June and Juno

The things you learn thanks to the Facebook page of the British Museum. They shared this picture recently, a 15th century enamelled mirror. It represents the Goddess Juno and Queen Dido, in a scene from the Aeneid. June is named after Juno, as you probably know. I knew it, but it is nice to be reminded of it and of an epic poem which I have read, but don't remember much. In any case, if you did not know the connection, now you do.

"On the 15th everybody got drunk."

"On August 5th Hiroshima was blasted, with over seventy-eight thousand dead.(...) On August 8th Russia declared war against Japan and, the following day, was perhaps present in spirit at Nagasaki when seventy-five thousand were blasted. On the 14th Japan surrendered unconditionally. On the 15th everybody got drunk."

A Vision of Battlements, Anthony Burgess

 To celebrate and commemorate Victory over Japan Day, the very end of World War II, I thought of this quote from the very first novel of my favourite writer. The novel is in fact a rewritten Aeneid, set in Gibraltar during the war. It is also a very fictionalised account of Burgess' own wartime experiences. I could have pondered a lot about the anniversary, but I don't think one can beat this brief yet very lively account. In essence, this is what it meant for the conscripts, maybe not so much the heavy loss of lives in a nuclear blast, but the end of a long time of servitude. And I will add that you read A Vision of Battlements for lines like these.

Les ailes d'Icare

Photo prise dans le Derbyshire, la sculpture est de Christopher Le Brun et j'ai déjà blogué sur elle en 2014. Vous connaissez tous sans doute le mythe d'Icare. Je peux vous le raconter en long et en large. Toujours est-il que, comme je l'ai récemment blogué, je compte me remettre à la mythologie grecque (et la mythologie romaine peut-être, un coup parti) dans les prochaines semaines: lire sur le sujet, regarder des documentaires sur le sujet (va me falloir chercher surYouTube), voir peut-être si je suis chanceux une ou deux tragédies (encore une fois il me faudra regarder sur YouTube). C'est mon programme culturel. Je ne sais pas si je vais revisiter le mythe d'Icare en particulier, mais c'est un prétexte comme un autre pour partager un peu d'art sur ce blogue.

A Vision of Battlements

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of Anthony Burgess, his very first novel, A Vision of Battlements, has been re-edited, among other works, in hardcover. Which means that I will have it asap. I don't know when I will read it exactly, but it would be fitting to read it this year. I have always been curious about it. His first novel means, in a way, his literary birth, or his first literary child. Emulating James Joyce (Burgess' favourite writer) A Vision is a rewriting of The Aeneid, which I read, but decades ago. So I wonder if I should not revisit the epic poem first, or have it at hand here as a work of reference. In any case, I encourage you to cease the opportunity to buy it and discover it like me. And here is a promotional video, which gives you a foretaste of the work:

Prendre l'air (la photo du mois)

C'est le moment de la photo du mois, le thème est "Prendre l'air", choisi par La Fille de l'Air. Une fois que j'avais mon sujet sous les yeux, ce fut très facile: cette sculpture de Christopher Le Brun, inspirée de la poésie de Virgile et du vol d'Icare. On ne peut pas prendre plus l'air. Dans un parc anglais du Derbyshire, un petit jour d'automne frisquet. Il y a des choses dans une photo qu'on ne peut pas voir et qui pourtant font tout son sens.

Allez voir comment les autres ont pris l'air:

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