This may come in handy (myths & Legends)

* If faced with a Cerberus, Would you know what to do?

* When a Chinese Farmer, wants it to rain, who do they call?

* What Scared the Scylla so much she threw herself into the sea?

* Why should you follow an Alicanto, But with caution?

* What can you use a Gillygaloo’s egg for?

* Why is alcohol the best deterrent against a Hidebehind?

* And finally, Why we should thank the Lamed Wufniks for our continued survival? ( although we can’t directly)

For your answer to these questions and much, much more, I bring you – Jorge Luis Borges’ “The Book of Imaginary Beings”. This pocket sized book from those purveyors of fine literature - Penguin modern classics, could one day save your bacon. Need to pull up a Mandrake root? this book will show you how, Wondering why you’re always running out of ink? this book has the answer.

In fact this could be the only book you ever need – You’d be a Mermecolion to think you could live without it!!!.

Cerberus, watercolour by William Blake

Jorge Luis Borges “ The Book of Imaginary Beings”

Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo, born on 24/8/1899, best known as Jorge Luis Borges was an Argentine writer, essayist and poet. He was born in Buenos Aires and in 1914 he & his family moved to Switzerland, where he went to school, he returned to Argentina in 1921 and began publishing his poems and essays. In 1955 he was appointed director of the Biblioteca Nacional (National Public Library) and held the professor of Literature position at the University of Buenos Aires. In 1961 he received his first International Publishers Prize (Prix Formentor), which brought him international acclaim & led to his work being translated and published throughout the world.


He  wrote and edited the Book of Imaginary Beings in 1957 as the Handbook of Fantastic Zoology (original Spanish title Manual de zoología fantástica), further expanding it in 1967 and again in ‘69 with the title “ El libro de los seres imaginarios” ( The Book of Imaginary Beings). This, the English version, was created in collaboration with the translator Norman Thomas di Giovanni, and contains the descriptions of 120 mythical beasts from the folklore and literature of most of the nations on this planet.

In the preface to the 1967 edition, Borges states – “ The title of this book would justify the inclusion of Prince Hamlet, of the point, of the line, of the surface, of the n-dimensional hyper planes  and hyper volumes , of all generic terms, and perhaps of each one of us and of the Godhead. In brief, the sum of all things – the Universe.”
He then goes on to say that in compiling this compendium it was limited to creatures immediately suggested by the words “Imaginary Beings” and that the handbook is compiled from fauna conceived by the human imagination through time and space.

“We are ignorant of the meaning of the dragon in the same way that we are ignorant of the meaning of the universe, but there is something in the dragon’s image that fits man’s imagination, and this accounts for the dragon’s appearance in different places and periods.”

Jorge Luis Borges also stated that this book, like all miscellany, shouldn’t be read straight through; he would rather the reader should dip into the pages at random -  “just as one plays with the shifting patterns of a Kaleidoscope.”

             

The Answers

* Feed him honey cakes, literally -  “ a sop to Cerberus”  The  ancient Greeks suggested that you take a small bag of honey cakes along - as a "sop," or cake dipped in honey - to assuage the appetite of the snarling monster. Cerberus would gobble up the sop and let you climb aboard the boat to the underworld

 * The Shang Yang – long ago, children hopped up & down on 1 leg, wrinkled their brows and repeated “It will thunder, it will rain, cause the Shang Yang’s here again”.

* the easy answer here is herself. Usual tale God falls in love with beautiful nymph, Goddess gets jealous, turns nymph into hideous monster

* The Alicanto, is a mine shaft dwelling bird that feeds upon gold. If you can follow the bird without being caught, you can find silver or gold. But, if  you’re discovered, the bird will guide you off a cliff  to certain death.
* Gillygaloo- is a  bird which nests on mountain slopes and lays square eggs, when boiled they can be used as dice.

* The Hidebehind, is a strange nocturnal woodland creature, that preys on humans. As the name suggests it is noted for its ability to conceal itself. When an observer attempts to look directly at it, the creature hides behind an object or even the observer themselves &  therefore can't be directly seen. The best known deterrent is alcohol which it has a string aversion to.

