A bit of Poetry

====
Question

“How does a person write a poem?” –Student
“The words, phrases, lines…you must sew them.
Throw them, blow them, tow them.” –Poet

“But how do you write a poem?” –Student
“Iambic Pentameter.” –Poet
“Tell stories right to people who you know
Give advice to a new age of men
Describe all beauty that you see
And share Reality.” –Poet

“How do you start a poem?” –Student
“Listen from thy heart
Use knowledge to impart:
This is the journey unto art.” –Poet

“A poem
is
anything
you want
it
to be?” –Student
“No.” –Poet

====

Answer

“Language is no orphanage. Each marking suggests a legacy.
Each word, syllable, comma, has a family.
They are not comprehended randomly.

There are general rules to follow:
Spelling grammar, articulation,
But they are only where you start.” –Poet

“Language can be illusive, not inclusive.” –Poet

“It is a tale…full of sound and fury…signifying nothing.” –Shakespeare
“Love…..
expressed in actions
expressed in looks
expressed by waking up at 4a.m. to house-train a puppy.

Love may not always find
a meter of its kind.” –Poet.



Laura Ingalls Fan

Laura Ingalls Fan

Monday Morning

Gregorio Allegri's Miserere. Breathtaking, no?

Oddments

So maybe this should happen over Christmas break? I really liked the book when I read it in high school, and I'm really, really curious to see what Tom Stoppard (Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead) and Joe Wright (the 2005 Pride & Prejudice) do to it. Auntie Seraphic seems to approve.

And, on an utterly unconnected note, St. Hildegard of Bingen is going to be declared a Doctor of the Church on Sunday. Cool stuff.

Happy Feast of St. Thérèse!

“May today there be peace within.

May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.

May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.

May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.

May you be content knowing you are a child of God.

Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.

It is there for each and every one of us.” 

--St. Thérèse

Fashion Friday: Trompe L'Oeil Edition

Really neat Hermès dresses/shirt/coat from 1951.

Go Forth and Read

"Female virginity has become entangled with a sickly, sentimental construction of passive femininity; a kind of chivalric purity that smells of heavy imitation rose perfume and requires a china doll untainted by passion, experience, or thought."

Entire post here.

The Degeneracy of Modern Music

An eye-opening (and extremely depressing) video showcasing the way songs wooing women have changed over the years. There are not emoticons enough to describe how hopeless I feel about the fate of the human race right now. Where has the elegance, the grace, the not-using-obscenities gone?

"It's a Question of Discipline"

"'I wouldn't be caught dead on the street in workout gear,' she said. 'But in an attempt to blend into L.A. life, I purchased my first workout ensemble. On several occasions I have stayed in it and met a friend for lunch, but it certainly won't be a habit. I felt uncomfortable and even found myself apologizing to my husband for looking like a slob. To a degree I dress for my husband and make an effort to be put together, but more than anything it's for me.'"

From an article in the WSJ on always dressing to impress. File this under "reasons to have high standards and stick to them".

Some Inspiration

John Paul II strongly supported women. Here is his letter to women:

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_let_29061995_women_en.html

Some particular quotes:

Thank you, women who are daughters and women who are sisters! Into the heart of the family, and then of all society, you bring the richness of your sensitivity, your intuitiveness, your generosity and fidelity.

Nor can we fail, in the name of the respect due to the human person, to condemn the widespread hedonistic and commercial culture which encourages the systematic exploitation of sexuality and corrupts even very young girls into letting their bodies be used for profit.

Such respect must first and foremost be won through an effective and intelligent campaign for the promotion of women, concentrating on all areas of women's life and beginning with a universal recognition of the dignity of women. Our ability to recognize this dignity, in spite of historical conditioning, comes from the use of reason itself, which is able to understand the law of God written in the heart of every human being. More than anything else, the word of God enables us to grasp clearly the ultimate anthropological basis of the dignity of women, making it evident as a part of God's plan for humanity.

A Design, An Alignment, A Cry

Fashion Friday: Pinup Style Edition

(Yet another installment in our sporadically-updated series. Tune in for the next episode sometime in the fall!)

