tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post5681602194363825376..comments2024-03-29T04:38:14.302-04:00Comments on SleuthSayers: Helen of Troy Leigh Lundinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-76595327346462887592022-05-13T10:34:45.754-04:002022-05-13T10:34:45.754-04:00Thanks for the poem, Brian! I wrote a poem from O...Thanks for the poem, Brian! I wrote a poem from Odysseus' point of view once, for a Greek poet I had as a character who uses it to seduce a woman:<br />’A gentleman beds all alike, <br />But for this queen, my queen, <br />I’ll build a bed of living wood <br />To cradle her as she cradles me <br />In living arms…’” <br />Eve Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03015761600962360110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-42604848011826742002022-05-12T00:28:04.408-04:002022-05-12T00:28:04.408-04:00Eve!
1. Sorry to respond so tardily to this. GREA...Eve!<br /><br />1. Sorry to respond so tardily to this. GREAT post!<br /><br />2. Congratulations on the sale!<br /><br />3. What a lovely poem! In solidarity with your take on the legendary Helen, I add one I wrote many years ago from the perspective of wily Odysseus's own Penelope.<br /><br />PENELOPE<br />Comes now the wide sky itself<br />To call away my love, off to become a name<br />On the lips of succeeding generations.<br />Oh ruler of both my body and my<br />Heart, suzerain to my soul, lover<br />Of my eternity; the foot to my sandal,<br />How many times shall Nyx visit<br />My bed in thine absence?<br />Forever and forever across the<br />Wine-dark sea shall I seek for the white<br />Of thy sail, for the eyes of thy sturdy<br />Vessel, bearing thee home, triumphant<br />To this, thy Ithaka, and thy Penelope.<br />Kingdom and heart were one and<br />The same in this: to thee we bow,<br />And while we abide and while we<br />Pray for thy safe returning, thine own<br />Heart will rest here side-by-side with<br />Mine, and I shall make a bier for it,<br />And it shall know the shelter of a<br />Constant soul set to guard it in<br />S’bower. For t’was ever thus, and<br />Ever thus shall be when travelers go<br />Down to the sea in ships, and the other<br />Halves of them wait upon their<br />Homecoming; from the first time in<br />Dugout canoe to the sleek contraptions<br />Of the instant age.<br />Brian ThorntonBrian Thorntonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14164348967846859987noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-6072500038449585072022-05-06T18:34:44.149-04:002022-05-06T18:34:44.149-04:00Oh, Rob - I'm going to get a hold of that one!...Oh, Rob - I'm going to get a hold of that one! Thanks.Eve Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03015761600962360110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-64986176649952076222022-05-06T17:00:27.693-04:002022-05-06T17:00:27.693-04:00Eve, by coincidence I just today got my second cop...Eve, by coincidence I just today got my second copy of The Buried Book by David Damrosch (I foolishly loaned out my first copy). It tells the story of the Epic of Gilgamesh in reverse chronological order, like an archaeological dig; starting with its translation, then its discovery, writing, back to what parts might be based on history. Nonfiction, if that isn't clear. Robert Loprestihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08844889305615182897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-83620013406532625772022-05-06T12:10:10.211-04:002022-05-06T12:10:10.211-04:00Rob, oral histories are full of stuff like that. T...Rob, oral histories are full of stuff like that. That's why both Gilgamesh and Genesis (and other ancient records) have flood stories. And why a version of Cinderella and her wicked sisters, and stories about a blind king, show up in almost every culture. It is spooky.Eve Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03015761600962360110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-53620533147202572312022-05-06T11:28:48.984-04:002022-05-06T11:28:48.984-04:00Very informative. Black Cat MYSTERY Magazine is a...Very informative. Black Cat MYSTERY Magazine is available in paper. Black Cat WEEKLY is not (and considering they republish old novels along with their stories, that's a good thing). I can't resist adding one cool thing about the Iliad. Homer (or the anonymous oral poets he was quoting was describing events that supposedly happened about 1200 BC, but the Iliad also describes an artifact, Ajax's shield, of a type that archaeologists have since found... AND IT IS FAR OLDER. So those poets knew about stuff much older than the Trojan War. Freaks me out.Robert Loprestihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08844889305615182897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-23540116782553338942022-05-06T09:36:11.106-04:002022-05-06T09:36:11.106-04:00Also, Leigh, while I agree that Clytemnestra's...Also, Leigh, while I agree that Clytemnestra's affair with Aegisthus was a definite factor, all the stories about it say that she was truly enraged when she found out that Agamemnon had sacrificed Iphigenia. Eve Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03015761600962360110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-35321763688479133652022-05-06T09:33:12.192-04:002022-05-06T09:33:12.192-04:00Black Cat doesn't offer a print edition for th...Black Cat doesn't offer a print edition for the Mystery Weekly. For the other one, I think they do, but I'm not sure. The future of publishing?Eve Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03015761600962360110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-18749281645423310112022-05-05T23:15:57.947-04:002022-05-05T23:15:57.947-04:00Oh! What am I thinking? Congratulations on your ta...Oh! What am I thinking? Congratulations on your tale in Black Cat.<br /><br />Eve, do you happen to know if Black Cat offers a print edition any more?Leigh Lundinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-21093467778951690552022-05-05T23:13:57.890-04:002022-05-05T23:13:57.890-04:00Intriguing, Eve. You put a twist on the history (a...Intriguing, Eve. You put a twist on the history (a twistory?) with brave Odysseus. Years ago, I saw the movie Troy as one of those 3am television movies. I wasn't impressed, but I admit their take of the death of Achilles was new to me.<br /><br />My time at university happened nearly as long ago at the Trojan War and details are fuzzy, but I'm not convinced the death of Iphigenia was the sole motivating source behind the murder of Agamemnon. I look to Clytemnestra's affair with the homicidal Aegisthus, the pair who also knocked off my fave, Cassandra. (snuff, sniffle) Just sayin'.<br />Leigh Lundinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-68658501103162071012022-05-05T13:32:37.536-04:002022-05-05T13:32:37.536-04:00Thanks, Allan!Thanks, Allan!Eve Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03015761600962360110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-76553570622603086682022-05-05T11:05:08.940-04:002022-05-05T11:05:08.940-04:00Great Job my Greek princess.Great Job my Greek princess.Allan Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06173649736440619151noreply@blogger.com