* There are precisely thirty-six Lamed Wufniks in existence. It is said that, without knowing it, they support the universe and affirm God. Mystical Hasidic Judaism as well as other segments of Judaism believe that there is the Jewish tradition of 36 righteous people whose role in life is to justify the purpose of humankind in the eyes of God. Tradition holds that their identities are unknown to each other and that, if one of them comes to a realization of their true purpose then they may die and their role is immediately assumed by another person:

 Jorge Luis Borges(Wiki)

Norman Thomas di Giovanni(Wiki)

T.S. Elliot, poetry Award

The T.S.Elliot Poetry Award, went to Derek Walcott for his collection of poems under the title "White Egrets".

The Nobel Laureate's work has been described by the judges as "possibly the last from the hand of a master" , Anne Stevenson who chaired the judging panel paid tribute to the poet , saying that White Egrets was " a moving risk taking & technically flawless book by a great poet". This event also highlighted what a love there is for poetry as according to the independent newspaper over 2000 lovers of  poetry congregated in the Royal Albert hall to listen to a series of readings by the ten shortlisted Poets.

Previous winners

2009- Phillip Gross, The high water Table

2008- Jen  Hadfield, Nigh-No-place

2007-Sean O'Brien, The Drowned Book

2006-Seamus Heaney, District & Circle

2005-Carol Ann Duffy, Rapture.

 Derek Walcott Wikipedia

Location : Laundry Rd, Minster, Kent CT12 4,

Location : Canterbury Rd E, Minster, Margate, Kent CT12 5,

Location : Willetts Hill, Monkton, Kent CT12 4,

If on a Winters night a Traveller.

Italo Calvino.

“You are about to begin reading Italo Calvino’s new novel, If on a Winters night a Traveller. Relax. Concentrate. Dispel every other thought. Let the world around you fade. best to close the door; the TV is always on in the next room. Tell the others right away, “No I don’t want to watch TV!” Raise your voice  – they won’t hear you otherwise –“I’m Reading!”

These are the first few lines of the novel, and after settling down, finding your most comfortable position (making sure everything’s perfect), a couple of pages later you then go on to read, what I think is a perfect description of a reader & by reader I mean a Bookfiend, an obsessive devourer of the written word. This description starts with you finding out about this book (you know, the one you’re reading) and then going to a bookshop to purchase it.

“In the shop window you have promptly identified the cover with the title you were looking for. Following this visual trail, you have forced your way through the shop past the thick barricade of Books You Haven’t Read, which were frowning at you from the tables and shelves, trying to cow. But you know you must never allow yourself to be awed, that among them there extend for acres the Books You Needn’t Read, the Books Made For Purposes Other Than Reading, Books Read Even Before  You Open Them Since They Belong To The Category Of Books Read Before Being Written. And thus you pass the outer girdle of the ramparts, but then you are attacked by the infantry of the books That If You Had More Than One Life You Would Certainly Also Read But Unfortunately Your Days Are Numbered. With a rapid maneuver you bypass them and move into the phalanxes of Books You Mean To Read But There Are Others You Must Read First, the Books To Expensive Now And You’ll Wait To  They’re Remaindered, the Books You Can Borrow From Somebody, Books That Everybody’s Read So It’s As If You Had Them, Too. Eluding these assaults, you come up beneath the towers of the fortress, where other troops are holding out:

The Books You’ve Been Planning To Read For Ages,

The Books You’ve Been Hunting For Years Without Success,

The Books Dealing With Something You’re Working On At The Moment,

The Books You Want To Own So They’ll Be Handy Just In Case,

The Books You Could Put Aside Maybe To Read This Summer,

The Books You Need To Go With Other Books On Your Shelves,

The Books That Fill You With Sudden, Inexplicable Curiosity, Not Easily Justified.” 

At This Point It Would Be Fair To Say I’m Hooked, Gutted, and Served  on a Plate, with Only One Desire - To Turn The Next page.

You’ve now bought the book, found your way home, settled down, possibly with a nice drink, perhaps a coffee or maybe something stronger -say, a nice glass of malt whisky. You turn the first page - which starts at some railway station (don’t know where, or when),- the feeling is like it’s some 1940’s  film Noir, your reading voice is being acted by William Holden and you realise it’s just a matter of time before some femme fatale crosses your path.

