Traumear

Under the heading OPoems of SeniorityO I present four collections of poems in four booklets, I IV, all of which were written during a period of a few months from summer 2012 to spring of 2013.

Under the heading OPoems of SeniorityO I present four collections of poems in four booklets, I IV, all of which were written during a period of a few months from summer 2012 to spring of 2013.

'Divinations' I call these poems that limit excessive experience in the interest of embodied knowledge. Where no embodied knowledge exists such a limitation is of course pointless or inappropriate. If poetry can be thought of as mediate communication of experienced knowledge then such a divination is a poem that enables immediate communication - or transfer - of embodied knowledge, or body. Divination as a literary tactic presupposes a body of knowledge and a willingness to forego the usual emphasis on experience in favour of mystic or live body.

111 short poems, thought-provoking, amusing, written during the year May 2016 - May 2017. Contemporary verse, not modern.

Under the heading OPoems of SeniorityO I present four collections of poems in four booklets, I IV, all of which were written during a period of a few months from summer 2012 to spring of 2013.

This is a contribution to an understanding of the human psyche specifically for the purpose of translating psychic phenomena into operational soul.

Under the heading 'Poems of Seniority' I present four collections of poems in four booklets, I - IV, all of which were written during a period of a few months from summer 2012 to spring of 2013.

Dealing with a case of bad nerves by building a reserve of courage for the future. It contains insights into humanity in comparison to popularity.

While holidaying on Crete again with my wife I jotted down a few verses so as not to become overwhelmed by the novelty of the experience. I became aware again of what a difference it makes how we view our environment. We can behave like passive tourists, indifferent and unavoidably contemptuous or we can take an interest, inform ourselves and get to know the local people. Back home I was reminded of something I had discovered many years ago, which I think of as a rather sublime way of approaching our environment and of processing our experience of it. I call it the art of beholding and I have included a few pages on that topic in this booklet.

The author is only marginally concerned with what happens in the schoolroom. Towards the end there is emphasis on art-work as an aspect of parenting. Education and schooling are discussed first and foremost as parental responsibilities. However it seems we can all do with being schooled and educated, throughout our lives, and it is in this direction of interest that this essay provides the most useful insights. As is usual with creative philosophy in terms of a research essay, the onus is not on pat suggestions and answers but on a stimulation of spontaneous thought and feeling plus exemplary demonstration (art) of anything of value as it turns up.

A collection of minor works penned during a time of turbulence in the authorOs life. The reader will come across nods to Catullus and to Li Po.

A tender appeal to what can nearly be taken for granted in a given human being, namely a desire for affection or, just as good, a wish to be loved, betimes elicits a response so that love and affection are initiated where formerly no soul existed because, strangely, the wish and the desire for death had tragically taken hold while no one had noticed. (from page 25, as prose)

This is an imaginary interview of the author by the writer. We may imagine that the truth is revealed to the author and that it is made available to us as language by the writer. In reality these two are, of course, one and the same person, however when this person is divided it makes for a dialogue at times both entertaining and instructive.

These verses were written while strolling through the environs of Newtownards, Northern Ireland, in direct response to the countryside and nothing was added afterwards. I dedicate them to those people who still know how to enjoy the natural environment, especially in contemplation of the beautiful and small detail.

The first of these essays points out to us what happens when we go too far astray in the direction of the convenient status quo and how bouts of hysteria can then be understood as timely reminders of the need to return to creative thought and compassion. The second essay would teach us the sheer cost of force and advocates instead a familiarity with the spirit of comfort and learning.

Thought-bites worth mulling over. Droplets of wisdom condensed from vision and dream during a life dedicated to the understanding of what it means to be a human being.

This is the first set of verses I wrote on a few walks in the countryside, mostly near Scrabo Hill and just west of Newtownards, Northern Ireland. It was an eye-opener for me to discover this wonderful 'inspiration from without', as I thought of it at the time; a fresh look at much that had lost its appeal from having become all too obvious. I brought these out separately from the Second Set of Outdoor Poems because of what I at least feel is the charm of their simplicity.

These poems are taken from the essay: Poetry and Technique, where they documented the development of that essay. I present them here on their own, inEa more orderly fashion. Best not to compare them to 'modern' poetry, as if they should thrill us with charm and magic. What I mean by 'contemporary' poetry is, to an extent, demonstrated by the above-mentioned essay and by the other three essays on that theme.

This essay is number IV of a set of four essays depicting facets of contemporary poetry, the other three being: I Poetry and Beauty, II Poetry and Poems and III Poetry and Truth. The purpose of these essay is not to help anyone achieve greater appreciation of poetry in general, modern or otherwise, but to encourage works specifically in contemporary poetry. The thought of the essay is therefore not analytical but itself creative, while the poems themselves are examples specifically within the essay's current context.

At the end of the modern world a great variety of adjustments are necessary and they take time. Contemporary life has to be learned, piecemeal, in the company of the 'long forgotten' and those who have already arrived.