Speaking of the unrealistically skinny appearance of most models, I found this article about a trend in which girls take inspiration from pinups from the 40s and 50s, saying “to women who have grown up with the spray-tanned, skinny models as their beauty ideal, this look is new and refreshing, and even groundbreaking” and that it “'is a way of being feminine without looking like a little girl in pigtails and ruffles. Wearing stockings and high heels, there’s something fundamentally adult about that'...They draw on a pervasive nostalgia for 'more innocent days when sexuality wasn’t portrayed as so hard core and in your face.'”

It's certainly interesting, but at the same time I'm more than a little meh about embracing something that was originally about the objectification of women, even if it does involve a far more realistic approach to women's figures and a much more classy/glamorous way of dressing. You can dress in a chic and classy way without necessarily taking your inspiration from pinups. Thoughts?

College Teaches You More Than Math

(Now that finals have blissfully faded into the past-that-is-no-longer, I feel like I can finally post this)

One thing that college has taught me is that there are very few woman who are truly happy with the way they look. I am by no means thin, and I start seeing red a bit whenever somebody pats the fashion industry on the back for being "realistic" and including "curvy size eights" ::eyeroll:: When I was in high school, I looked askance at all of the thin girls I knew and thought bitterly that surely they must be happy -- they were thin for crying out loud!

Then I got to college, and listened to first my roommate, then the rest of the dorm moan about how fat and ugly they were. How could this be? This group of girls moaning about their weight included a beauty who ran a mile every day, my roommate who is curvaceous in the absolute best sense of that word and an assortment of sixes, eights and tens who were all perfectly healthy, curves and all. Maybe we weren't all in the best of shape, but we could hardly be labeled overweight, let alone obese. Seeing these girls (whom I regarded as pretty-near-perfectly-sized) just as unhappy with their figures as I was with mine astonished me.

Honestly, I don't have anything else very profound to say. We've all been sold a bill of goods* by the people behind the checkout glossies, and I can't imagine that attaining the nigh-on impossible ideal body that they present would make me (or anybody else) happy. As cheesy and trite and cliched and banal as it sounds, who you are on the inside really does matter more.

(No, duh, disclaimer: losing weight for reasons of health is a different kettle of fish from losing weight for the sake of societal pressures and conventions and fitting into the popular clothes)

---------------------------------
*You don't suppose the fact that fashion magazines are at least half advertisements has anything to do with this, hmm? Buy this face cream, that sweater, those boots, and be THIN! PRETTY! HAPPY! It's almost like they're businesses... ::le eyeroll::

The New Noblewoman

An intriguing look at a new online site, The New Noblewoman, which features posts on diverse topics ranging from Lars von Trier's Melancholia to the difference between high and low teas. It looks to be most inspirational and lovely.

Breath of Fresh Air

Brand new online magazine Dignitas looks like a nice rebuttal to the fashion magazines of the checkout lane. Go thou and check it out!

Prayer Before Study

Reblogging because FINALS.

Prayer of St. Thomas Aquinas before Study

 O ineffable Creator,

Who, out of the treasure of Thy wisdom,

hast ordained three hierarchies of Angels,

and placed them in wonderful order above the heavens,

and hast most wisely distributed the parts of the world;

Thou, Who are called the true fountain of light and wisdom,

and the highest beginning,

vouchsafe to pour upon the darkness of my understanding,

in which I was born,

the double beam of Thy brightness,

removing from me all darkness of sin and ignorance.

Thou, Who makest eloquent the tongue of the dumb, 

instruct my tongue, 

and pour on my lips the grace of Thy blessing.

Give me quickness of understanding, 

capacity of retaining,

subtlety of interpreting,

facility in learning, 

and copious grace of speaking.

Guide my going in, 

direct my going forward, 

accomplish my going forth; 

through Christ our Lord. 

Amen.

Shakespeare's Birthday!

Today, April 23, is the 447th birthday of Shakespeare. Here are some interesting facts:

1. There is no absolute evidence that today is Shakespeare's birthday, but is accepted as the correct date, based upon the day of his Baptism. This information came from my Shakespeare professor (aka a valid source).
2. Today is the Feast of St. George, patron of England.
3. Shakespeare is also thought to have died on April 23rd!
4. Isn't that fitting....
5. And, it is speculated that Shakespeare was Catholic.

