tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4821243838031243709.post1678012509707302947..comments2023-11-05T04:15:44.564-08:00Comments on Robert Frost's Banjo: “Portrait”Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15687192784861682991noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4821243838031243709.post-54355105662900868922011-06-12T21:52:52.707-07:002011-06-12T21:52:52.707-07:00Hi Banjo52: Cendrars was extremely interested in a...Hi Banjo52: Cendrars was extremely interested in artistic process (hence all the "paints with" in the poem), & while I think a knowledge of Chagall's work probably deepens one's appreciation of the poem (in addition to the fact that IMO Chagll's work is masterful & inspiring!), I think one gets a sense of how Cendrars is addressing issues of artistic process even without knowing the work. <br /><br />Thanks for stopping by & for such a well-thought-out comment!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15687192784861682991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4821243838031243709.post-76688842295542075682011-06-12T14:07:59.768-07:002011-06-12T14:07:59.768-07:00I can’t do the French, so I’m trusting your versio...I can’t do the French, so I’m trusting your version. It that, I especially like all those things “he paints with”—a cow, church, etc. And of course painting with his thighs and having an eye in his ass. Painting “with” is an intriguing concept in the poem. <br /><br />I also especially like “the filthy passions of a small Jewish village/With all the exacerbated sexuality of the Russian countryside.” I never claimed to know much about Jewish villages in Russia, but . . . I guess I’ve missed a lot! And finally, I like “he throttles himself with his tie.” <br /><br />Do you think I need to know a lot about Chagall to “get” the poem? I’m not so sure. Maybe it’s enough to hear the poet’s vision of Chagall as one KIND of artistic mind, perception, execution--Chagall's way of being WITH the world he paints?Banjo52https://www.blogger.com/profile/04342397136888422440noreply@blogger.com