Re: CAS
Posted by:
Kyberean (IP Logged)
Date: 13 March, 2003 03:04PM
Hello, Dr. Farmer.
Thanks, as always, for your thought-provoking reply.
In my reference to The Star-Treader, I meant simply to supplement, not to contradict, your point about the theme of the "beloved" as a source of inspiration. I agree with you that the "beloved" may be a protean mistress, indeed. The more polemical points of my post were directed principally at the fatuous humanistic smugness of Harriet Monroe, whose review of The Star-Treader you've likely read on this Web site, if not elsewhere.
I agree as well that what we typically term sexual energy (and that which other religious traditions, not being limited by Freudian or other materialistic classification systems, call "chakras", among other nomenclature) is closely related to feelings of poetic elan. What the Harriet Monroes of the world cannot fathom is that it is possible, even desirable, to divert such energies into, for lack of a better (or at least a less dichotomous) term, spiritual pursuits. Such has been the mystic path for millennia; in a non-metaphysical context, it has even been endorsed by Nietzsche. I confess to finding great value in such a perspective, and if my "recognition" of it in the poetry of CAS colors my perspective of his work to the point of distortion, then so be it. I feel that, in the end, we all take from artists whatever suits our deepest needs and desires. When one is young, it is wise to have a very open mind, for--aside from the occasional precocious illuminatus, such as CAS--one knows very little. If, however, one is middle-aged or older, as we are, then I think that it is sign of maturity to commit to a perspective, or, following Nietzsche's terms, to embody fully the type of life that one represents, and to defend its interests, or "will to power". That, I hope, will explain a little better the attitude I take to the works of CAS and of those few others that have meant much to me over the years. Sometimes, as a corrective to the received "wisdom" of the day, it is necessary to appear to endorse extreme positions. Because anthropocentrism and humanism are enshrined today as sacred, unquestionable truths, I, who hold a strongly contrary view, have no hesitation whatsoever in using whatever weapons happen to be at hand, including the work of CAS, to combat them. Of course, the work of CAS means far more than merely that to me, but it is a powerful expression of an attitude that most today, like Ms. Monroe, find utterly incomprehensible. Of course, equally many might see this perspective as a mere teapot tempest, or a joust at windmills. To each his own Kulturkampf, I say--or none at all, if one's perspective is that poetry should remain forever confined to the pages of books. To me, it is an activity of mind, even a way of life. So yes, I do take it rather seriously, for better or for worse!
My apologies if this post has strayed too far from the topic of the thread (or even that of the forum), although I suppose that a thread headed "CAS" can encompass a variety of ruminations!