Working Translations
Henry La Bonne, “To the Cat” and “The Despised Dandelion”
[English adaptations by Shawn P. Wilbur.]
poetry
Contr'un
Louise Michel and “the birds of the coming storm”
Here is a literal translation of Louise Michel’s “Les Corbeaux”, from Before the Commune, a posthumous collection of poems published in 1905. _____ THE CROWS Up there, on the fir trees, are some soft birds’ nests; In the dark trees the are black crows. From Germany to the Ukraine, They open their wings to the wind; And they fly, casting over the plains Their raucous rattle of their voices. For them the harvest is superb; The dead are there, sown in the grass, O black bird, like wheat. Go, and from eyes full of shadow, As if from cups, drink; […]
Contr'un
Responses to Anarchism: the Rhyme of Ravachol Needham
[From P. R. Bennett, Ducdame; a book of verses. 1912.] The Anarchist [A critic in the New Age suggests that modern thought can submit no longer to the tyranny of rhyme and metre.] Ravachol Needham was a man of letters, Who refused to submit to the wretched fetters That sought by rules of rhyme and scansion To prevent his soaring soul’s expansion. He had languished long on a dismal sonnet And wasted his eagle spirit on it, Till the poor old bird had been imprisoned So long that it grew depressed and wizened, Drooped its feathers and nearly moulted, Could […]
Uncategorized
Calculus, Poetry, the two William Batchelder Greenes, etc
As much as I complain, and will continue to complain, about the quality of Google Books’ digital archive, their access to materials is remarkable. I have very mixed feelings about that access, given the rather cavalier way in which scanning appears to be done. I worry that scarce, fragile volumes are being subjected to the rigors of the duplication process—without any complete and usable edition resulting! But the other side of the coin is that today I finally have access to a copy of William Batchelder Greene’s 1859 An Expository Sketch of a New Theory of the Calculus, the work, […]
Uncategorized
B. W. Ball, The Revolution
B. W. Ball, “The Revolution,” The Radical Review, 720. THE REVOLUTION. There is no pause. Still blow resounds on blow,The order old making to shake and reelFrom base to pinnacle. To dust brought low,Crescent and Cross the shock of ruin feel.Shallow Reaction tries in vain to stemThe Revolution’s surge, which more and more,Drowning tiara, throne, and diadem.Spreads undulating wide from shore to shore.What though Priest, Kaiser, Sultan, King still sitSceptred and crowned above the encroaching flood?Belshazzar’s legend is above them writ,And they grow pale before Man’s altered mood.Voices of Revolution, trumpet-clear,Byron and Shelley, lo, your day is near! B. W. […]
Uncategorized
I. G. Blanchard, The Warfare
I. G. Blanchard, “The Warfare,” The Radical Review, 533. THE WARFARE. Along the battle’s flaming van We mark the tried and true, —Defenders of the cause of man, A chosen, peerless few.Born to their mission and inspired, Oh, should they fall, we feelNo spirit would like theirs be fired, No hand could wield their steel. Yet, one by one, they step aside, Or on the red field lie,And still their places are supplied, Still rings the battle-cry;Still o’er the hoary walls of Wrong Truth’s startling missiles fly,And still, with steady step and strong, Her hosts are marching by. And so […]
poetry
“Josiah Warren” (poem) (1874)
[one_third padding=”0 10px 0 0px”] JOSIAH WARREN. Who gave the world the boldest thought, That ever has by man been taught, And set the pride of wealth at naught? Josiah Warren. Who gave the parlor lectures best, From glowing love in his own breast, Which is to be by nations blest? Josiah Warren. Who made the good of man his prayer, And did to all around declare, The glory of a millionaire? Josiah Warren. Who taught the best industrial law, Which wit or wisdom ever saw, That after him shall millions draw? Josiah Warren. Who set the usury […]
Anarchism
J. K. Ingalls, “Address to Commonwealers”
Joshua King Ingalls, “Address to Commonwealers,” The Twentieth Century, XIII, 2 (July 12, 1894), 11. ADDRESS TO COMMONWEALERS BY J. K. INGALLS. Hirelings who for gold have bled!Voters to polls by bosses led!Toilers, begging “work or bread,” Strike for Liberty!Now’s the day and now’s the hour!Cease to court the oppressors’ power!Who threaten, bribe, while they devour Your fruits of industry. Decline their deal the ballot boxTheir “leaden diet” cartridge box!Detective trick and brutal knocks! Brave thought against them try!In no “god of battles trust!”Give nor take what is not just!And only die, when die you must, As man for man […]