It's a Classical Life

Wendell Berry is a well-known and much loved American writer and environmental activist. If you are thinking of learning more about agrarian living, moving away from technology towards a more simple lifestyle or just like poems like this one, then Berry's writing is a wonderful place to start.  Normally I don't use a whole poem like this one as Bitesize Inspiration but I will keep my comments brief. To me, the peace and hope that this poem radiates is palpable. Berry doesn't dismiss the harshness or despair that the world can hold - in fact, he embraces it as a given and finds a simple antidote that can be recreated by anyone who feels the same.  As I mentioned in Friday's post about the garden, there is something soul-nourishing about being with wild things, even in the more domesticated setting of a suburban garden. As someone who worries more than is necessary being able to put some space between the world and my thoughts is always a blessing. For me, being outdoors ...

Welcome back to It's a Classical Life!   If you are new here, welcome! I hope that you will take the time to explore the diverse array of articles published here on how to live well, inspired by the classics. Reading classic literature, studying the arts, appreciating classical music, and sharing these things with all of you, are my passions. If you have come here before, you might be aware of my love of all things Italian. As part of my teaching degree I studied Italian language, literature and history and in 2004 I spent some time living and studying in the northern regions of the Veneto. It is such a rich culture, full of so many points of interest and inspiration.  This week I'm looking at Italian Nobel Prize winning poet, Eugenio Montale - one of the most important Italian poets of the twentieth century - and his moving poem,  The Lemon Trees. I've mentioned before that the best way to read poetry is aloud. I tried to find a recorded rendition of ...

    "Here's harmony!" said she, "Here's repose! Here's what may leave all painting and music behind, and what poetry only can attempt to describe. Here's what may tranquilize every care, and lift the heart to rapture! When I look out on such a night as this, I feel as if there could be neither wickedness nor sorrow in the world; and there certainly would be less of both if the sublimity of Nature were more attended to, and people were carried more out of themselves by contemplating such a scene."                                                                                                                        Mansfield Park ...

 The more classic books that I read, the more I am convinced that we should be looking to them for guidance and direction on how to proceed if we are keen to embark on a simple living journey. I have spoken of this before , but feel that I have more to add on the subject - this time using Mary Shelley's classic text Frankenstein as inspiration.  Without giving away too much of the plot, Victor Frankenstein is consumed with the idea of creating life. Through his studies at the university of Ingolstadt he is able to do this, but as soon as he does he is wracked with grief and regret. Much of the first volume of the novel is based around his process and subsequent emotional torment. In dealing with this, what does Frankenstein do? Does he flee to the city to be around people, shops, things, stuff? Does he seek the company of like-minded scientists or rush back to his family to promote or brag about his accomplishments? No to both of these.  Initially, Frankenstein sought so...