Katrishia Vega Rodriguez Vega Rodriguez itibaren Denniston, New Zealand
Enlightening, inspiring and moving! Dorothy Porter's essay on Passion starts with a profound poem she wrote at seventeen about losing her religion, meanders through literature that inspired and stirred her passion throughout her life and ends with the search for Duende and a soulful saeta. Nietzsche's 'Birth of Tragedy' introduced her to Euripide's Baccae and Dionysian delights whilst Bronte's deep rendering of passion in Wuthering Heights (my all time favorite novel) made her wonder about her inspiration. DH Lawrence's snake poem, Sappho's smatterings on eros, Rimbaud, Donne's erotic longings, Ginsberg's powerful poetry, Hopkins birds, Dostyevsky's Brothers Karamazov, Paglia's Vamps & Tramps, shocking Shakespeare, Lorca's Duende & CP Cavafy's 'The God Abandons Antony' all feature as influences and muses in this rich little dip into the heart and soul of the late great Dorothy Porter.
With budget deficits and the national debt in the news all the time, I thought I'd do a little reading to get caught up. The book starts at the beginning of the country and follow the national debt through the years, explaining its ups and downs and offering mini bios along the way. It helped put the debt into perspective for me. It also made me a little depressed. This book was published in 1997, and the author ends the book on an optimistic note, but many of the things he warns about are happening right now, this month, this week, and it's worrisome, to say the least. After reading this, I'm more concerned about the budget deficit than the national debt because the problems are more immediate. I wonder if we'll ever elect a politician gutsy enough to tackle these problems head on. I kind of don't think so. Nevertheless, it's a readable book, and I think I'll look into some of his other more recent books.