"Some Corner of a Foreign Field That Is [Not] For Ever England”: Brexit and Poetry

Although it would be absurd to compare the 2016 Brexit referendum and whatever happened in its aftermath to the tragedy of the Great War, surprising as it may seem, the two have something in common. This is so because the 1914–1918 period triggered a flood of poetry, written not only by established literary figures, but also by thousands of civilians who found it a means of expressing their emotions. By the same token, the post-referendum years produced a poetic response on the part of ordinary citizens. This article tries to take a closer look at how once again British citizens turn to poetry to voice their fears and frustration.

“I Quit!”: White Privilege, White Fragility, and White-Hot Rage: A Poetic Response in Five Acts

This work consists of five narrative poems that correspond to five moments, Acts, related to a lesson about institutional racism and White privilege, presented to preservice teachers, via Zoom. That White privilege, White fragility, and institutional racism exist is well established, as is the necessity of commitment to preparing preservice teachers for cultural competence and responsiveness. Therefore, the poetry is presented without a literature review, in an effort to highlight the layered tensions of the author’s lived experience, the precarious positionality of tenure-track faculty, and the potential consequences of choices made, to teach (or not) controversial content.

Le temps comme singulier collectif

Time as a collective singular cannot be fully captured by Ricoeur’s poetic response to the aporias of time. Ricoeur works on this question in particular from Kant, Husserl and Heidegger, and, at the end of Time and Narrative, returns to the question of the unicity of history, discussing Hegel and reappropriating Koselleck’s concepts of the horizon of expectation and the space of experience. We present this inquiry, discuss the reservations expressed about it, and propose to open two ways for a deepening of Ricœurian thought. The first provides a framework for the idea of “learning together”; the second aims at the very possibility of a "we."

How like a (Fig) Leaf

In light of work by Donna Haraway, Jacques Derrida and Hélène Cixous, this paper weaves a poetic response to the Western ethnocentric mode of thought as that which cuts a once and forever line dividing nature from culture. That line elevates Man over all other creatures, indeed all other living things, and does so by means of a phallic imaginary deeply tied to Judaeo-Christian ontotheology – to shame, nudity and original sin. Through the figure of the fig leaf, the essay affirms the earthly and earthy field of the sexual as that which links rather than divides categories, disciplines and forms of life.

Solo piano compositions by Hsiao Tyzen in the aspect of performing problems

Background. The article is dedicated to the piano work of Hsiao Tyzen (1938–2015) – one of Taiwan’s most famous composers. The solo piano compositions of the musician are considered, which make up a significant part of his compositional heritage: three cycles, united under the general name “Poetic Response” – op. 37 (1974), op. 38 (1975) and op. 40 (1977); “The Amazing Grace” (1984), cycle “Memories of Home” op. 49 (1987), consisting of six plays – “Prelude”, “Memory”, “Playground”, “Ancient Taiwanese Melody”, “Elegy”, “Frolicking”; “Farewell Etude”, Op. 55 (1993), “Toccata”, op. 57 (1995), “Dragon Boat Festival”, op. 58 (1996), “Spirit of Taiwan” (1998), “Nana Oh’s Meditation” (1999), “The Angel from Formosa” (1999). This huge layer of music is not sufficiently studied in the performing aspect. The characteristic of the pianistic level of complexity of the compositions under consideration is given, technical and artistic difficulties are revealed. Objectives. The purpose of the study is to identify the main performing tasks in the solo piano compositions of Hsiao Tyzen. Methods of research are based on a set of scientific approaches necessary for the disclosure of its theme. The complex approach, combining the principle of musical-theoretical, musical-historical and performing analysis, is taken as the basis of the methodology. Results. Piano works of Hsiao Tyzen of an early period of art op. 37, 38 and 40, united in the general cycle “Poetic Response”, are devoted to religious themes and include melodies of religious hymns. Combining three diverse piano cycles, the composer builds a kind of complex form of cycles in the cycle. The influence of romanticism in the music of Hsiao Tyzen is felt in his interpretation of melody, harmony, rhythm, tempo and texture. Composers of the twentieth century, especially C. Debussy, influenced the piano compositions of the late period. Since the works created by Hsiao Tyzen have varying degrees of pianistic complexity, it seems important to determine the pedagogical significance of the uncomplicated piano repertoire and the performing tasks that the interpreter of concert compositions faces. The cycle “Memories of Home” op. 49, consisting of six miniatures, is dedicated to the composer’s childhood memories. The main tasks of the pianist in the “Ancient Taiwanese melody” from the cycle “Memories of Home”, op. 49 will be the auditory implementation and development of a touch of legato, the performance of melismatics, the observance of sound balance between hands, the ability to draw a long melodic line, cleverly using a finger swap and moving from one position to another. In the Prelude, the tasks of the performer’s main technical and artistic problems are to accurately reflect dynamic contrasts, the agility of transitions in various textured combinations, the sound realization of polyphony, precise articulation and coordination of small notes in passages. “Memory” requires the performer of the highly professional possession of legato, manifested in the combination of the upper voice of the chord musical fabric, flexible movement skills and an accurate sense of polyrhythmia. In the “Playground” you need to show imaginative imagination, while reflecting the variety of strokes and dynamics specified by the author. “Elegy” requires a deep soulful feeling from a performer, high-quality sounding of a melody, and the formation of long phrases. “Farewell Etude” op. 55 and “Toccata” op. 57 – detailed compositions saturated with romantic technique and imagery. The intonational filling of the plays reflects the national Taiwanese flavor. “Farewell sketch” was the last work of Hsiao Tyzen, written in the tradition of romanticism. The piece is based on the famous Taiwanese folk song “Four Seasons”. The composer places the melody in the middle register, framing on both sides with a luxurious romantic texture. “Toccata” is full of numerous techniques that are difficult enough not only to execute, but even to remember. Frequent change of textured formulas is especially difficult for a pianist, because in addition to the clever execution of a virtuoso texture, you need to keep an accurate rhythmic pulsation. This repertoire is intended for concert performance and requires a pianist of a high professional pianistic level and bright artistry. It requires scale of performance, absolute technical and sound knowledge of the texture, knowledge and auditory presentation of the characteristics of Taiwanese musical culture, and mastery of pedalization. Conclusions. Hsiao Tyzen’s solo piano compositions provide a better understanding of the work of contemporary Taiwanese composers. They are rightfully one of the most striking pages of Taiwanese musical culture and deserve further introduction into a wide international music audience. These works, in our opinion, have high artistic merits and are intended for a different contingent of performers. Their value as a pedagogical and concert repertoire is a vivid imagery, a reflection of the national principle, interesting compositional and sound solutions.

