In the latest instalment of The New Stylus, Shannon has published four very fine poems by Chris Saitta - a poet whose first collection will be published shortly. So, well done to Chris for writing these, and well done to Shannon for continuing to bring us works of the highest order. I will, as always, comment below on one poem that particularly appeals to me. In this case, it's 'Apollo of Wolves'.
I’m glad you like Chris’s poems, Martin! I first discovered Chris Saitta on All Poetry about five years ago, back when I first began writing poetry. I didn’t know much about poetry at that time, but even then I had a great dislike of much of what is lauded as great poetry today—banal, insipid ramblings that will undoubtedly fall out of fashion before long. I also knew then that Chris’s work was very different and of a higher order. Of course, I’m a huge history buff (especially ancient history—I even have a modest ancient coin collection) so I was also impressed with how Chris writes his poems utilizing his extensive knowledge of ancient history. Anyways, I eventually stopped frequenting All Poetry, but something about his work always stayed with me. Once I founded The New Stylus, I knew that I had to find him again and invite him to make a submission. Suffice it to say that it is all pretty surreal for me.
Good morning, Shannon. (Or whatever time it is In the US) True life only appears to be surreal at times because we live in so much unreality (Trump and his meaningless ramblings etc) but poems like these anchor us to something more steadfast and enduring because they carry history and great myths with them - things that have endured for thousands of year.
I never knew you you had an ancient coin collection. We had an ancient coin and stamp shop here for years, but unfortunately it closed during Covid. A great loss.
I agree regarding the timeless quality of poems such as these and how badly such poems are needed today.
I’ve never talked about my coins before, have a I? I have quite a few Roman coins, including one that was minted during the reign of Claudius and another that was minted during the reign of Constantine. I also have a Widow’s Mite, which is a Jewish coin that was mentioned in the gospel of Luke. I also have a couple of Greek coins, including one of the famous Alexander the Great tetradrachms. I also have some more modern coins from various countries. It’s such a shame about the ancient coin and stamp shop that went out of business during Covid. So many small businesses have had to close their doors, which is truly heartbreaking. All that will be left before long are the monopolies.
'Apollo of Wolves' brings an intriguing aspect of Greek mythology alive for us because we are instantly forced to ask three questions: Who is Apollo? What is his relationship to wolves? And how did this title come about? So we duly learn that Apollo was the god of almost everything - including music, dance, poetry, truth, prophecy, the sun and light. We also learn that Apollo was the son of Zeus and Leto, and twin brother to Artemis, goddess of the hunt. Then, according to Aelian, we find that Leto had turned herself into a she-wolf, so Apollo and Artemis are therefore 'wolf-born', as described by Homer.
What is so intriguing here is how wolves played a vital part in ancient Greek religion, and how they were seen to act as divine messengers of the gods, notably Apollo himself - and how, because of this, wolf-cults flourished in remote mountainous regions of Arcadia.
In Chris's poem, we are immediately in the Lyceum - a temple used by Aristotle and his scholars to honour and pay tribute to Apollo - so the Greek world and some of the details I sketched briefly above pervade this memorable first stanza:
Blow, Lyceum grasses, blow,
From coiled lips of your wolf-god Apollo
Whose dawn-padded paws to starprints roam
This temple-tribute to thought-illumined roads.
In stanza two, we are again in the Lyceum, where we are now given an account of the verse-singers and poets who practiced their craft there and dedicated their endeavours to the wolf-god.
Then the poem goes on, and becomes not only a well-crafted poem, with its incantatory use of the line, 'Blow, Lyceum grasses, blow', but also a captivating lesson in Greek history and the mythology that went with it - how the Lyceum was built, using carefully constructed scaffolding - and how everything eventually fell to ruins when sun-god (or wolf-god) worship declined.
It’s incredible to me that you were telling me yesterday that your comment might not be very good. Were you joking? The analysis you have given here is beyond fascinating, and I thank you for taking time out of your immensely busy day to write a comment of this magnitude. I greatly appreciate it.
Yes, exactly, Fred! And it's wonderful to feel the weight of history, language and mythology echoing through a poet's work, making it a thing of substance.
These poems are a journey to the heart's roots, relevance through ambiguity and anachronism. Martin hit the nail on the head: Apollo, god of everything. It seems the Apollo and Zeus contend for the wolf in a distant past colored by blasphemy and cannibalism, a strange mix to yield Callisto, nymph, beloved of Zeus, hunted she bear apotheosized into the night sky as the Stellar Bear.
