Monday 8 August 2011

TS Eliot : the Pastieland

i must confess that my initial interest in the whole pastie-shtick was ignited by this little known poem by TS Eliot:


THE RECYCLING OF THE DEAD

ἔννεπέ μοι, φράσον, τίνι μόρῳ θνῄσκει
ἄδικος ἄδικά τ᾽ ἐκπορίζων ἀνήρ;

Chomp chomp ~ chérie do you remember
Chomp ~ it was a cruel month
Brekekekex koax koax
October dis-tu ?
We were fishing for mackerel
Krak Krak went the chevaliers
Mais ~ chomp ~ les maqueraux n'étaient pas là

A hard time ~ chomp ~ we had of it
Would Sir like ~ chomp ~ Sky in his room ?
Chomp ~ je mourrais pour avoir du ciel dans ce foutoir
Brekekekex koax koax
Aut tunc aut nunquam ~ perhaps you may say ~ chomp ~ it would be
~ chomp ~ better not to dwell on the pasty

φρονήσασαι μὲν οἷ᾽ ἐδράσατε
ἀλγήσετ᾽ ἄλγος δεινόν· εἰ δὲ διὰ τέλους
ἐν τῷδ᾽ ἀεὶ μενεῖτ᾽ ἐν ᾧ καθέστατε,
οὐκ εὐτυχοῦσαι δόξετ᾽ οὐχὶ δυστυχεῖν


Pastih Pastih Pastih


I have been unable to locate this in any of the standard anthologies.... anyone ?


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