A Tradesman and a Poet

CHALLENGIA to myself: Do you think I should skip a Sunday's rumination of desiderata.english?

Answer: No-lah, if I can't create, at least pro-create to maintain the records or findings of academia and poets' journeys in the past. Today's posting is mainly based on other creartives' writings because Sunday is running out of time ...it's now 5.01pm as I write this...


"Do these things pay -- these poems that you write?"
"Oh! yes, so much I am almost ashamed
Of my reward, so very great it is."
"Then tell me why you are so poorly dressed?"
"I did not know that I was poorly dressed."
You should have blooming gardens, houses grand,
If your reward is great as you have said.
I undrstand you live in three small rooms."
"And that is two too many, I'm afraid."

"You do travel. Do you travel, sir?"
"Oh! yes, I go each week into the woods,
And often sit upon the river bank."
"You are not loved by any woman, sir:
And have you any children of your own?"
"I love all women, every child is mine."

"Come, come, these poems do not pay, I know."
"Oh! yes, they pay me very well, indeed."
"Then what have you been doing with the pay
Received? Have you some secret investments?"
"Yes, yes! I have some secret investments."
"Oh! that is very different. Oh, yes!"

from The Desiderata of Happiness
by Max EHRMANN
who was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, and graduated from De
Pauw University, going on to do postgraduate studies in law
and philosophy at Harvard University. After practising law
for several years he joined the family business, but retired
ten years later to cooncentrate on writing. He died in 1945
and it was only in the late '60s, when Desiderata became a
cult poem of the new generation, that his work began to be
better known.

I have a copy of Desiderata published by SOUVENIR PRESS
cover-priced bordering some 9.95 pounds? (Wonder if my memory fails me?)
I'd rent out this copy at 5 pouns per month, so if Desi gets TWO
borrowers -- "who think that these poems do not pay" --
he would have recovered cost with 0.05pound for tehtarik.
Any takers, not witty ones please; Thanks Sab, I'm already salivating
on thoughts on sundae on thy whittaker chocs!

I myself actually credit myself gooda at poetry. Okay, da right word is: poet-aspirant. Like some of you -- millionaire-aspirant, no?Sampling of my poetic attempts that did not see light:

But if am not waelthy like a tradesman,
it's because I accepted as my mentor one ehrmann
I'd would have been happy to trade for his lawyer's qualification
Were he generous to have my media-person-&-a-pauper's condition
so to err-is-human is my second name
to max my weak nature, my sifu to take the blame


But out there is some CONSOLATION if thou seeth the bright side
of creatives like artists and wordsmiths and poets -- study the following research findings properly... If you are steal Young&Articulate -- Christopher from near Catsville, please read this at least a dozen times -- you are on holiday, so you have the luxury of sister time:)

Artists, poets have twice as many sexual partners, researchers find

Updated: 7:06 p.m. ET Nov. 29, 2005

LONDON (Reuters): - Pablo Picasso, Lord Byron and Dylan Thomas had more in common than simple creativity. They also had active sex lives, which researchers said on Wednesday was no coincidence.
Professional artists and poets have about twice as many partners as other people, British psychologists have found.

Their creativity seems to act like a sexual magnet.

But Dr. Daniel Nettle, a psychologist at Newcastle University’s School of Biology, said it is a double-edge sword.

“Poets and artists have more sexual partners but they also have high rates of depression,” he told Reuters.

Nettle and his colleague Helen Clegg questioned 425 British men and women, including professional artists, poets and schizophrenic patients, about their creative activity, sexual encounters and mental health characteristics.

Although creative people have long been associated with active sex lives, the researchers believe their study is the first to back it up with research.

They found that professional artists and poets had between 4 and 10 sexual partners, while less creative people had an average of three.

“We found it in both the men and women which was quite a surprise to us,” said Nettle, who reported the finding in the journal “The Proceedings of the Royal Society (B).”

The study also showed that the average number of sexual partners increased as creative output went up. What the artists produce draws attention to them, which seems to enhance their sexual allure.

“It could be that very creative types lead a bohemian lifestyle and tend to act more on sexual impulses and opportunities, often purely for experience’s sake, than the average person would,” said Nettle.

The active sex lives of artists is often tolerated, even by long-term partners who are less likely to expect loyalty and fidelity from them, according to the researchers.

Picasso, Byron and Thomas were famous for their paintings and poetry and for their attraction to women.

“They illustrate some of the phenomena quite well — lots of acclaim and lots of women,” said Nettle.


PS THOUGHT by DESIDERATA:
IF only I had a second chance, I would have accepted Lord Byron as my sifu and not the err-ing one.
Is it too late to gostan and start all over again?
Let me consult Y&A Chris -- role reversal,
for much wisdom lies in a young, unblemished soul...