I first heard of Russell from a younger friend at school, a budding poet himself, obsessed with his Irish ancestry. His speech was full of references to both Russell and Yeats, and his own verse carried the oddly combined influences of both. One of his favorite poems by Russell was On Behalf of Some Irishmen Not Followers of Tradition. I became fond of that particular piece, myself. (In fact, I posted it in my journal, some time ago.) I don't know if it serves as an example of what you call his clarity of head, but I've always been impressed by the expansive vision of that poem, particularly in its final lines:
No blazoned banner we unfold- One charge alone we give to youth, Against the sceptered myth to hold The golden heresy of truth.
To me, those lines typify Russell at his best; holding to his own ideals, regardless of the sentiments of those around him.
Over the years, I found little of Russell's work in print. Mostly, it was a poem here and there in one anthology or another. It wasn't until a few months ago that I found that his collected poems are available on line, part of the large collection of works posted at Bartleby. There, I discovered another of his pieces that I quite like:
The Symbol Seduces
THERE in her old-world garden smiles A symbol of the world's desire, Striving with quaint and lovely wiles To bind to earth the soul of fire.
And while I sit and listen there, The robe of Beauty falls away From universal things to where Its image dazzles for a day.
Away! the great life calls; I leave For Beauty, Beauty's rarest flower; For Truth, the lips that ne'er deceive; For Love, I leave Love's haunted bower
Over the months since I found this trove of Russell's work, I have from time to time dipped into it, though I have not yet read all of it. I, too find his writing enjoyable. He seems to me like a throwback to much earlier poets, such as Leigh Hunt. Part of his appeal lies in the fact that he, whose vision was in some ways more forward-looking than that of many of his contemporaries, should also seem so far behind them, dimly emerging from the mist of the distant past.
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timeasmymeasure
Re: A.E. and a question
Date: 2002-11-17 03:52 am (UTC)To me, those lines typify Russell at his best; holding to his own ideals, regardless of the sentiments of those around him.
Over the years, I found little of Russell's work in print. Mostly, it was a poem here and there in one anthology or another. It wasn't until a few months ago that I found that his collected poems are available on line, part of the large collection of works posted at Bartleby. There, I discovered another of his pieces that I quite like:
Over the months since I found this trove of Russell's work, I have from time to time dipped into it, though I have not yet read all of it. I, too find his writing enjoyable. He seems to me like a throwback to much earlier poets, such as Leigh Hunt. Part of his appeal lies in the fact that he, whose vision was in some ways more forward-looking than that of many of his contemporaries, should also seem so far behind them, dimly emerging from the mist of the distant past.