Now you’re relaxed, you’re about 30 pages in, you’ve crossed that invisible border, you understand this book, so you turn the page……and you realise there’s a problem a mistake, you’ve read  this before, in fact  the whole book is misprinted and contains only more copies of that same chapter.

You  return it to the shop, are given a replacement, but this turns out to be a totally different novel altogether. Just as you  becomes engrossed in that, it too is broken off: the pages, which were uncut, turn out to have been largely blank. This happens again. This cycle of first chapter, problem, new book - different book etc..  

Whilst at the book-shop you meet a girl you fancy, who has the same book as you, playing it  cool you arrange to meet her again to discuss any problems with this latest version, this starts another tale - one that alternates with the chapters from the various unfinished novels - in which you chase the novel around the globe, meeting various characters, are arrested & a lot more.

All through this post I’ve referred to the main protagonist as “You” Because This book is about a reader trying to read a book called If on a winter's night a traveller, and that’s you. Italo Calvino, has posited you THE READER in the driving seat, it’s you that finds the faults, you who track down the various books, the publisher, writer, translator etc.

By now  there comes the understanding , we are not reading just any ordinary novel. We are instructed to get comfortable, avoid distractions and enjoy the process that is reading. Slowly it dawns that this book puts pre-eminence on the reading experience itself, rather than on the text, this book takes you through a detective tale, a romance, a satire, an erotic story and still isn’t finished with you, this is the sheer genius of this book and Calvino’s writing, he has placed you, the reader as the hero.

Although this book is one of those books labelled postmodernmetafictionSelf-reflexive novel, and reviews about it spout sentences such as -  “which explores if absolute objectivity is possible, or even agreeable. Other themes include the subjectivity of meaning (associated with post-structuralism) the relationship between fiction and life, what makes an ideal reader and author, and authorial originality.” -  None of that matters, I loved this book, it made me turn the page, it made me laugh out loud sometimes with the sheer cheek/ audacity of the writer, one minute I’m Mickey Spillane, the next Jorge Luis Borges, and  sometimes I laughed, just because it was funny.

When If on a Winter's Night a Traveller was first published in the late 70’s it was considered cutting edge and revolutionary. This shamefully tends to translate as unpopular within mass culture who are put off by the terminology used. Thirty years or so later & Calvino's work is still being analysed and studied by universities all across the world who are seeking to introduce and enlighten today's generation to the excitement and unpredictability that  exists in a Postmodern world.

 

Route map.

Italo Calvino(wiki)

William Weaver

Vintage Classics

Some Literary Conceits. 

Postmodern Literature

Metafiction

Intertextuality

Self referencing/reflexive

Examples of-------

Literary Blog Hop

Past Horrors – The Sequel .

The Ladies of The Blue Bookcase, are fine promoters of all thing Literary and every fortnight they run a Blog hop, where bloggers can get together and discuss all things of a bookish nature, posting a different question every time. The question this time is--

Discuss a work of literary merit that you hated when you were made to read it in school or university.  Why did you dislike it?

This was an easy question for me, anyone that read my last blog hop reply- “Past Life Regressions” may remember my classics reading & how it related to schooling. The Book that would fit this question has been arbitrarily chosen from several that featured in my secondary school years (11 – 16) but it’s the one that sticks most in my mind.

1984

Now this is not really a case of me hating the book (because I don’t) more a case of disliking, not liking, had displeasure with, did not agree, Bl&*$£^! well hated the teachers and their attitude to not just this book, but the very subject. To say a corpse had more passion than my English teacher, would be a gross understatement. I mean it’s very subject matter of mind control & the individual, always subordinated to the state, should have appealed, it reflected the subliminal, if not public mission statement of the establishment. Also, The Ministry of Truth, could have been my EngLit teachers name, if one deigned to have an opinion on this book (or any) that varied from the text in front of him - well to say that it was frowned upon, is a bit like saying an AK47 Assault rifle blows kisses, and as I said in my last blog hop I was not only GOBBY, but raised to question everything & express my opinion freely, with the obvious result that, the assault rifle & I were nearly married.

