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My friend Robert has reminded me of this wonderful gem of 50s Swedish film-making. The great Bergman takes a little time to enjoy the unabashed erotic charm of Harriet Andersson in the ‘52 flick Summer with Monika, based on a then popular short story (later expanded into a novel) by Per Anders Fogelström…

My friend Robert has reminded me of this wonderful gem of 50s Swedish film-making. The great Bergman takes a little time to enjoy the unabashed erotic charm of Harriet Andersson in the ‘52 flick Summer with Monika, based on a then popular short story (later expanded into a novel) by Per Anders Fogelström…

Contrast, please, the American marketing of Summer with Monika (poster above) with the European assessment of the movie, for instance, by Godard: “Summer with Monika is the most original film of the most original of directors.” - Jean-Luc Godard

Contrast, please, the American marketing of Summer with Monika (poster above) with the European assessment of the movie, for instance, by Godard: “Summer with Monika is the most original film of the most original of directors.” 
- Jean-Luc Godard

Harriet Andersson as Monika… “The devil controls her by radar” - ?????????

Harriet Andersson as Monika…

“The devil controls her by radar” - ?????????

English poet Christopher “Kit” Smart, April 11, 1722 - 1771, was usually in debt, frequently in love (Harriote was followed by Polly and Anna), and unfortunately also a sufferer of a peculiar religious mania that made him pray loudly in public places and exhibit other signs of what his contemporaries considered madness… During his confinement in the mental asylum he composed many texts, including Jubilate Agno, which has become famous not least for its 74 lines extolling the virtues of Smart’s cat: “For I will consider my Cat Jeoffry. For he is the servant of the Living God duly and daily serving him. For at the first glance of the glory of God in the East he worships in his way. For is this done by wreathing his body seven times round with elegant quickness. For then he leaps up to catch the musk, which is the blessing of God upon his prayer. For he rolls upon prank to work it in. For having done duty and received blessing he begins to consider himself. For this he performs in ten degrees. For first he looks upon his fore-paws to see if they are clean. For secondly he kicks up behind to clear away there. For thirdly he works it upon stretch with the fore paws extended. For fourthly he sharpens his paws by wood. For fifthly he washes himself. For Sixthly he rolls upon wash. For Seventhly he fleas himself, that he may not be interrupted upon the beat. For Eighthly he rubs himself against a post. For Ninthly he looks up for his instructions. For Tenthly he goes in quest of food. For having consider’d God and himself he will consider his neighbour. For if he meets another cat he will kiss her in kindness. For when he takes his prey he plays with it to give it chance. For one mouse in seven escapes by his dallying. For when his day’s work is done his business more properly begins. For he keeps the Lord’s watch in the night against the adversary. For he counteracts the powers of darkness by his electrical skin and glaring eyes. For he counteracts the Devil, who is death, by brisking about the life For in his morning orisons he loves the sun and the sun loves him. For he is of the tribe of Tiger. For the Cherub Cat is a term of the Angel Tiger. For he has the subtlety and hissing of a serpent, which in goodness he suppresses. For he will not do destruction, if he is well-fed, neither will he spit without provocation. For he purrs in thankfulness, when God tells him he’s a good Cat. For he is an instrument for the children to learn benevolence upon. For every house is incompleat without him and a blessing is lacking in the spirit. For the Lord commanded Moses concerning the cats at the departure of the Children of Israel from Egypt. For every family had one cat at least in the bag. For the English Cats are the best in Europe. For he is the cleanest in the use of his fore-paws of any quadrupede. For the dexterity of his defence is an instance of the love of God to him exceedingly. For he is the quickest to his mark of any creature. For he is tenacious of his point. For he is a mixture of gravity and waggery. For he knows that God is his Saviour. For there is nothing sweeter than his peace when at rest. For there is nothing brisker than his life when in motion. For he is of the Lord’s poor and so indeed is he called by benevolence perpetually — Poor Jeoffry! poor Jeoffry! the rat has bit thy throat. For I bless the name of the Lord Jesus that Jeoffry is better. For the divine spirit comes about his body to sustain it in compleat cat. For his tongue is exceeding pure so that it has in purity what it wants in musick. For he is docile and can learn certain things. For he can set up with gravity which is patience upon approbation. For he can fetch and carry, which is patience in employment. For he can jump over a stick which is patience upon proof positive. For he can spraggle upon waggle at the word of command. For he can jump from an eminence into his master’s bosom. For he can catch the cork and toss it again. For he is hated by the hypocrite and miser. For the former is affraid of detection. For the latter refuses the charge. For he camels his back to bear the first notion of business. For he is good to think on, if a man would express himself neatly. For he made a great figure in Egypt for his signal services. For he killed the Icneumon-rat very pernicious by land. For his ears are so acute that they sting again. For from this proceeds the passing quickness of his attention. For by stroaking of him I have found out electricity. For I perceived God’s light about him both wax and fire. For the Electrical fire is the spiritual substance, which God sends from heaven to sustain the bodies both of man and beast. For God has blessed him in the variety of his movements. For, tho he cannot fly, he is an excellent clamberer. For his motions upon the face of the earth are more than any other quadrupede. For he can tread to all the measures upon the musick. For he can swim for life. For he can creep.”

