head," and as disturbing as "Quarry" or "Dead Meat."

check out more of her art here.