In 1979 Pink Floyd released an album called “The Wall” and lead single off that album was called “Another brick in the wall”

It’s chorus went “ We don’t need no education ……..” which although I now realise is not true, I remember Singing my head off to the sentiment expressed with great glee.

Winnie the pooh day(18/01/2011)

Alan Alexander Milne (18 January 1882 –31 January 1956) was an English author, best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh and for various children's poems.  Milne was almost always credited as A. A. Milne. Every year on his birthday his most famous character gets to celebrate this day in his own right and also for his creator. In the spirit of childhood, and A.A.Milne who intended these tales to be read by all, not just children, but for the child in all of us.

Teddy Bear

A bear, however hard he tries,

Grows tubby without exercise.

Our Teddy Bear is short and fat,

Which is not to be wondered at;

He gets what exercise he can

By falling off the ottoman,

But generally seems to lack

The energy to clamber back.

Now tubbiness is just the thing

Which gets a fellow wondering;

And Teddy worried lots about

The fact that he was rather stout.

He thought: "If only I were thin!

But how does anyone begin?"

He thought: "It really isn't fair

To grudge one exercise and air." 

For many weeks he pressed in vain

His nose against the window-pane,

And envied those who walked about

Reducing their unwanted stout.

None of the people he could see

"Is quite" (he said) "as fat as me!"

Then, with a still more moving sigh,

"I mean" (he said) "as fat as I!

One night it happened that he took

A peep at an old picture-book,

Wherein he came across by chance

The picture of a King of France

(A stoutish man) and, down below,

These words: "King Louis So and So,

Nicknamed 'The Handsome!'" There he sat,

And (think of it!) the man was fat!

Our bear rejoiced like anything

To read about this famous King,

Nicknamed "The Handsome." There he sat,

And certainly the man was fat.

Nicknamed "The Handsome." Not a doubt

The man was definitely stout.

Why then, a bear (for all his tub)

Might yet be named "The Handsome Cub!"

"Might yet be named." Or did he mean

That years ago he "might have been"?

For now he felt a slight misgiving:

"Is Louis So and So still living?

Fashions in beauty have a way

Of altering from day to day.

Is 'Handsome Louis' with us yet?

Unfortunately I forget."

Next morning (nose to window-pane)

The doubt occurred to him again.

One question hammered in his head:

"Is he alive or is he dead?"

Thus, nose to pane, he pondered; but

The lattice window, loosely shut,

Swung open. With one startled "Oh!"

Our Teddy disappeared below.

There happened to be passing by

A plump man with a twinkling eye,

Who, seeing Teddy in the street,

Raised him politely to his feet,

And murmured kindly in his ear

Soft words of comfort and of cheer:

"Well, well!" "Allow me!" "Not at all."

"Tut-tut! A very nasty fall."

Our Teddy answered not a word;

It's doubtful if he even heard.

Our bear could only look and look:

The stout man in the picture-book!

That 'handsome' King - could this be he,

This man of adiposity?

"Impossible," he thought. "But still,

No harm in asking. Yes I will!"

"Are you," he said,"by any chance

His Majesty the King of France?"

The other answered, "I am that,"

Bowed stiffly, and removed his hat;

Then said, "Excuse me," with an air,

"But is it Mr Edward Bear?"

And Teddy, bending very low,

Replied politely, "Even so!"

They stood beneath the window there,

The King and Mr Edward Bear,

And, handsome, if a trifle fat,

Talked carelessly of this and that....

Then said His Majesty, "Well, well,

I must get on," and rang the bell.

"Your bear, I think," he smiled. "Good-day!"

And turned, and went upon his way.

A bear, however hard he tries,

Grows tubby without exercise.

Our Teddy Bear is short and fat,

Which is not to be wondered at. 

But do you think it worries him

To know that he is far from slim?

No, just the other way about -

He's proud of being short and stout.

Alan Alexander Milne

And just because I loved them

Poetry and Hums aren't things which you get, they're things which get you. And all you can do is go where they can find you

Before beginning a Hunt, it is wise to ask someone what you are looking for before you begin looking for it.

