Sweet Theft
A Poet's Commonplace Book
J. D. McClatchy
- Centuries
- ago,
- when
- books
- were
- rare,
- those
- who
- owned
- them
- would
- lend
- them
- to
- friends,
- who
- in
- turn
- would
- copy
- out
- passages
- they
- especially
- liked
- before
- returning
- the
- precious
- book
- to
- its
- owner.
- These
- anthologies
- came
- to
- be
- known
- as
- Commonplace
- Books,
- and
- modern
- writers
- as
- different
- as
- W.
- H.
- Auden
- and
- Alec
- Guinness
- have
- kept
- them
- as
- well,
- recording
- phrases
- or
- passages
- that
- struck
- them
- as
- wise
- or
- witty
- or
- quirky.
- The
- result
- is
- as
- much
- the
- self–portrait
- of
- a
- sensibility
- as
- it
- is
- a
- collection
- of
- miscellaneous
- delights.
- Renowned
- poet
- J.
- D.
- McClatchy
- has
- been
- keeping
- such
- a
- book
- for
- three
- decades
- now.
- This
- selection
- from
- it
- offers
- a
- unique
- look
- into
- what
- strange
- facts,
- what
- turns
- of
- mind
- or
- phrase,
- what
- glorious
- feats
- of
- language
- and
- nature
- can
- attract
- the
- attention
- of
- a
- poet.The
- great
- and
- the
- obscure
- are
- gathered
- around
- the
- same
- table,
- exchanging
- remarkable
- opinions.
- Henry
- James
- is
- speaking
- of
- Venice:
- "The
- deposed,
- the
- defeated,
- the
- disenchanted,
- the
- wounded,
- or
- even
- only
- the
- bored,
- have
- seemed
- to
- find
- there
- something
- that
- no
- other
- place
- could
- give."
- At
- the
- other
- end
- of
- the
- table,
- Groucho
- Marx
- is
- playing
- drama
- critic:
- "I
- didn't
- like
- the
- play,
- but
- then
- I
- saw
- it
- under
- adverse
- circumstances—the
- curtain
- was
- up."
- Nietzsche
- and
- Flaubert,
- Dizzy
- Gillespie
- and
- Marianne
- Moore—dozens
- of
- unexpected
- and
- timeless
- aphorisms
- and
- anecdotes
- that
- pierce
- and
- provoke.
- Many
- of
- McClatchy's
- own
- observations
- about
- the
- art
- and
- prowess
- of
- writing
- are
- included
- as
- well.This
- is
- a
- book
- meant
- to
- be
- sipped,
- not
- gulped;
- meant
- to
- be
- read
- at
- leisure
- and
- pondered
- on
- at length.
pro-mbooks3 : libris
