Tuesday, June 23, 2009

fallen,nest, precision

Posted by Picasa On the path to the front door this petal seemed worth snapping.

Pigeons are nesting in the wisteria above the front door. In the past blackbirds have occupied the position and on one memorable occasion fledged during the mens' final of Wimbledon. We came to realize there were visitors only yesterday when we noticed twigs and feathers on the front doorstep, carelessly dropped in the process of building.

Another quote from Calvino's Six Memos for the Next Millennium: "I am convinced that writing prose should not be any different from writing poetry. In both cases it is a question of looking for the unique expression, one that is concise, concentrated and memorable". This may be begging some questions, but it refocuses the question about the difference between poetry and prose.

3 comments:

Lucy said...

Pigeons are terrible for beginning things and not finishing. We've had a pair that have started nesting time and again in the hedge by the house, at all kinds of odd times of year. I've never known them to complete the job!

Calvi looks more and more interesting.

Roderick Robinson said...

I've never read Calvi but perhaps I now will. The prose vs. poetry thing has lifted a great load from my shoulders and confirmed a feeling I've been dimly aware of these last two or three months. Thanks.

Unknown said...

I find Calvino's writing hard to understand sometimes. I keep re-reading a sentence and not fully understanding it, yet feel that its very complexity or elusiveness is part of its charm or its truth or both. So far I've only read one of his books other than the Six Memos, so I am not in a position to pronounce on him..

I'm not sure how much I like wood pigeons. Apart from eating my pea shoots and every variety of cabbage or sprout or kale that I plant, they seem to be the sort of birds which, if they were people, would elbow their way to the head of a queue. Their wings squeak when they fly as though they need lubricating. Their cooing noise,delivered a bit like morse code, however, makes up for a lot.