"I don't see much sense in that," said Rabbit. "No," said Pooh humbly, "there isn't. But there was going to be when I began it. It's just that something happened to it along the way."

happy birthday A.A. Milne & a wonderfool pooh day to every one else.

   pomes  ALL SIZES 

P.s. If you know of any quotes from this famous wise sage, please share them on this his day.

Deyan Enev’ s Balkan blues

  Circus Bulgaria.

This is a collection of  50 stories, some so short, that one blink and they’re gone, and  yet what glimpses you do get are into a world of fairy tales, where Gretel is a  prostitute and Hansel her down at the heel pimp, following a trail of tarnished Lev*.

This is a world where the lunatics have taken over the asylum, in fact all is asylum. Where a hitman has to kill his brother, where a ghost visits a pawnbroker to give him a watch inscribed to him. A world where a clown brokers a deal involving a lion and some gangsters, where a girl with dreams of being a Marionettist, wakes up to life as a cabaret dancer.

Circus Bulgaria is absurd, painfully funny and deeply sad. These tales reach straight into the cracked heart of post communist Bulgaria, some of these stories appear incomplete, more like fragments of a dream, things stop, not necessarily with a neat conclusion. Life ends.

Then there are the stories that you read, re-read  and still don’t understand, the stories that haunt your thought processes, but remain locked tight, like shutters on a window, you know there’s something on the other side, but there’s just something in the way, or you would understand this tale, if only you had the right reference points.

Deyan Enev draws on the myths & nightmare creatures of his homeland to paint vivid landscapes
& intimate portraits of his country and it’s people, the parts of Bulgaria that time forgot. Families  working  the land, in the way they have done for centuries. But the new lords are the men in flash cars who thrive on the violence, neon lights and squalor of the cities, leaving one with the sense that something has been lost.

 

  In the short story “The Garden of forking paths” Borges writes “Time forks perpetually towards innumerable futures”- yet not all paths continue, some may, some travel a short distance before halting at some barrier, some obstruction, a border. But what if within that path everything is mutable, inconstant, fickle, in flux ?  Welcome to Circus Bulgaria.

Deyan Enev(wiki)

Translator - Kapka Kassabova is a poet, essayist and travel writer who was born in Sofia, Bulgaria in 1973. After leaving Bulgaria as a teenager and living in England and New Zealand, she now resides in Edinburgh, Scotland.(wiki)

* Bulgarian Currency: 1 Lev = 0.51 Euros = 0.67 US dollars(approx.)

Miguel Syjuco

 Ilustrado

It Begins with a body.On a clear day in winter, the battered corpse of Crispin Salvador is pulled from the Hudson River—taken from the world is the controversial lion of Philippine literature. Missing, too, is the only manuscript of his final book. Enter Miguel, his student and only remaining friend, who makes it his mission to find out what happened to his friend and mentor, Miguel attempts to sort through the weft of Salvador's life, charting his trajectory through his poetry, interviews, novels, polemics, and memoirs, these literary fragments interlock to become stories, tales, become epic generational sagas linked like so many pieces from some large Jigsaw puzzle. As we follow Miguel’s journey home in search of more information, we come to realise that this book is as much about him, as it is about Salvador.

This story is told via rumour and jokes, via Blogs, text messages, through Miguel, through the works and interviews of Crispin Salvador and through the musings of seemingly omniscient narrator, it builds up layer upon layer resulting in a fascinating and dramatic family saga covering four generations, and 150 years of Philippine history, forged by blood and politics under the Spanish, the Americans, and the Filipinos themselves.

Constantly blurring our perception of what’s real, Illustrado becomes part metaphysical detective novel enthralled to Jorge Luis Borges, part satire on Philippine society (or at least the part of it the author  has intimate knowledge of).

 This is a wonderful fantastical debut novel, whether it’s the parts written as Crispin  Salvador, or as Miguel Syjuco, it conjures up  magical hallucinatory  images interwoven with the day to day reality - until past, present and future are all one tense, all one story.

“And with this fiction of possibilities, entwined with the possibilities of fiction, I've woven in my own unlived life.”