Just thought you'd find this an epic coincidence!

"Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them."
"All the world is but a stage"
~William Shakespeare

undressing modest dress

An interesting article, with an interesting perspective.

I agree with the author's main point, which is: modesty comes from transcending concern about our appearance and our body. When we are truly modest, we don't worry about whether or skirt hits exactly at the knee (or at the ankle--whatever your personal modesty rules entail), nor do we concern ourselves that our shirts are too low or high or sleeves are too see-through or cut right. I believe that an undue concern with modesty rules is detrimental. What I believe many modest fashionistas have proved is that truly fashionable and stylish clothing is always modest. Focus on being a beautiful dresser, and you will be a modest dresser.

Also, modesty, as a fruit of the Holy Spirit, is automatically present when other virtues shine forth. Cultivate virtues such as love, courage, humility, purity, and prudence, and modesty will naturally follow.

Wingless Chickens

Flannery O'Connor about knocked my socks off with her letters. I'd read four or five of her short stories before coming to this book, and, while they were interesting enough, none of them really sparked my interest until we read "Everything that Rises Must Converge" for a seminar class last semester. The symbolism and wry humor intrigued me enough that I trotted down to the library and picked up, not her other works of fiction, but her collected letters. It was the greatest of fortune.

The book opens with letters written during her time in New England -- letters to her mother in Georgia, an exchange with Elizabeth McKee who became her agent. There wasn't anything particularly extraordinary or gripping in the first hundred pages or so. O'Connor's wry, biting humor, turned against herself as often as against others, definitely was there, and there was some talk of her writing and her thoughts on the literary figures and works of her day, but it wasn't until 1955 that the letters really began to pick up. Because, you see, in 1955 Betty Hester (known only as "A." in the collection; her identity was revealed after her death in 1998) wrote to Flannery, asking about her short story collection A Good Man is Hard to Find. Flannery's curiosity and interest were piqued from that very first letter. 

You were very kind to write to me and the measure of my appreciation must be to ask you to write again. I would like to know who this is who understands my stories. 

In the following letters, Flannery's delight with finding someone with whom she could engage in intellectual conversation as an equal is startlingly palpable. Letters to Hester form the bulk of the remaining collection, although not even all of these were included.

Reading her letters is to peep inside Flannery's head, and the portrait painted by the letters is extraordinarily life-like. Flannery's sense of humor, her impatience with sentimentalism, and her deep and tenacious faith all spring off the page with a fierce vivacity. After reading the nearly 600 pages of the book, I feel as though I know her, as arrogant and cliched as that may sound. Flannery wrote on a myriad of topics, informing friends of happenings on the farm (Flannery's mother kept cows and Flannery raised fowl of various kinds, including peacocks and swans), her reactions to books she'd read, tart commentary on goings-on in the world and not least of all, exasperation with the stubbornness of misinterpretation of her work. Her work is often (if not universally) labelled grotesque and "Southern Gothic" (whatever this may mean), and, not having read much of her writing, I feel disinclined to pass judgement on those labels. But, having read her own reflections on her work, I know that she saw herself as a sort of prophet (if I may use that term) to a world that had lost much of its sensibility of sin, its consciousness of the fallen state of man. She succinctly (and memorably) summarized this loss to Hester:

The moral sense has been bred out of certain sections of the population, like the wings have been bred off certain chickens to produce more white meat. This is a generation of wingless chickens, which I suppose is what Nietzsche meant when he said God was dead.

Her blunt forcefulness acted as a two-by-four to the head of a world that was losing, and in many ways had already lost, its ability to judge between good and evil. Flannery's writing is shocking in the way that smelling salts are shocking.

All is not a bitter crusade against evil and its minions, however, and Flannery is equally captivating when relating hilarious farm news or defending the Catholic faith to various correspondents. There are, of course others beside Hester, and I particularly enjoyed O'Connor's exchanges with Dr. T. R. Spivey, Cecil Dawkins and Maryat Lee. The last letter Flannery wrote, a short note to Lee, was found on her bedside table after her death and mailed by her mother. It refers to an anonymous phone call Lee had received, and counseled her to call the police, telling her that

cowards can be just as vicious as those who declare themselves -- more so. Don't take any romantic attitude toward that call. Be properly scared and go on doing what you have to do, but take the necessary precautions.

