Dasfed Requests Permission to Come Aboard
Among the greatest fatherly advice ever given to a son or daughter was this spoken shipboard by poet Charles Olson to young poet Robin Blaser moments before Robin departed from America to Europe in 1959: "Don't get stuck in Europe. Head for Hittite country."
Here's some of what Olson meant.
The Hittites were a trading people from Europe who invaded the Middle East around 1600 BC and eventually took over Babylonia, modifying the extremely tightassed Mesopotamian legal code which said, "Off with his head!" for any infraction from yelling "Fire!" in an empty theater to stealing melted candle wax from the floor of a local temple. Indiscriminate death sentences were replaced with a sliding scale of fines.
In keeping with the Hittite's casual, easygoing approach to life, they expanded their panetheon of the gods to include all local deities, including those of Egypt and Judea. Believe it or not, Yahweh was one of the gods recognized by these very elastic and absorbent people.
Me gets the strange feeling that the polytheistic Mecca Muhammed consolidated on behalf of Judeo-Christian monotheism was a city founded on Hittite tolerance for ALL religions. In any case, Muhammed can be viewed as an Arab Clement of Alexandria.
Meanwhile, back to Olson. I think the poet was telling his young charge to keep going East to where the old openness of mind and spirit reigned supreme, and the universe was also a multiverse. In the ascendent interests of non-duality, I'm beginning to see where the God of Sun or Rain could just as easily be the God in Sun or Rain. In short, Hinduism and Islam can and must coexist.
In any case, and in short, Blaser was being exhorted to travel the OPEN ROAD. That's what guys surnamed Blaser are supposed to do: BLAZE TRAILS. I just thought I'd come aboard your ship of state at midday this cold, windy Saturday and pass along Olson's sage fatherly advice
And Love. To everyone I have the privilege of knowing or comes to rest or respite at this blog.
Dasfed
P.S. Don't forget the voyage. And write regularly.
Here's some of what Olson meant.
The Hittites were a trading people from Europe who invaded the Middle East around 1600 BC and eventually took over Babylonia, modifying the extremely tightassed Mesopotamian legal code which said, "Off with his head!" for any infraction from yelling "Fire!" in an empty theater to stealing melted candle wax from the floor of a local temple. Indiscriminate death sentences were replaced with a sliding scale of fines.
In keeping with the Hittite's casual, easygoing approach to life, they expanded their panetheon of the gods to include all local deities, including those of Egypt and Judea. Believe it or not, Yahweh was one of the gods recognized by these very elastic and absorbent people.
Me gets the strange feeling that the polytheistic Mecca Muhammed consolidated on behalf of Judeo-Christian monotheism was a city founded on Hittite tolerance for ALL religions. In any case, Muhammed can be viewed as an Arab Clement of Alexandria.
Meanwhile, back to Olson. I think the poet was telling his young charge to keep going East to where the old openness of mind and spirit reigned supreme, and the universe was also a multiverse. In the ascendent interests of non-duality, I'm beginning to see where the God of Sun or Rain could just as easily be the God in Sun or Rain. In short, Hinduism and Islam can and must coexist.
In any case, and in short, Blaser was being exhorted to travel the OPEN ROAD. That's what guys surnamed Blaser are supposed to do: BLAZE TRAILS. I just thought I'd come aboard your ship of state at midday this cold, windy Saturday and pass along Olson's sage fatherly advice
And Love. To everyone I have the privilege of knowing or comes to rest or respite at this blog.
Dasfed
P.S. Don't forget the voyage. And write regularly.
posted by David Federman @ 11:02 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home