 

Garnering international prizes and acclaim before its publication, Ilustrado has been called “brilliantly conceived and stylishly executed . . .It is also ceaselessly entertaining, frequently raunchy, and effervescent with humour” (2008 Man Asian Literary Prize panel of judges).

“All life is a dream.

To attain the impossible,

we must attempt the absurd.”

Miguel Syjuco(wiki)

Publishers (M.Syjuco)

Literary Blog Hop: Jan 6-9

This is the next question  in the fortnightly series of questions from the fine ladies at The Blue Bookcase as part of their aim to promote literature via their Bloghop. For those not familiar with this hop check out the various posts relating to this or click the link to their site.

How did you find your way to reading literary fiction and nonfiction?

Past Life Regressions.

This is one of those questions that have appeared on and off throughout  my life - along with its close cousins -  When did you start reading & you read HOW MUCH?. If I answer  the question when did I start  to read with the answer -  that I’ve absolutely no knowledge, that although there must have been a time when I didn’t read, as I’m sure that if I had exited my mothers womb,  book opened at page 67 of the complete works of Shakespeare, someone would have snapped a shot with their Kodak Instamatic, if only for posterity. But if I try to think back to what must have been a seminal point, I can’t find one. As far as I’m concerned I’ve always read, & although logically I understand that this can’t be so, by all other criteria it’s what I believe. As to works of literary fiction - I had no criteria to judge what was and wasn’t of merit, so it wasn’t until I got to secondary school (11+) that I realised that such a standard existed, and that all the books I had been devouring over the years at my Grandparents, from their complete Classic series (or some such name), were books of literary merit. Now this was to cause me problems at school, especially in my dealings with teachers (that & I was naturally Gobby), imagine if the books on offer as part of your curriculum, you’ve already read, not just them but others of their ilk (Brave new World, Island 1984 etc.). So school & myself  had a parting of ways, I avoided what should have been my favourite subject - English Literature - & sought sanctuary from the world in a dimly lit cave, that was my local library, a place even to this day that, if I walk in I feel an instant relaxation.

The epic of Gilgamesh

Welcome to The Read-a-Myth Reading Challenge 2011!
The Read-a-Myth Reading Challenge is hosted by JoV of Bibliojunkie and Bina of If You Can Read This.  They want you to come join them in a Quest (challenge), and share any stories about mythological creatures, or any heroic figures that you have loved.

“I will proclaim to the world the deeds of Gilgamesh. This was the man to whom all things were known; this was the king who knew the countries of the world. He was wise, he saw mysteries and  knew secret things, he brought us a tale of the days before the flood. He went on a long journey, was weary, worn out with labour, returning he rested, he engraved on a stone the whole story.”

“When the Gods created Gilgamesh they gave him a perfect body.Shamash the glorious sun endowed him with beauty, Adad the God of the storm endowed him with courage, the great Gods made his beauty perfect, surpassing all others, terrifying like a great wild bull. Two thirds they made him God and one third man.”

“ Gilgamesh went abroad in the world, but he met with none who could withstand his arms till he came to Uruk. But the men of Uruk muttered in their houses,  “Gilgamesh sounds the tocsin (alarm) for his amusement, his arrogance has no bounds by day or night. No son is left with his father, for Gilgamesh takes them all, even the children; yet the king should be a shepherd to his people. His lust leaves no virgin to her lover, neither the warrior’s daughter nor the wife of the noble; yet this is the shepherd of the city, wise, comely and resolute”.

This is the start of The Epic of Gilgamesh, with his people bemoaning their ruler, cowering beneath his terrifying visage. But luckily for them the gods are listening and they create a wild creature called Enkidu, in the hope that he will challenge the arrogant and ruthless Gilgamesh. After an initial confrontation, which ended with Gilgamesh throwing Enkidu, they became firm friends. They then set out on an expedition to the west, meet an evil monster (Humbaba) in the Cedar forest, Enkidu slays this monster who, it turns out, is favoured by the gods and they in retribution take Enkidu’s life.
Enkidu’s death has a profound affect on Gilgamesh and he becomes Gilgamesh a broken mortal

“hear me, great ones of Uruk

I weep for Enkidu, my friend,

Bitterly moaning like a woman mourning

I weep for my  brother.

