Personal note

This litblog is entirely about literature, not my personal life, politics, or anything else. But due to the current situation and the ramifications on myself and my family, things have slown down a little and may continue to do so in the coming days. I am a very slow (and somewhat reluctant) writer (albeit an avid reader!) and need much time and energy in order to post. Like many difficult things, I've found it incredibly rewarding and have grown to love it. I hope to continue to find joy in writing and discussing literature and not let myself get waylaid by the darkness as we continue to struggle toward peace.

I have thoughts on César Aira, Fernando Pessoa, and a marvelous little book by Guillermo Martínez (on Borges and mathematics) in draft form still waiting. This is a note to remind myself of where my energies should be channeled, regardless of the fear knocking at our door.

I think Auden would forgive me for placing this here (so I don't forget):

We must love one another or die.

Defenceless under the night
Our world in stupor lies;
Yet, dotted everywhere,
Ironic points of light
Flash out wherever the Just
Exchange their messages:
May I, composed like them
Of Eros and of dust,
Beleaguered by the same
Negation and despair,
Show an affirming flame.

An antidote for dehumanization

In an essay in the print version of January's Arcadia, columnist Margarita Valencia discusses W.H. Auden, beginning with one of his essays on Shakespeare:

Auden asegura que lo que Yago hace con Otelo es un experimento científico, uno que culmina exitosamente en la medida en que logra convertir a Otelo en un objeto. "Conocer en el sentido científico significa, en últimas, tener poder sobre lo que se conoce. [...]", añade Auden. "Siempre es posible reducir a los seres humanos al estatus de cosas completamente conocibles desde el punto de vista científico y totalmente controlables". Esta fantasía de control total gracias a la ciencia, tan característica de la modernidad a la que Auden dio voz en su poesía, aun acompaña y sostiene las discusiones sobre el valor de las artes y de las humanidades, una de las manifestaciones más penosas de la insustancialidad cultural que pugnó por dominar el discurso en torno a la cultura en el siglo XX.

It's an insightful look at The Dyer's Hand and the increasing relevance of Auden's poetic philosophy in a climate of voluntary self-deception.

She concludes by affirming,

No puedo imaginar un mejor antídoto para la deshumanización que la poesía, cuyo único propósito, si es que ha de tenerlo, es desintoxicarnos y desencantarnos diciendo la verdad.

An absurd command

From "In Sickness and in Health":

Beloved, we are always in the wrong,
Handling so clumsily our stupid lives,
Suffering too little or too long,
Too careful even in our selfish loves:
The decorative manias we obey
Die in grimaces round us every day,
Yet through their tohu-bohu comes a voice
Which utters an absurd command--Rejoice.

~ W.H. Auden