English poet Christopher “Kit” Smart, April 11, 1722 - 1771, was usually in debt, frequently in love (Harriote was followed by Polly and Anna), and unfortunately also a sufferer of a peculiar religious mania that made him pray loudly in public places and exhibit other signs of what his contemporaries considered madness…

During his confinement in the mental asylum he composed many texts, including Jubilate Agno, which has become famous not least for its 74 lines extolling the virtues of Smart’s cat:

“For I will consider my Cat Jeoffry.

For he is the servant of the Living God duly and daily serving him.

For at the first glance of the glory of God in the East he worships in his way.

For is this done by wreathing his body seven times round with elegant quickness.

For then he leaps up to catch the musk, which is the blessing of God upon his prayer.

For he rolls upon prank to work it in.

For having done duty and received blessing he begins to consider himself.

For this he performs in ten degrees.

For first he looks upon his fore-paws to see if they are clean.

For secondly he kicks up behind to clear away there.

For thirdly he works it upon stretch with the fore paws extended.

For fourthly he sharpens his paws by wood.

For fifthly he washes himself.

For Sixthly he rolls upon wash.

For Seventhly he fleas himself, that he may not be interrupted upon the beat.

For Eighthly he rubs himself against a post.

For Ninthly he looks up for his instructions.

For Tenthly he goes in quest of food.

For having consider’d God and himself he will consider his neighbour.

For if he meets another cat he will kiss her in kindness.

For when he takes his prey he plays with it to give it chance.

For one mouse in seven escapes by his dallying.

For when his day’s work is done his business more properly begins.

For he keeps the Lord’s watch in the night against the adversary.

For he counteracts the powers of darkness by his electrical skin and glaring eyes.

For he counteracts the Devil, who is death, by brisking about the life

For in his morning orisons he loves the sun and the sun loves him.

For he is of the tribe of Tiger.

For the Cherub Cat is a term of the Angel Tiger.

For he has the subtlety and hissing of a serpent, which in goodness he suppresses.

For he will not do destruction, if he is well-fed, neither will he spit without provocation.

For he purrs in thankfulness, when God tells him he’s a good Cat.

For he is an instrument for the children to learn benevolence upon.

For every house is incompleat without him and a blessing is lacking in the spirit.

For the Lord commanded Moses concerning the cats at the departure of the Children of Israel from Egypt.

For every family had one cat at least in the bag.

For the English Cats are the best in Europe.

For he is the cleanest in the use of his fore-paws of any quadrupede.

For the dexterity of his defence is an instance of the love of God to him exceedingly.

For he is the quickest to his mark of any creature.

For he is tenacious of his point.

For he is a mixture of gravity and waggery.

For he knows that God is his Saviour.

For there is nothing sweeter than his peace when at rest.

For there is nothing brisker than his life when in motion.

For he is of the Lord’s poor and so indeed is he called by benevolence perpetually — Poor Jeoffry! poor Jeoffry! the rat has bit thy throat.

For I bless the name of the Lord Jesus that Jeoffry is better.

For the divine spirit comes about his body to sustain it in compleat cat.

For his tongue is exceeding pure so that it has in purity what it wants in musick.

For he is docile and can learn certain things.

For he can set up with gravity which is patience upon approbation.

For he can fetch and carry, which is patience in employment.

For he can jump over a stick which is patience upon proof positive.

For he can spraggle upon waggle at the word of command.

For he can jump from an eminence into his master’s bosom.

For he can catch the cork and toss it again.

For he is hated by the hypocrite and miser.

For the former is affraid of detection.

For the latter refuses the charge.

For he camels his back to bear the first notion of business.

For he is good to think on, if a man would express himself neatly.

For he made a great figure in Egypt for his signal services.

For he killed the Icneumon-rat very pernicious by land.

For his ears are so acute that they sting again.

For from this proceeds the passing quickness of his attention.

For by stroaking of him I have found out electricity.

For I perceived God’s light about him both wax and fire.

For the Electrical fire is the spiritual substance, which God sends from heaven to sustain the bodies both of man and beast.

For God has blessed him in the variety of his movements.

For, tho he cannot fly, he is an excellent clamberer.

For his motions upon the face of the earth are more than any other quadrupede.

For he can tread to all the measures upon the musick.

For he can swim for life.

For he can creep.”