O Enkidu, my brother,

you were the axe at my side,

My hand’s strength, the sword in my belt,

The shield before me,

A glorious robe, my fairest ornament;

an evil fate has robbed me……….

This sends him of on a quest in search of eternal life, which leads him into further adventures. In one of these he encounters Utnapishtim “ the faraway”, he regales Gilgamesh of how he survived a great flood ( this bears many resemblances to the Biblical version  of the Flood *)
“lay upon the sinner his sins,
lay upon the transgressor his transgression,
punish him a little when he breaks loose,
Do not drive him to hard or he perishes;

              would that a lion had ravaged mankind

rather than the flood,

               would that a wolf had ravaged mankind

rather than the flood,

               would that famine had wasted the world

rather than the flood,

                  would that pestilence had wasted mankind

rather than the flood.

After hearing Utnapishtim's tale, Gilgamesh learns from him of a plant that can create immortality. Although after he finds this wondrous plant, it’s stolen from him by a snake, whilst he lays asleep, finally exhausted, his quest ended.
“ The King has laid himself down and will not rise again,
The Lord of Kullab will not rise again;
He overcame evil, he will not come again;
Though he was strong of arm he will not rise again;”


 

The History behind the myth

The epic of Gilgamesh, the renowned king of Uruk in Mesopotamia, comes from an age which had been wholly forgotten, until in the last century archaeologists began uncovering the buried cities of the middle east.  The  epic celebrates the Sumerian king, Uru-inim-gina, as tragic hero. A masterpiece of Mesopotamian literature, it  recounts the pursuit of fame and immortality by the semi-legendary king of Uruk. Based on at least five earlier Sumerian legends, the epic was amalgamated into a unified whole early in the second millennium B.C. Until this came to light, this entire stretch of history, which separated Abraham from Noah could only be located in two chapters of the book of Genesis. From these only two names survived in common parlance, those of the hunter Nimrud and the tower of Babel; but in the cycle of poems which are collected round the character of Gilgamesh we are carried back into the middle of that age.

Many stories and myths were written about Gilgamesh, some of which were written down about 2000 B.C. in the Sumerian language on clay tablets which still survive; the Sumerian language, as far as we know, bears no relation to any other human language we know about. These Sumerian Gilgamesh stories were integrated into a longer poem, versions of which survive not only in Akkadian (the Semitic language, related to Hebrew, spoken by the Babylonians) but also on tablets written in Hurrian and Hittite (an Indo-European language, a family of languages which includes Greek and English, spoken in Asia Minor). All the above languages were written in the script known as cuneiform, which means "wedge-shaped." The fullest surviving version, from which the summary here is taken, is derived from twelve stone tablets, in the Akkadian language, found in the ruins of the library of Ashurbanipal, king of Assyria 669-633 B.C., at Nineveh. The library was destroyed by the Persians in 612 B.C., and all the tablets are damaged. The tablets actually name an author, which is extremely rare in the ancient world, for this particular version of the story: Shin-eqi-unninni. You are being introduced here to the oldest known human author we can name by name!



*In both the Genesis and Gilgamesh stories:
The Genesis story describes how mankind had become obnoxious to God; they were hopelessly sinful and wicked. In the Babylonian story, they were too numerous and noisy.
The Gods (or God)  decided to send a worldwide flood. This would drown men, women, children, babies and infants, as well as eliminate all of the land animals and birds.
The Gods (or God) knew of one righteous man, Ut-Napishtim or Noah.
The Gods (or God) ordered the hero to build a multi-story wooden ark (called a chest or box in the original Hebrew).
The ark would be sealed with pitch.
The ark would have with many internal compartments
It would have a single door
It would have at least one window.
The ark was built and loaded with the hero, a few other humans, and samples from all species of other land animals.
A great rain covered the land with water.
The mountains were initially covered with water.
The ark landed on a mountain in the Middle East.
The hero sent out birds at regular intervals to find if any dry land was in the vicinity.
The first two birds returned to the ark. The third bird apparently found dry land because it did not return.
The hero and his family left the ark, ritually killed an animal, offered it as a sacrifice.
God (or the Gods in the Epic of Gilgamesh) smelled the roasted meat of the sacrifice.
The hero was blessed.
The Babylonian gods seemed genuinely sorry for the genocide that they had created. The God of Noah appears to have regretted his actions as well, because he promised never to do it again.
For more comparisons
Epic of Wikipedia

all Greek Tragedy and minor Hubris

 

