August 03, 2007

As noted modestly by Capt. Renault and pointed to by Beeswacky in this thread (nearly three years old and still going strong), the U.S. has a new Poet Laureate: Charles Simic.

Simic has been mentioned (or quoted) in various MoFi threads but I thought his appointment deserved a FPP. The one on MeFi was not without some kurfuffling (big surprise there). Congrats to Charles Simic. The laureate gig doesn't pay much, but you are on a roll with the addition of a $100,000 prize.

  • not without some kurfuffling If you didn't see the six-legged dog, It doesn't matter. We did, and he mostly lay in the corner. As for the extra legs, One got used to them quickly And thought of other things. Like, what a cold, dark night To be out at the fair. Then the keeper threw a stick And the dog went after it On four legs, the other two flapping behind, Which made one girl shriek with laughter. She was drunk and so was the man Who kept kissing her neck. The dog got the stick and looked back at us. And that was the whole kurfuffle.
  • Yeah, my home state is kicking ass with rolling out Poet Laureates. =)
  • The Message of King Sakis and the Legend of the Twelve Dreams He Had in One Night 1. I saw a gold pillar from earth to heaven. 2. I saw a dark towel hanging from heaven to earth. 3. I saw three boiling kettles: one of oil, one of butter, and one of water, and oil boiled over into butter, and butter into water but the water boiled all by itself. 4. I saw an old mare with her colt, and a black eagle pulling grass by its roots and laying it down before the mare while the colt neighed. 5. I saw a bitch lying on a dunghill while the puppies barked from her womb. 6. I saw many monks soaked in pitch wailing because they can't get out. 7. I saw a beautiful horse grazing with two heads one in front, one in the back. 8. I saw precious stones, pearls, and royal wreaths scattered over the whole kingdom, but fire came down from heaven and scorched everything into ashes. 9. I saw the rich giving workers either gold or silver or rice, but when they asked for their own reward, no one was left. 10. I saw evil-faced rocks descending from the sky and walking all over the earth. 11. I saw three maidens in a mowed field bearing wreaths of sunlight on their heads and sweet-smelling flowers in their hands. 12. I saw men with slits for eyes, cruel fingernails, and hair that rose up, and these were the devil's servants. Anonymous, trans. Charles Simic