At last I have found this skjaldesang, a medieval ballad I have been looking for for years. It is apparently not medieval, though it may sound so. The melody is old, but the words are nineteenth century and the author is Grundtvig. It is a nationalistic and pedagogical text nostalgic for the time of Kings … More Skjaldesang
Clearly, next year I will have to make Danish Christmas cookies at Thanksgiving and ripen them in tins. For this year I must go to the fancy store after herring, salmon, prunes, rye bread, red cabbage, songbirds and candles. 23 December is the day to do it. Very basic versions of the Scandinavian menus, modified … More Brave old menus (and brave new consulting business), revised
Spanish literature is not the prefiguring, emanation, or multiple expression of a Herderian national soul, as we were taught. If we must say it is one thing then it is the sardonic laughter of witty people who caught in an irrational situation and commenting upon it. Spanish literature is an adjective, not a noun. It … More Qu’est-ce que la littérature … espagnole?
Not only is there now much more Spanish literature than there was at one time; what used to exist has become more interesting. Within my memory there were exam questions such as, “Discuss idealism and realism in the Spanish soul, citing examples from relevant literary texts.” In Catalan class the questions had only marginally more … More Aftershocks
The Libro de buen amor was given that title by Menéndez Pidal in 1898. Before, it was apparently called the Libro de los cantares. I wrote an entire M.A. examination on this book, four hours on a single question about this fragment: De todos los enstrumentos yo, libro, só pariente: Bien o mal, qual puntares, … More Further shocking facts about Spanish literature
“En un piso de la calle 52 Este de Nueva York, ante los ojos conmovidos de una mujer y un hombre que oyen tras las ventanas cerradas el viento del invierno y el rumor como de catarata de la ciudad a la que asoman muy pocas veces y encuentran en el baúl de Ramiro Retratista … More El jinete polaco
I am still looking for all the right Scandinavian, but especially Danish carols, but many good recordings are Norwegian. Here is the choir of Oslo Cathedral, with an old photograph on which you can see a tree with real candles. They have candles on the pews in church on Christmas Eve, too. I have already … More Dejlig er jorden
The younger set believes in going to the mall Saturday evenings after work. Had I not been induced to try it I would not have known that today you can have DKNY jeans for the price of Lee. So here they are, the Mercer Street Skinny, which means my new look is almost complete. I … More Brave new fashion (and brave new consulting business)
I woke up this morning excited to keep reading about that utterly strange planet, Spain. One of the things I do not like about working here at Vichy State is that there is not enough context here to be a Hispanist and I have no colleagues to speak of; my best colleagues, really, are the … More Dejlig er den himmel blå
Axé.
