January 26, 2004
"The Black Swan" by James Merrill
The Black Swan
By James Merrill
Published 1951 in “First Poems”
Black on flat water past the jonquil lawns
Riding, the black swan draws
A private chaos warbling in its wake,
Assuming, like a fourth dimension, splendor
That calls the child with white ideas of swans
Nearer to that green lake
Where every paradox means wonder.
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Continue reading ""The Black Swan" by James Merrill"Inauguration Post!
Hey everybody! After several unsuccessful attempts to install the "Serendipity" blog I realized that "Movable Type" was far better in countless ways, and installation took probably a half-hour or less. So let's break out the champagne, prosecco and hors d'oeurves and inaugurate this mother!
Since I really have no idea how this will really work, it will be a learning experience for all involved. Movable Type allows for multiple users, so theoretically everyone involved will have an account on this blog, and thus can post Poems, Essays, Comments and everything else on their own account.
What I'm not sure yet is how the discussion might be divided between actual posts and comments on posts. I guess in the end it's most intuitive to just post a poem and then have the discussion take place inside the comments. Initially I was wary of this approach because I wanted the discussion to be on the "front page," but really this makes the most sense on further reflection, mainly thanks to the hierarchical structure of the comment system.
So, I will give it the first shot with James Merrill's "The Black Swan" and post a starting comment on why I like it, what I think it has to offer as a poem, and how and why it works well. I'm pretty excited about this project, and thanks in advance to all who participate!!!