| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The House of Dust by Conrad Aiken: I mingle among the crowds; my heart is pounding;
You do not guess the adventure I have had! . . .
Yet you, too, all have had your dark adventures,
Your sudden adventures, or strange, or sweet . . .
My peril goes out from me, is blown among you.
We loiter, dreaming together, along the street.
V. RETROSPECT
Round white clouds roll slowly above the housetops,
Over the clear red roofs they flow and pass.
A flock of pigeons rises with blue wings flashing,
Rises with whistle of wings, hovers an instant,
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Dawn O'Hara, The Girl Who Laughed by Edna Ferber: criticize the blue and saffron roses that form the rug
pattern. 'Deedy not! Instead you warily punch the
mattress to see if it is rock-stuffed, and you snoop into
the clothes closet; you inquire the distance to the
nearest bath room, and whether the payments are weekly or
monthly, and if there is a baby in the room next door.
Oh, there's nothing like living in a boarding-house for
cultivating the materialistic side.
But I was to find that here at Knapf's things were
quite different. Not only was Ernst von Gerhard right in
saying that it was "very German, and very, very clean;"
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Kreutzer Sonata by Leo Tolstoy: Turning to Simeon Ivan said, "Well, is there a sufficient
number?"
Beaming with joy, Simeon replied: "Enough! enough! Thank you,
Ivan!"
"Glad you are satisfied," said Ivan, "and if you wish more I will
make them for you. I have plenty of straw now."
Simeon divided his soldiers into battalions and regiments, and
after having drilled them he went forth to fight and to conquer.
Simeon had just gotten safely out of the village with his
soldiers when Tarras, the other brother, appeared before Ivan--he
also having heard of the previous day's performance and wanting
The Kreutzer Sonata |