It seems a very O'Connoresque note to end on: don't take a romantic view of the situation, and do what you need to do without fuss or emotionalism. I get the feeling that this would have been her approach to death as well as nasty anonymous phone calls.


Obligatory bio-snippet: Flannery graduated from Georgia State College for Women (now Georgia College & State University) in 1945, then attended the Iowa Writers' Workshop. Flannery spent time in New England, both with friends and at the Yaddo artists' colony before being diagnosed with lupus in 1951. Other than excursions to give lectures and a pilgrimage to Lourdes (and stints in the hospital), O'Connor spent the rest of her life living with her mother Regina on their dairy farm, Andalusia, in Milledgeville, Georgia until her death on August 3, 1964 from lupus.

Dust unto Dust

The men of the East may spell the stars,
And times and triumphs mark,
But the men signed of the cross of Christ
Go gaily in the dark.

The men of the East may search the scrolls
For sure fates and fame,
But the men that drink the blood of God
Go singing to their shame.

-- G. K. Chesterton, The Ballad of the White Horse

Who Men Really Are

I am tired of hearing it drilled in to my gender that we will always struggle with lust, and that because we are visually stimulated we are doomed to always struggle with our eyes. Isn’t it much more likely (and more biblical) that any struggle with our eyes is first and foremost a struggle with the heart? Isn’t it possible to recognize a woman’s beauty at all levels and not wander into places in our heart that are out of bounds? 

This is NOT what is communicated, when we are sent the constant message that we are weak, lustful creatures, who need women to dress differently in order to protect us from our poor uncontrollable masculine responses. 

 Read the rest here.

Vulnerability on My Mind

Here is an article that I published on the Good Woman Project's website, discussing the role of vulnerability in love and relationships.

Love in a Modern World

First off, a refreshing defense of true love in a shallow, cynical culture by Fr. Longenecker.

Followed by a thought-provoking project, wherein Italian artist Anna Utopia Giordano photoshops classic nude paintings, nipping the waistline and, ahem, augmenting the bust. More than a little depressing, no? Honestly, it surprised me how wrong the thinner versions looked, practically emaciated. So much for the modern standards of beauty.

Why is There So Much Pink?

Wishing you and yours a very tongue-in-cheek feast of Saints Cyril and Methodius.

Go Fr. Dailey!

Cope and Paste for a great defense of the Church's views on Contraception and Abortion:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/46351581#46351581

Windows into Eternity

Because Christ Pantocrator is one of my favorite icon subjects ever.

Auntie Seraphic Does It Again

Have we mentioned yet how much we love Auntie Seraphic? No? Well, on a scale of line-dried sheets to Jane Austen, she's right below Jane Austen. By that much.

Nashville Dominicans' Novena

Current events are not our forte here, but this is something I think should be passed along. The Nashville Dominicans (Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia) will be praying a novena from February 11-19 for our country in the light of the recent HHS mandate.


We beg God for the preservation of our great and beautiful country, and of the freedom we have all enjoyed and been privileged to share with others.  The Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia invite you to join with us in a novena of prayer and fasting, asking Mary, Patroness of the United States of America, to implore God’s loving mercy on us at this critical time.  The novena will begin February 11 and end February 19, 2012.  The sisters will be praying the following prayer each of the nine days.