I am afraid that I consider the Norwegian national treasure, sculptorer Gustav Vigeland (April 11, 1869 - 1943) more than a little touched by madness. His teeming compositions of twisted and intertwined bodies smacks too much of a proto-Fascist aesthetics for my taste. Nonetheless, Oslo has filled a whole huge park with his work, culminating with the monolith you see above…

I am afraid that I consider the Norwegian national treasure, sculptorer Gustav Vigeland (April 11, 1869 - 1943) more than a little touched by madness. His teeming compositions of twisted and intertwined bodies smacks too much of a proto-Fascist aesthetics for my taste. Nonetheless, Oslo has filled a whole huge park with his work, culminating with the monolith you see above…

Mark Strand (b. 11 April 1934) is an American poet, essayist, and translator. He was appointed Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1990. Since 2005, he has been a professor of English at Columbia University. And as far as I can tell he is no more mad than any good poet should be… MY NAMEOne night when the lawn was a golden green and the marbled moonlit trees rose like fresh memorials in the scented air, and the whole countryside pulsed with the chirr and murmur of insects, I lay in the grass feeling the great distances open above me, and wondered what I would become—and where I would find myself— and though I barely existed, I felt for an instant that the vast star-clustered sky was mine, and I heard my name as if for the first time, heard it the way one hears the wind or the rain, but faint and far off as though it belonged not to me but to the silence from which it had come and to which it would go.

Mark Strand (b. 11 April 1934) is an American poet, essayist, and translator. He was appointed Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1990. Since 2005, he has been a professor of English at Columbia University. And as far as I can tell he is no more mad than any good poet should be…

MY NAME

One night when the lawn was a golden green
and the marbled moonlit trees rose like fresh memorials
in the scented air, and the whole countryside pulsed
with the chirr and murmur of insects, I lay in the grass
feeling the great distances open above me, and wondered
what I would become—and where I would find myself—
and though I barely existed, I felt for an instant
that the vast star-clustered sky was mine, and I heard
my name as if for the first time, heard it the way
one hears the wind or the rain, but faint and far off
as though it belonged not to me but to the silence
from which it had come and to which it would go.

Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - two years gone today - so it goes… Click for high-res photo

Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - two years gone today - so it goes…

Bohuslän, Sweden - where we are vacationing - is littered with Bronze Age petroglyphs. Here is one we stumbled over today near Lysekil… Click for high-res photo

Bohuslän, Sweden - where we are vacationing - is littered with Bronze Age petroglyphs. Here is one we stumbled over today near Lysekil…

More petroglyphs from Lysekil, and the hands of an artist… Click for high-res photo

More petroglyphs from Lysekil, and the hands of an artist…

Keith Achepohl (b. April 11, 1934): Green Portal, from series Egypt: Day and Night, No. 198, 1981 - watercolor, colored pencil, and pencil on paper (Smithsonian) “Keith Achepohl was born April 11, 1934, in Chicago. He earned as BA from Knox College in Galesburg, IL, and in 1960 received an MFA in printmaking from the University of Iowa, where he studied with Mauricio Lasansky. He also holds DFA degrees from Knox College (1996) and Pacific Lutheran University (1989). From 1964-67 he served as a printmaking instructor at the University of Iowa, returning to the school in 1973, where he is currently full professor and head of the printmaking department. Since 1996 he has served as director of the University of Iowa Summer in Venice Program. In 2001 the University named him the Elizabeth M. Stanley Professor in the Arts. Achepohl is known primarily for his watercolors and prints. Much of his work is informed by extensive travels in the Mediterranean region, in particular Egypt and Turkey. His watercolor series, Egypt Day and Night, abstracts the geometry of the region’s architecture and infuses it with sensuous color. Other works reflect his interest in nature through the sensitive depiction and interpretation of plant forms.” (Source)                 Mura IX                        Mura XI                        Mura XII Click for high-res photo

Keith Achepohl (b. April 11, 1934): Green Portal, from series Egypt: Day and Night, No. 198, 1981 - watercolor, colored pencil, and pencil on paper (Smithsonian)

“Keith Achepohl was born April 11, 1934, in Chicago. He earned as BA from Knox College in Galesburg, IL, and in 1960 received an MFA in printmaking from the University of Iowa, where he studied with Mauricio Lasansky. He also holds DFA degrees from Knox College (1996) and Pacific Lutheran University (1989). From 1964-67 he served as a printmaking instructor at the University of Iowa, returning to the school in 1973, where he is currently full professor and head of the printmaking department. Since 1996 he has served as director of the University of Iowa Summer in Venice Program. In 2001 the University named him the Elizabeth M. Stanley Professor in the Arts.

Achepohl is known primarily for his watercolors and prints. Much of his work is informed by extensive travels in the Mediterranean region, in particular Egypt and Turkey. His watercolor series, Egypt Day and Night, abstracts the geometry of the region’s architecture and infuses it with sensuous color. Other works reflect his interest in nature through the sensitive depiction and interpretation of plant forms.” (Source)

               

Mura IX                        Mura XI                        Mura XII