Re: BANANAFISH digest 107

Elizabeth J Respess (ejrespess@juno.com)
Tue, 23 Sep 1997 15:41:47 -0400 (EDT) 

>no, i'm afraid i haven't.  i don't know what you're referring to, 
>whether it be that he corresponds in capitol letters or some other
>context.  i'll be sure to check it out, though.  my reference was to
>his poetry, which is written mostly (if not entirely) in lowercase
>letters.

to jessica

there is a collection of cummings letters from age 4 through his death. 
it is an excellent opportunity to see in to his personal life, and be
assured that he has just as cool in person as in his writing.  one of the
interesting things about the collection was that it gave me a lot of
context for his poetry - more so than an any biography has done.  i was
able to begin to recognize who some of his poems were written for by the
similarity to the letters - for example, it occurred to me after reading
his letters to his little sister, elizabeth, that "dive for dreams" was
probably written for her.  this is, of course, just a guess on my part. 
anyway, it's a fascinating collection.
                                              ******
still to jessica

>i believe that we should all have faith in what we OURSELVES
>believe in, and that there is nothing wrong with having beliefs 
>differing from those of others.  the beauty of life is that we have >the
chance to become individuals, to develop our own personalities >and
beliefs and the right to defend them.  

i agree completely - that's what i was talking about.  what i was 
responding to when i thought you were making a generalization was the
statement "i don't necessarily believe there is ever a point, in anyone's
life, at which they are willing to go quietly".  i guess the point of
confusion is the "quietly" bit, maybe.  i certainly believe that you or
anyone else has the right to freely believe their own ideas, and i'm
sorry if it seemed i was attacking yours.  i wasn't.  i was merely trying
to bring up that some people's idea of death, such as reincarnation or
the baha'i belief that this only is only one of many different worlds
that we continue to learn or progress through, ideally would accept death
as merely a transition.  just as someone can peacefully move from today
to tomorrow, they could also readily accept the movement from this
experience to another one.  i hope this clears up any miscommunication. 
i also think many people experience a "dying of the light" long before
they ever die by living a life of apathy, of being on autopilot and
accepting the status quo without ever wanting to "rock the boat".  i wish
all people did live their lives in touch with that rage for life which
should be inside of all us.

>there is no way that i will sit back and submissively wait for my time
>on earth to be over.

good for you.  i'm glad you're still alive - in every sense of the word.
                                            *******
to malcolm and anyone else who cares

>provides much more historical context for things such as the point >in
time when God was both a Father AND a Mother. 

is anyone familiar with joseph campbell's (sp?) series "the power of
myth", specifically the one about female images of a divine being and the
influence on societies which believed in them?  it's fascinating.
                                            *******
to tim

>At other times -- if we were on a long road trip, for instance -- he 
>used to toss me a copy of Thoreau and ask me to pick something out >at
random and read it to him.  (We were both fiends for Thoreau.)
>OK, well, this isn't exactly "On the Road" material, but some of us 
>have had quieter lives.  8-)

thoreau is quite the man - i'd definitely consider him road trip
material.  as long you're not the car sick type.

bye everybody  8)