Act of Consecration of the United States to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
     Most Holy Trinity: Our Father in heaven, who chose Mary as the fairest of your daughters; Holy Spirit, who chose Mary as your spouse; God the Son, who chose Mary as your Mother; in union with Mary, we adore your majesty and acknowledge your supreme, eternal dominion and authority.
     Most Holy Trinity, we put the United States of America into the hands of Mary Immaculate in order that she may present the country to you.  Through her we wish to thank you for the great resources of this land and for the freedom, which has been its heritage. Through the intercession of Mary, have mercy on the Catholic Church in America.  Grant us peace.  Have mercy on our president and on all the officers of our government.  Grant us a fruitful economy born of justice and charity.  Have mercy on capital and industry and labor. Protect the family life of the nation. Guard the precious gift of many religious vocations. Through the intercession of our Mother, have mercy on the sick, the poor, the tempted, sinners – on all who are in need.
     Mary, Immaculate Virgin, our Mother, Patroness of our land, we praise you and honor you and give our country and ourselves to your sorrowful and Immaculate Heart.  O Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, pierced by the sword of sorrow prophesied by Simeon, save us from degeneration, disaster and war.  Protect us from all harm.  O Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, you who bore the sufferings of your Son in the depths of your heart, be our advocate.  Pray for us, that acting always according to your will and the will of your divine Son, we may live and die pleasing to God.  Amen.


On a related note: Cardinal-designate Dolan's WSJ Op-Ed piece.

vulnerability in the 21st Century.

This weekend, the Identity Project of Notre Dame is presenting their annual Edith Stein Project.

This year's project is entitled: Encountering Vulnerability: Courage, Hope and Trust in the 21st Century.

It should be a beautiful weekend, full of refreshing, renewing talks, fellowship, and insight into what role vulnerability plays in our lives as men and women. There are talks about adoption, eating disorders, marriage, relationships, St. André Bessette, contraception in the church's moral teaching, and last but not least: Jane Austen. (I'm really excited for that one.)

If you're in the Notre Dame area, check it out!

And whether or not you're in the area, please pray for the success of the conference, the safety of all those traveling to the conference, and for a spiritually and intellectually renewing and rejuvenating weekend for everyone.

A Round of "Awws"

Paul Newman's letter to his wife on their wedding day. Sweetest. Thing. Ever.

Funny But Sad

{H/T: Modestia}

The March for Life

Greetings good readers

A poem for you:

A large parade outside the capital walls

Held up by music and "hellos" 

Pushing through the winter fog

We march side by side and uphold signs: 

"End Abortion" 

"Stop the pain"

"No more murder"

and

"Life is precious"

"A person's a person no matter how small"

"Let LIVE, laugh, love."

Today is the March for Life! 

Tomorrow is a National Day of Prayer and Penance. Pray to end abortion!

Fashion Friday: Tights

And now for something completely frivolous. Although I've returned to the (comparatively) warm and balmy weather of SoCal, I miss the winter and would gladly head back to Minnesota, especially if it gave me the chance to wear patterned tights. It's a trend that I've always wanted to try, but never had the chance to. As long as you have to wear an extra layer on your legs, why not make it interesting?

{Gray Peacock Tights}

{Colorblock Tights}

{V Who You Are Tights}

{Wine Tights}

Eleanor R.

Because you can't ever have too many strong female role models. Roosevelt's biography just joined the hundreds of other books on my TBR list.

Unnatural Selection

I could try and review Mara Hvistendahl's Unnatural Selection. Or I could just link to the WSJ review which says everything I want to say about it, but much more eloquently and succinctly. Because I'm lazy like that, and also trying to pull together an application for an honors program that's due in a week and a half. Hvistendahl is thought-provoking, although I was distracted from the thoughts she provokes by her left-wing/feminist bias, like trying to enjoy Bach with a mosquito buzzing in my ear. She realizes that there is this tragedy taking place, this "gendericide" of pre-born girls, but fails to connect the dots from the oh-so-sacred woman's right to choose (choose death, that is) and women choosing to abort female fetuses. If a woman can choose to abort because of Down syndrome, mental health or family size, why not gender?

Our Lady of Guadalupe

I stumbled upon something interesting in the Adoration Chapel today. (Not the worst place to find something interesting, by the way). It was the translation of the names of Christopher Columbus' ships: Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria. If you put them in a certain order it could read "Mary paints the young woman." The book I was reading was trying to argue that this could be a foreshadowing of the Blessed Virgin painting her image on the cloak of Juan Diego. Cool, verdad?

One other thing fact the book mentioned was that Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared in the same area as the previous goddess of wheat (who provided wheat to the Native Americans). Jesus is our wheat, the Bread of Life!