In the latest instalment of The New Stylus, Shannon has published four very fine poems by Chris Saitta - a poet whose first collection will be published shortly. So, well done to Chris for writing these, and well done to Shannon for continuing to bring us works of the highest order. I will, as always, comment below on one poem that particularly appeals to me. In this case, it's 'Apollo of Wolves'.
I’m glad you like Chris’s poems, Martin! I first discovered Chris Saitta on All Poetry about five years ago, back when I first began writing poetry. I didn’t know much about poetry at that time, but even then I had a great dislike of much of what is lauded as great poetry today—banal, insipid ramblings that will undoubtedly fall out of fashion before long. I also knew then that Chris’s work was very different and of a higher order. Of course, I’m a huge history buff (especially ancient history—I even have a modest ancient coin collection) so I was also impressed with how Chris writes his poems utilizing his extensive knowledge of ancient history. Anyways, I eventually stopped frequenting All Poetry, but something about his work always stayed with me. Once I founded The New Stylus, I knew that I had to find him again and invite him to make a submission. Suffice it to say that it is all pretty surreal for me.
Good morning, Shannon. (Or whatever time it is In the US) True life only appears to be surreal at times because we live in so much unreality (Trump and his meaningless ramblings etc) but poems like these anchor us to something more steadfast and enduring because they carry history and great myths with them - things that have endured for thousands of year.
I never knew you you had an ancient coin collection. We had an ancient coin and stamp shop here for years, but unfortunately it closed during Covid. A great loss.
I agree regarding the timeless quality of poems such as these and how badly such poems are needed today.
I’ve never talked about my coins before, have a I? I have quite a few Roman coins, including one that was minted during the reign of Claudius and another that was minted during the reign of Constantine. I also have a Widow’s Mite, which is a Jewish coin that was mentioned in the gospel of Luke. I also have a couple of Greek coins, including one of the famous Alexander the Great tetradrachms. I also have some more modern coins from various countries. It’s such a shame about the ancient coin and stamp shop that went out of business during Covid. So many small businesses have had to close their doors, which is truly heartbreaking. All that will be left before long are the monopolies.
'Apollo of Wolves' brings an intriguing aspect of Greek mythology alive for us because we are instantly forced to ask three questions: Who is Apollo? What is his relationship to wolves? And how did this title come about? So we duly learn that Apollo was the god of almost everything - including music, dance, poetry, truth, prophecy, the sun and light. We also learn that Apollo was the son of Zeus and Leto, and twin brother to Artemis, goddess of the hunt. Then, according to Aelian, we find that Leto had turned herself into a she-wolf, so Apollo and Artemis are therefore 'wolf-born', as described by Homer.
What is so intriguing here is how wolves played a vital part in ancient Greek religion, and how they were seen to act as divine messengers of the gods, notably Apollo himself - and how, because of this, wolf-cults flourished in remote mountainous regions of Arcadia.
In Chris's poem, we are immediately in the Lyceum - a temple used by Aristotle and his scholars to honour and pay tribute to Apollo - so the Greek world and some of the details I sketched briefly above pervade this memorable first stanza:
Blow, Lyceum grasses, blow,
From coiled lips of your wolf-god Apollo
Whose dawn-padded paws to starprints roam
This temple-tribute to thought-illumined roads.
In stanza two, we are again in the Lyceum, where we are now given an account of the verse-singers and poets who practiced their craft there and dedicated their endeavours to the wolf-god.
Then the poem goes on, and becomes not only a well-crafted poem, with its incantatory use of the line, 'Blow, Lyceum grasses, blow', but also a captivating lesson in Greek history and the mythology that went with it - how the Lyceum was built, using carefully constructed scaffolding - and how everything eventually fell to ruins when sun-god (or wolf-god) worship declined.
It’s incredible to me that you were telling me yesterday that your comment might not be very good. Were you joking? The analysis you have given here is beyond fascinating, and I thank you for taking time out of your immensely busy day to write a comment of this magnitude. I greatly appreciate it.
Nice work. Saitta evokes ancient voices in such a way, you can almost hear Greek and Latin.
Yes, exactly, Fred! And it's wonderful to feel the weight of history, language and mythology echoing through a poet's work, making it a thing of substance.
Well said! I couldn’t agree more.
These poems are a journey to the heart's roots, relevance through ambiguity and anachronism. Martin hit the nail on the head: Apollo, god of everything. It seems the Apollo and Zeus contend for the wolf in a distant past colored by blasphemy and cannibalism, a strange mix to yield Callisto, nymph, beloved of Zeus, hunted she bear apotheosized into the night sky as the Stellar Bear.
I agree, Bob, and I’m so glad you enjoyed Chris’s poetry. As always, I appreciate you taking the time to comment.