History is nothing if not perverse. In the heart of Victorian England Edward Fitzgerald, an eccentric scholar, published his version of an unknown poem by a medieval Persian, Omar Khayaam. Fitzgerald's Rubaiyyat, with its mixture of fatalism and hedonistic joy, shocked his contemporaries and became famous throughout the English-speaking world. Now in our advanced jaded age, Robert Graves, drawing upon the "original" text, "an earlier and authenticated manuscript" found "in the possession of the family of Omar Ali-Shah, Sufi poet and classical Persian scholar," presents a work which would surely have been dear to the heart of every 19th century vicarage. Though hardly Christian, the new Rubaiyyat, jointly translated by Graves and Ali-Shah, now emerges as a mystic meditation without blasphemy, sexual irregularity, or carousing: "Khayaam treats wine in Sufic fashion as a metaphor of the ecstasy excited by divine love." In short, where Fitzgerald's Omar attempts to embrace "the sorry scheme of things" through exotic worldliness, the pious figure "resurrected" by the current translators is concerned with other matters: "Though dust of sin lies clotted on my brow/Yet will I not despair of mercy. When/Did Omar argue that the One was Two?" No doubt, historians will be arguing this turnabout for many moons. Purely as poetry, however, there can be no debate: Fitzgerald is the winner. True or not, his Rubaiyyat is solid gold.
Pub Date: May 17, 1968
ISBN: 0385032757
Page Count: -
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1968
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s...
Music journalist and musician Wald (Talking 'Bout Your Mama: The Dozens, Snaps, and the Deep Roots of Rap, 2014, etc.) focuses on one evening in music history to explain the evolution of contemporary music, especially folk, blues, and rock.
The date of that evening is July 25, 1965, at the Newport Folk Festival, where there was an unbelievably unexpected occurrence: singer/songwriter Bob Dylan, already a living legend in his early 20s, overriding the acoustic music that made him famous in favor of electronically based music, causing reactions ranging from adoration to intense resentment among other musicians, DJs, and record buyers. Dylan has told his own stories (those stories vary because that’s Dylan’s character), and plenty of other music journalists have explored the Dylan phenomenon. What sets Wald's book apart is his laser focus on that one date. The detailed recounting of what did and did not occur on stage and in the audience that night contains contradictory evidence sorted skillfully by the author. He offers a wealth of context; in fact, his account of Dylan's stage appearance does not arrive until 250 pages in. The author cites dozens of sources, well-known and otherwise, but the key storylines, other than Dylan, involve acoustic folk music guru Pete Seeger and the rich history of the Newport festival, a history that had created expectations smashed by Dylan. Furthermore, the appearances on the pages by other musicians—e.g., Joan Baez, the Weaver, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Dave Van Ronk, and Gordon Lightfoot—give the book enough of an expansive feel. Wald's personal knowledge seems encyclopedic, and his endnotes show how he ranged far beyond personal knowledge to produce the book.
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s personal feelings about Dylan's music or persona.Pub Date: July 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-236668-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Dey Street/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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