Georg Trakl’s Poem “Hölderlin”

This document includes the first English translation of Georg Trakl’s recently discovered poem “Hölderlin,” along with two commentaries on it. Moore’s commentary highlights the significance of this poem for continental philosophy (especially Heidegger and Derrida) by focusing on the German word for madness, Wahnsinn, which Trakl (mis)spells with three n’s. Moore argues that this word resists the sense of gentle gathering that Heidegger locates in Trakl’s poetry and therefore in Hölderlin and his madness. Trakl is, rather, a precursor to Paul Celan. Moore’s commentary concludes with a new translation of Celan’s own poetic response to Hölderlin, titled “Tübingen, Jänner.” Weichselbaum’s commentary discusses the background for the genesis and discovery of Trakl’s “Hölderlin.” Weichselbaum compares this poem with other moments in which Trakl alludes to Hölderlin.

“Tolstoys are Totally Different Matter...” A. K. Tolstoy in Bunin’s Experience of Historical Reflection: B. Genre Aspect of the Theme of Memory

The article deals with I. A. Bunin’s perception of the personality and works by A. K. Tolstoy. The key components of this reception are the system of philosophy of history views formulated by A. K. Tolstoy and his concept of historical memory. The belonging of the 19 th century poet to the large Tolstoy family was mythologized by Bunin and became a reason for understanding and determining the young writer’s own position in relation to each of the three writers: L. N. Tolstoy, A. K. Tolstoy and Bunin’s contemporary A. N. Tolstoy. The paper draws upon fictional and nonfictional documents by I. A. Bunin and A. K. Tolstoy. Bunin’s reception of the personality and artistic heritage by A. K. Tolstoy was determined by the history of his origin. The Tolstoy family attracted Bunin’s attention because it was an illustration of his own concept of the literary gift as a “family affair”. Leo Tolstoy enjoyed an undisputed genius and generally recognized family reputation. Aleksey N. Tolstoy’s biography, on the contrary, was ambiguous – the fact that inspired Bunin’s scandalous hints in his essay “The Third Tolstoy”. Aleksey K. Tolstoy’s biographical path of was also surrounded by similar rumors – but Bunin in his article “Inonia and Kitezh” prefers to keep silent on them. In the 1900s, A. K. Tolstoy appeared to Bunin as a rival poet, and in the eyes of Bunin’s contemporaries as the one of his main literary predecessors. Bunin’s poem “Kurgan” was a kind of poetic response to A. K. Tolstoy’s ballad “Kurgan” dedicated to the problem of historical oblivion. These works-doublets could serve as an illustration of one of the types of literary “revision” introduced by H. Bloom. Bunin developed the plot of A. K. Tolstoy’s “Kurgan” in the elegiac genre and demonstrated the value of the past in the present. Since 1918, Bunin’s perception of Tolstoy’s legacy has changed. A. K. Tolstoy’s views of the Russian history are publicly emphasized in the “Cursed Days”, “Mission of the Russian Emigration” and “Inonia and Kitezh”. According to A. K. Tolstoy, the historical catastrophe for Russia was programmed by “Tatar yoke”, which distorted the European character of the national culture and personality and later drove the nation to the particularly Asian, as Tolstoy thought, phenomenon of Ivan the Terrible. Borrowing some modern ideas from the natural sciences, Bunin transferred a number of A. K. Tolstoy’s observations into an anthropological sphere and pointed out specific signs of the “Mongolian” traces in Bolsheviks’ Russia.