Monthly Roundup: Water Breathing, First Form
Wherein a barrage of content is recommend to you, pre-masticated
Usually our beloved
writes these monthly updates, but he’s been on an extended hiatus as many of our faithful readers will, I’m sure, have noticed. Reports tell me that he is, as they say, Touching Grass.In any case, I’ve decided to whip one up for this month, mostly because I am excited to announce that an essay long in the incubator has been published, as of last month, on the Symbolic World. Regarding the rest of the essays and poems here included, I ask forgiveness in advance. Would that I could read everything all of you very prolific people publish on here in the span of a month, but alas! were I to do that, I would neither write, nor read the antiquated vellum, nor even have the time to sleep. So there is a certain degree of arbitrariness in the selections, given that there is much worthy of commendation. And, of course, it’s the middle of the month, which hardly makes sense for a “Monthly Roundup.” I anticipate however, that I shall be occupied with some Touching of the Grass myself very soon, and thus have elected to go ahead and publish this, however little sense it makes.
Ontological Combat Mode
From the introduction:
“This essay attempts to articulate the symbolism of the story poetically and ekphrastically, as a dialogical rumination on the beauty of the tale and its characters. In its style and construction, it attempts to evoke and induce the spirit of the story, the vividness of its color, the flame and water of its profundity. The authors are three, and they have each chosen one of the elemental breathing styles in the show to base their language and approach upon (these appear, in the following, as headings). In this surprisingly deep and moving story, the authors believe to have found the living heart of the shonen anime genre, and more generally, a hint as to the cosmic origins of art itself. They have called this heart, Ontological Combat Mode.”
Co-written with Mr. Anthony Linderman, and the pseudonymous Perseus, the piece achieves the Height of Prose. Of course I jest, but be you tantalized by this excerpt from a section written by Mr. Linderman:
“The boy’s very frame, muscles and bones, should not be able to withstand such rigor. Previously, unleashing a sun-breathing technique, a solar geyser of the body, incapacitated him for days afterwards. But lo, how he circumscribes by thirteen cardinal points the myriad hateful limbs, limning them with water and fire until sunrise burns them away like a nightmare. How can a sixteen-year-old boy bind a thousand-year-old monster in a fairy ring of death the whole night long?”
If anyone is scandalized that a self-proclaimed poet should sticky his hands dealing with such profane materials, let that person return to this confessional piece written by yours truly last year:
The Providential Reader
I. The text pictured below I found in a bookstore in Northern California. I was a moderately literate fifteen year old, though I spent most of my time engaged in whatever all the other fifteen year olds were doing. Generally, it was not a high manner of living. Aside from martial arts and collegiate wrestling, my time was used in Whiterun and Rick and Mo…
Many thanks to
, the editor-in-chief of the SW, whose own publication I humbly considered the best thing that Substack has to offer.Stuff to Read Not By Me
Poems
has this to say: This is a perfect example of Eliot's claim that “Genuine poetry can communicate before it is understood”…the imagery in this poem washes over you like a wave, that compells a second, closer reading. Masterful work from .
Mr.
has this to say: You've really taken the tone and style in Coleridge's poem and made it your own! It's light and lyrical, with a modern sense of chivalry.
This poem, rightly acclaimed, by Mr. Downey-Higgins:
Prosody Wars
Mr.
, Ms. , and Mr. have all bewildered the complacent herd of Substack readers by their fiery erudition as regards the niceties of English prosodics, and perhaps the more so due to the alacrity with which the sallies have been sallied, and the subtle arguments composed. That said, if any of ye missed the Shot Heard Round the World, here be the register of battles thus far:
And Mr. Hoffmann, jumping in with an irenic tone:
And… that irenic tone dispelled. There are some zingers in this one.
Short Films You Ought To Watch
From the description: A short film honoring the 21 Coptic martyrs killed by ISIS in Libya in 2015. The film is animated in the style of Coptic iconography and was produced in collaboration with the global Coptic community and a team of more than 70 artists from more than 24 countries.
From the description: In 1964, renowned filmmaker Satyajit Ray was asked to create a short film for ‘ESSO World Theater’, a cultural showcase presented on television and funded by the American oil company Esso. Asked to write and direct the film in English, Ray opted instead to make a film without words. The result is a poignant fable of friendship and rivalry. As he did for many of his films, Ray composed the music for the film, including the haunting tune played on the flute.
Easily one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. I hide it at the bottom of this post as a prize.
Stuff to Keep an Eye On:
My good friend (and employer) Mr. Nicholas Botsolis has begun publishing Scriptural commentaries, and has backlogged a ton of podcasts doing the same thing, as well. Find his first written post, here:
