dead poet list
Ironywaves
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> "rupert" <tas...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:ab9bf388.03111...@posting.google.com...
> > tas...@hotmail.com (rupert) wrote in message
> news:<ab9bf388.03111...@posting.google.com>...
> > > "Ironywaves" <irony...@knology.net> wrote in message
> news:<vrfaafm...@corp.supernews.com>...
> > > > "The poet makes himself a visionary through a long, a prodigious and
> > > > rational disordering of all the senses. Every form of love, of
> > > > suffering, of madness; he searches himself, he consumes all the
> > > > poisons in him, keeping only their quintessences . . ." --Arthur
> Rimbaud
> > > >
> > > > Inspiration for the following list of dead literary figures came
from
> > > > Charles Bukowski’s poem "Beasts bounding through time,"
> > > > specifically the lines "Sylvia [Plath] with her head in the oven
like
> > > > a baked potato . . . Shakespeare a plagiarist . . . the
impossibility
> > > > of being human." Some may call it morbid, some may call it truth -
> > > > either way I don’t give a damn.
> > > >
> > > >  Euripides [480-406 B.C.] Greek Playwright - Mauled by a
pack
> > > > of wild dogs owned by Archelaus, the King of Macedonia.
> > > >
> > > >  Dante Alighieri [1256-1321] Italian Poet - Fell ill and
died
> > > > about an hour after completing The Divine Comedy.
> > > >
> > > >  Francis Villon [1431-1464?] French Poet - May have been
> > > > attacked by a mob of bandits or hanged by authorities after a brief
> > > > prison stay for murdering a priest. Take your pick. Left France at
the
> > > > age of 32 and was never heard from again. "Where are the snows of
> > > > yesteryear?"
> > > >
> > > >  Christopher Marlowe [1564-1593] English Playwright -
Stabbed
> > > > with a dagger during a bar fight at the inn of the Widow Bull in
> > > > Deptford. Was it an argument over the bill?
> > > >
> > > >  Richard Lovelace [1618-1658] English Poet - Believed to
have
> > > > died of consumption "in a very mean lodging" in Gunpowder Alley,
Shoe
> > > > Lane. "I could not love thee, dear, so much/Loved I not honour
more."
> > > >
> > > >  Thomas Chatterton [1752-1770] English Poet - Killed self by
> > > > drinking arsenic at the age of 17. Apparently in despair over lack
of
> > > > recognition. Gained popularity after death. [Editor’s Note:
> > > > Chatterton’s father was well known around town for a rather
> > > > dubious talent - he could put his entire fist in his mouth.]
> > > >
> > > >  Lord Byron [1788-1824] English Poet - Killed by doctors
> > > > during a "blood letting" attempt to cure malarial fever. Last words:
> > > > "I must sleep now."
> > > >
> > > >  Percy Bysshe Shelley [1792-1822] English Poet - Drowned
while
> > > > sailing near Spezia, Italy, and was cremated on the beach.
> > > > [Editor’s Note: Shelley’s heart wouldn’t burn and
> > > > was given to his wife, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley as a souvenir.]
> > > >
> > > >  Honore De Balzac [1799-1850] French Author - Believed to
have
> > > > choked on too much coffee.
> > > >
> > > >  Edgar Allan Poe [1809-1849] American Author - Died of
"acute
> > > > congestion of the brain" several days after he was discovered lying
> > > > unconscious in a Baltimore street, wearing someone else’s
> > > > tattered clothes.
> > > >
> > > >  Leo Tolstoy [1828-1910] Russian Author - Gave away entire
> > > > fortune, froze to death in a railroad station on a cold winter
night.
> > > >
> > > >  Ambrose Bierce [1842-1914?] American Author - Disappeared
in
> > > > Mexico while reporting on the Pancho Villa’s rebellion. May
have
> > > > been murdered by bandits.
> > > >
> > > >  Arthur Rimbaud [1854-1891] French Poet - A probable victim
of
> > > > syphilis, had right leg amputated, became paralyzed and gradually
> > > > slipped into permanent coma.
> > > >
> > > >  Lionel Johnson [1867-1902] British Poet - Fell off a
barstool
> > > > during a bout of heavy drinking, according to legend.
> > > >
> > > >  Alfred Jarry [1873-1907] French Dramatist - Paralyzed in
both
> > > > legs at the age of 34. Last request was for a toothpick.
> > > >
> > > >  Sherwood Anderson [1876-1941] American Author -
Complications
> > > > of peritonitis in Colon, Panama, after ingesting a toothpick along
> > > > with a hors d’oeuvre at a cocktail party.
> > > >
> > > >  Jack London [1876-1916] American Author - A "raging
> > > > alcoholic," died of uremia brought on by a morphine overdose at the
> > > > age of 40.
> > > >
> > > >  Vachel Lindsay [1879-1931] American Poet - Killed self by
> > > > drinking disinfectant.
> > > >
> > > >  Virginia Woolf [1882-1941] British Author & Critic - Filled
> > > > pockets with stones and drowned self in the river Ouse.
> > > >
> > > >  Franz Kafka [1883-1924] - Died of tuberculosis and was
buried
> > > > in Prag-Straschintz. Had requested that all of his work be destroyed
> > > > after his death.
> > > >
> > > >  Ezra Pound [1885-1972] - Arrested for treason after World
War
> > > > II for broadcasting Fascist propaganda, declared mentally ill and
> > > > committed to St. Elizabeth Hospital in Washington D.C. Released in
> > > > 1958 and died a semi-recluse in Italy. [Editor’s Note: Born in
> > > > Hailey, Idaho, Pound’s middle name was Loomis.]
> > > >
> > > >  Maxwell Bodenheim [1893-1954] American Author - Shot with a
> > > > .22 rifle by an insane dishwasher.
> > > >
> > > >  Sergei Esenin [1895-1925] Russian Poet - Cut wrists, wrote
a
> > > > final poem in own blood (called "Do svidania drug moi" or "Goodbye
my
> > > > friend") and hanged self in a hotel room in Leningrad.
> > > >
> > > >  F. Scott Fitzgerald [1896-1940] American Author - Legendary
> > > > boozer suffered a heart attack while working as a screenwriter in
> > > > Hollywood for a couple of hundred bucks a week. According to John
> > > > O’Hara, Fitz died "a prematurely old little man haunting
> > > > bookshops unrecognized." [Editor’s Note: Zelda died in a fire
at
> > > > an Asheville, North Carolina, mental hospital in 1948.]
> > > >
> > > >  William Faulkner [1897-1962] American Author - Suffered a
> > > > heart attack after falling off a horse.
> > > >
> > > >  Hart Crane [1899-1932] American Poet - While en route to
New
> > > > York aboard the S.S. Orizaba, leapt into the Caribbean Sea;
reputedly
> > > > said "Good-bye everybody."
> > > >
> > > >  Ernest Hemingway [1899-1961] American Author - Blew brains
> > > > out with a hunting rifle in Ketchum, Idaho.
> > > >
> > > >  Thomas Wolfe [1900-1938] American Author - Suffered a
> > > > cerebral infection, leaving an eight-foot-high manuscript for his
> > > > editors to sort through. Buried in Riverside Cemetery, Asheville,
> > > > North Carolina. ". . . the last voyage, the longest, the best."
> > > >
> > > >  Nathanael West [1903-1940] American Author - Car accident
> > > > killed West and his wife after he ignored a stop sign. His buddy, F.
> > > > Scott Fitzgerald, died the same weekend.
> > > >
> > > >  Robert E. Howard [1906-1936] Sword & Sorcery Writer - Spent
> > > > all-night vigil at bedside of comatose mother and died of
> > > > self-inflicted gunshot in the morning; mother died that same night.
> > > >
> > > >  Malcolm Lowry [1909-1957] British Author - A "sleeping-pill
> > > > suicide," fell dead with a plate in hand while starting in on a
> > > > midnight snack, according to writer Donald Newlove. ". . . and how
> > > > alike are the groans of love, to those of dying."
> > > >
> > > >  Tennessee Williams [1911-1983] American Playwright - Choked
> > > > on a bottle cap while trying to get hands on some barbiturates.
> > > >
> > > >  Albert Camus [1913-1960] French Author - Single-car
> > > > automobile crash while returning to Paris from the South of France.
> > > >
> > > >  John Berryman [1914-1972] American Poet - Jumped from a
> > > > bridge over the Mississippi River; reputedly waved at passersby on
way
> > > > down.
> > > >
> > > >  Dylan Thomas [1914-1953] Welsh Poet - Alcohol poisoning
> > > > during a lecture tour of the United States. "I’ve had 18
> > > > straight whiskies . . . I think that’s the record."
> > > >
> > > >  Roland Barthes [1915-1980] French Critic & Philosopher -
Run
> > > > over by laundry truck outside the College de France. "Literature is
> > > > the question minus the answer."
> > > >
> > > >  Jack Kerouac [1922-1969] American Author - Abdominal
> > > > haemorrhage at mother’s home in St. Petersburg, Florida, while
> > > > watching "The Galloping Gourmet."
> > > >
> > > >  Flannery O’Connor [1924-1964] American Author -
Became
> > > > gradually immobilised by lupus and died at the age of 40.
> > > >
> > > >  Yukio Mishima [1925-1970] Japanese Author - Committed
seppuku
> > > > (hara-kiri) and was beheaded during failed attempt to overtake a
> > > > Japanese garrison.
> > > >
> > > >  Anne Sexton [1928-1974] American Poet - Committed suicide
by
> > > > carbon monoxide poisoning in the garage of her home.
> > > >
> > > >  Sylvia Plath [1932-1963] American Poet - Stuck head in a
> > > > kitchen oven.
> > > >
> > > >  Jerzy Kosinski [1933-1991] Polish-Born American Author -
> > > > Think he committed suicide by placing a plastic bag over his head in
> > > > the bathtub. [Can anyone else confirm this?]
> > > >
> > > >  Richard Brautigan [1935-1984] American Author -
> > > > Self-inflicted gunshot wound; body wasn’t discovered for
several
> > > > weeks.
> > > >
> > > >  Seth Morgan [1949-1990] American Author - Rode motorcycle
off
> > > > the Golden Gate Bridge and into the San Francisco Bay.
> > > >
> > > >  John O’Brien [1961?-1997?] American Author -
Committed
> > > > suicide just two weeks after selling the movie rights to
> > > > "autobiographical novel" Leaving Las Vegas. Book served as suicide
> > > > note. [Editor’s Note: Couldn’t find the actual dates of
> > > > his birth and death. Anyone out there know?]
> > > >
> > > > ". . . [The poet] arrives at the unknown: and even if, half crazed,
in
> > > > the end, he loses the understanding of his visions, he has seen
them!
> > > > Let him be destroyed in his leap by those unnameable, unutterable
and
> > > > innumerable things: there will come other horrible workers: they
will
> > > > begin at the horizons where he has succumbed." --Arthur Rimbaud
> > > >
> > > > Roundtable
> > >
> > > How about adding yourself to the list?
> >
> > Actually, that's a bit harsh. I take it back.
> >
> > Just losing the use of your fingers will do fine.
>
> Here's wishing him a nice little stroke. *clink*
>
> Z~
Lady luck, she smiles on me! I'm having an extended stroke of luck..!
Will
Left Handed Summer.
Left handed Summer,
Alias Uncle Hugo,
I step out into this night.
Those parasites know of the light that failed,
imploded in the center of op bop,
in this shadow made by blooming springtime.
In this shadow, next to this last temptation,
I walked into your door,
will I never see her no more?
I see two little red boxcars, I think of her,
I hurt inside, a hallow ache.
Games people play, one game on the house, dark angel in green.
Every little trick she plays, scarecrow straw Janie,
there are three names now for Lady Katherine, I saw the way...
remember the living lotus in her paste up hell,
I am the clown on the hill,
she still plys her trade in the sportin' house grocery.
I read the bio of her husband, the ogre,
his world, his fame, his flame.
And I think of: star money, secret star, sweet Jane, superstar.
Star mam, some glad morning you are my sattelite soul mate.
On Vinegar Hill, mariage a la mode, a case of need,
the bottom line, in deep Summer, endless horisons.
We hunt the spirit mammoth somewhere below the salt.
This is the story of a secret state, in this left handed Summer,
in this valley of vines, sweet Lasher went swimming,
in the dark river with a bad man, in the big heat,
tigers in the smoke, she rides the red dragon.
Too many cousins dancing naked in La Grange,
she's one of 7 born again virgins, she steps out, she is lost to me,
that strange woman, she's into sould bonding, soul bondage,
where is my red curled poltergeist, she's clocked,
boom boom in my ear.
Some Japanese thing, Lone Wolf, I snarl at the moon.
Moonchild experiment, watercolor in the rain ---
you poor little kidnapped angel... my poor little clap trap angel.
My soul like riptide water,
this abundance of witches, you living lotus bitches.
Uncle Hugo is in Edan, the old folks home of joy and poems,
deling with this ever present danger,
to the magic store on some blinded date.
Into her labyrinth and back out again,
sweet soul pilgrim, I know, my love, I can hear her battle cry.
She returns to life, cries for the angels, a word shogun,
my daddy went blind at 40
but my will is good on this glorious morning.
Bless your fuzzy little heart, baby, go sow your seed of mischief.
The doomsday ladies hide and go seek,
as they work their science,
I asked my love, Dark Queenie,
will you talk in this left handed Summer?
Hard facts, a woman run mad, in the caves, on the hill,
under the sheets experimenting with the moon.
I keep the search light burning.
Face to face with the misty tiger in the smoke,
she rides the red dragon,
orphan daughter of the philosospher, for common good,
a fiend in need, she is a perfect whirlwind.
Inhuman condition, I am alone for days, I am nothing to her now,
the ongoing silence is driving me mad.
Her mirror mirror on the wall, my fingers in her sof places,
her modern methematics, her pager number,
I light the candle for her and this big old world of people.
Silver leopard led astray from a magnificent destiny,
I am the foolish virgin with my magnificent obsession,
law of the lion, I'll find her.
Bright feather, hot leather, magicians of night and sittin' ducks,
loaded dice, she is there in that secret shadow valley,
sweet adultry under the moon.
The Dark Queen's gift, a riddle.
Please speak to me before the sun goes down,
the children of the rainbow do the dark dance.
-Will Dockery, 1998 (c)2003
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