Based on the fact that the challenges I did last year were so much fun, I thought I would start this year, at sprint pace, with these five challenges pictured above, the challenges  are--

 

 

 

The 2011 Roberto Bolaño Reading Challenge

 run by Rise at  In Lieu Of a field guide, my favourite resource for all things Bolano.

The goal is to to read Bolaño's books in any format (book, eBook, audio) and in any language (translation or original Spanish).

Books by Bolaño that you have previously read can be counted in your total books read. There is a separate category for re-reads. You only need to finish the remaining unread books for the category on first-time reads. You can "worm" your way into the challenge by reading at least 2 books by Bolaño published this year. Now, anyone who has a vague awareness of me as an individual, or who whilst flying through hyperspace tripped over this blog, would know how hard it would have been for me to refuse this challenge – so to make things simple.. I didn’t.

 

 

 Haruki Murakami Reading Challenge 2011. Now this challenge is run by – tanabata, a book-hoarding, cat-loving, chocolate-craving, tea-drinking, cockroach-hating, camera-wielding Canadian and all round book geek living in Japan with her husband, and two very silly cats ( also Chief Honcho at  - In Spring It is the Dawn), - So far So Murakami, which was just about enough of an excuse/reason for me to join. The goal is simply to read something/anything by Haruki Murakami.
*Whether you're a complete newbie, or already a huge Murakami fan, everyone is welcome to join in.
*You can join in anytime.

 

 

“Italy in books” - reading challenge 2011 Now my acquaintance with  this challenge is down to to a posting by Winstonsdads Blog and my daughter purchasing me a Calvino book for Xmas, in the face of such  serendipitous circumstances, it would be impolite, nay downright rude of me to confront the Gods of chance & say ”I will  not sign up”. Being a naturally cautious character, sign up I did.

Italy in Books is run by Brighton Blogger at  Book After Book.  The challenge will run from January, 1st 2011 to December, 31st 2011. The aim of the challenge is to read at least 12 books that are set in Italy. Whether written by Italian authors or not, it doesn’t matter. They don’t have to be set exclusively in Italy but this country needs to play a significant role in the book. The challenge can include non-fiction books about Italy. You can also review Italian learning books but this is limited to a maximum of two titles.

The challenge is open to bloggers and non bloggers alike.

There will be monthly prizes for participants.

 

 

 2011 Global Reading Challenge. This was Introduced to me by Shellie at Layers of Thought, who was of the opinion it would appeal to me & my reading habits, which it does and also fits in beautifully  with my aim to read a wider and more varied range of Literature. This Challenge is run by a Danish Blogger called Dorte H. There are three levels – the easiest with 8 books (one from each of the eight categories below), the medium level to include 16 books, and the expert including 24.

Africa
Asia
Australasia
Europe
North America
South America (please include Central America where it is most convenient for you)

The Seventh Continent (here you can either choose Antarctica or your own ´seventh´ setting, e.g the sea, the space, a supernatural/paranormal world, history, the future – you name it).

 

 

2011 Support Your Local Library Challenge, This is  one I am  really keen to support, as local  libraries are some of the greatest assets this country has, and in the current economic climate they aren’t safe. Also I failed at this last year I set my target at a 100+ and managed 74, this year I'm playing a tad safer and setting the level at 50, with the aim of trying for higher than. The goal is to read 12, 25, 50, or 100 books from your local library. Anyone can join, and any book from your local library counts.

For more information on these challenges, go to my 2011 challenges page(link on side) where you can find out about my aims, and by following the links, either sign up yourself, or just learn a little bit more about these fabulous challenges and be inspired.

 

 

 

 

 Let us give something to each person we meet:

joy, courage, hope, assurance, or philosophy, wisdom,

a vision for the future. Let us always give something.

 

-- Daisaku Ikeda