Living Wittily

R S Thomas, “The Musician” and writing as an art form.

Written by

admin

in

Jim gordon photos

Not much comment needed on this poem. Just two. By juxtaposing the inspired, disciplined agony of the artist, with the creative suffering love of God, it revitalises theological imaginations smothered by the tedium of the overfamiliar. Ever since a friend read this at a Good Friday service years ago, I've never again been able to listen to solo violin music with previous innocence, or been able to separate the vision of a musician giving his all, from the God who does the same.

Secondly the copy you are reading was written by a man who attended that service, wrote out the poem and presented it to me. It is for me a literary Icon. Alistair first started doing calligraphy in an Asian POW camp, sharing accommodation with Laurens van der Post. Though he never spoke of those experiences, he knew more than a little about suffering, and that in human experience which makes "such music as lives still".

Comments

4 responses to “R S Thomas, “The Musician” and writing as an art form.”

  1. chris avatar
    chris

    Wonderful! I shall never forget teaching this poem to a class of 16 year old boys – their reaction was unexpectedly emotional and the sensitive critical essays which emerged from the experience were a joy. Previously I hadn’t dared do it in school because the poem was too special for me.

    Reply
  2. chris avatar
    chris

    Wonderful! I shall never forget teaching this poem to a class of 16 year old boys – their reaction was unexpectedly emotional and the sensitive critical essays which emerged from the experience were a joy. Previously I hadn’t dared do it in school because the poem was too special for me.

    Reply
  3. Jim Gordon avatar
    Jim Gordon

    Chris – your experience of teaching young adults confirms my own experience of significant events and insights of human life being deeply conveyed by poetry – where any amount of ‘talking at’ has no lasting impact. Young adults have an emotional and spiritual responsiveness to deep stuff that’s sometimes obscured or even denied by the assumption of others that they don’t. Poetry in its more oblique approach manages to fly under the radar of their scepticism – and when it does it opens up important insights that come from that time in human life when everything is new, possible, risky and to be experienced.
    The poem itself carries immense power, and a profound theological twist

    Reply
  4. Jim Gordon avatar
    Jim Gordon

    Chris – your experience of teaching young adults confirms my own experience of significant events and insights of human life being deeply conveyed by poetry – where any amount of ‘talking at’ has no lasting impact. Young adults have an emotional and spiritual responsiveness to deep stuff that’s sometimes obscured or even denied by the assumption of others that they don’t. Poetry in its more oblique approach manages to fly under the radar of their scepticism – and when it does it opens up important insights that come from that time in human life when everything is new, possible, risky and to be experienced.
    The poem itself carries immense power, and a profound theological twist

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More posts