Dipping in to 'Convolvulus'

[stephen]

I was dipping in to the poems in CONVOLVULUS the other evening and was struck by the unusual title of "Behind the Slovenes" on page 148, and saw that this was inspired by a painting by Emil Nolde, with whom I was not familiar.  I believe that this is the painting, simply entitled "Slovenes" and painted in 1911:


                                            


Its not quite what I expected from the poem; think I shall have to go back to it with the image in mind.


                    

[stephen]

Actually, once you start with these poems, the threads of inspiration spin out like the proverbial Typhonian Spider's Web.

"The Last Flight" on page 154, is dedicated "(To the Memory of B.L.)" and its almost immediately clear that this is Bela Lugosi.

(As far as I'm aware, it was Peter Smith of Leeds who first pointed out that the Avatar of Baron Samedi to whom Cults of the Shadow is dedicated is also Bela Lugosi).

It certainly is a very enjoyable poem.  And in "Sigils" on page 110, the final lines are :

    "A spider's web that only vampires leave
      unbroken in their passage."

which is a direct reference to a scene in Tod Browning's DRACULA (1931), in which Lugosi made his famous debut.

Anyone care to join in ?

[Artilect]

I find myself recently drawn to the 'idea' of Grant's poetry, but have only collected and read the non-fiction work and nightside narratives over the years. Is there an example or excerpt of Grant's poetry online anywhere that I can have a look at before ordering Convolvulus?

[stephen]

Hi Artilect,  Have just had a quick look on Google, but I don't think that Grant's poetry is available online.  First thing that came up was Weiser Antiquarian with a signed, de luxe CONVOLVULUS going for $350.00.

Starfire Publishing do still have copies at the original £25.00 and it is a very beautiful book.  I would go for it if I were you.  Don't think that Michael would mind me posting one of the poems here to encourage you, but I'm in my local library and do not have the book with me, of course.  If you have the Nightside Narratives, this would complement both them and the 'non-fiction' Typhonian Trilogies.

As far as I am concerned, there is no hard line between Grant's fictional and non-fictional work, as is befitting for the work of any true Magician, for that matter.

[Gregory Peters]

Some great finds Stephen, thanks for sharing. This inspires me to go back into Convolvulus with a fresh eye.

[Nalyd Khezr Bey]

Here is a small sample for Artilect. This also happens to be one that I personally really like and also shows how some of them compliment the "Nightside Narratives" as Stephen mentioned.

The Darker Strain

We stand within a void as thought alone
As if on rolling clouds a shadow writhes
A shadow in darkness of a vague idea

We are that darker strain in darkness blent
With clouds that shed no rain

We are essentially insane
To think we think and are at all
For what is 'we' but memory

Of cloudy dream...?

Convolvulus could also be described as a poetic grimoire. It also shows a side of Grant that may not be so evident in his other writings; the personal side of him and how he observed and translated the world around him. Very much the romantic.

[stephen]

Good to have your comments and contributions Gregory and Nalyd.

Don't want to promote a poem-posting frenzy, but I did come armed with one originally published in THE GULL'S BEAK and which has a Lovecraftian tone and an intriguing suggestion of magical technique:

    Change

    There exist grotesque mutations
    like the one I saw last night
    hanging in a gulf with titan rocks
    of shadow heaped around its squameous bulk.

    A vast appalling entity
    threshing in the dust of space
    brought suddenly to hand
    by some unusual twist
    of seeing
    or by the mind abruptly being
    turned, bent back upon itself,
    thus seeing deep within, too deep;
    its lense reflecting cosmic themes
    unborn as yet
    except in dreams.

   

[Gregory Peters]

Nov 3, 2014 14:55:39 GMT stephen said:

Good to have your comments and contributions Gregory and Nalyd.

Don't want to promote a poem-posting frenzy, but I did come armed with one originally published in THE GULL'S BEAK and which has a Lovecraftian tone and an intriguing suggestion of magical technique:

    Change

    There exist grotesque mutations
    like the one I saw last night
    hanging in a gulf with titan rocks
    of shadow heaped around its squameous bulk.

    A vast appalling entity
    threshing in the dust of space
    brought suddenly to hand
    by some unusual twist
    of seeing
    or by the mind abruptly being
    turned, bent back upon itself,
    thus seeing deep within, too deep;
    its lense reflecting cosmic themes
    unborn as yet
    except in dreams.

   

This is great - very poignant as well. Isn't a deep sense of loss or sorrow one of the great trances that brings one to self reflection and probing the depths of "inner space"? I'm reminded of the Buddhist tantras, where fierce and often terrifying guardians and other imagery of the charnal grounds arise in consciousness to protect the inner mandala or seed consciousness from the unwary psychic traveller. The deities described in such Buddhist teachings are reminiscent of the Lovecraftian mythos, with one major exception - in Buddhism they appear to have a strong motivation for compassion for the human race. This would be in sharp contradistinction to the beings encountered when exploring the Lovecratian mythos. Or it may be that the Lovecraftian deities are also displaying compassion according to their "skillfull means", and our limited human egos are unable to comprehend it?

[stephen]

Nov 3, 2014 18:39:15 GMT Gregory Peters said:

Nov 3, 2014 14:55:39 GMT stephen said:

This is great - very poignant as well. Isn't a deep sense of loss or sorrow one of the great trances that brings one to self reflection and probing the depths of "inner space"? I'm reminded of the Buddhist tantras, where fierce and often terrifying guardians and other imagery of the charnal grounds arise in consciousness to protect the inner mandala or seed consciousness from the unwary psychic traveller. The deities described in such Buddhist teachings are reminiscent of the Lovecraftian mythos, with one major exception - in Buddhism they appear to have a strong motivation for compassion for the human race. This would be in sharp contradistinction to the beings encountered when exploring the Lovecratian mythos. Or it may be that the Lovecraftian deities are also displaying compassion according to their "skillfull means", and our limited human egos are unable to comprehend it?

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE QUOTE ABOVE IS BY GREGORY !

Stimulating thoughts.  What I find most interesting about the Lovecraftian Entities these days, is the very fact of their otherness.  Might seem obvious, but with all of the diverse attention that the 'Cthulhu Mythos' has received over the past four decades, the Great Old Ones have become as comfortably familiar as the deities of any more established - and therefore conservatively respectable - pantheon.  Their essence is non-anthropomorphic and trans-human, emblematic of the 'Next Step' perhaps, and how compatible this next step might be with the familiar expressions of human compassion is a matter for serious consideration.  Recall what Liber AL has to say about compassion, for example.

I recall an incident in meditation where my consciousness 'surprised' a black and monstrous being in the act of feeding upon something (I had a conviction of having strayed somehow in to the cell of Thantifaxath) and as I watched it, it became aware of me and stared at me.  I perceived no sense of compassion in that gaze, I can assure you, and withdrew my consciousness rapidly.

[Gregory Peters]

Makes me wonder if the "kingly" compassion of AL is perhaps so far beyond human understanding at the non-initiatory stage. Perhaps it is more geared towards other dimensions or consciousness outside of our life wave, and "compassionate" responses within the Tunnels of Set may be to obliterate the blight or virus that is mundane human consciousness.

More explorations and more contact will help to clarify

[artilect]

I have meant to get in here and say thanks to those above who posted excerpts of the poetry found in Convolvulus. I'm going to place an order with JD Holmes for this as well as some of the Nightside Narratives that I haven't picked up yet. Ultimately it's Grant's fixation on dreams that convinces me to read and own all of his published output. His formidable discipline and prolificness is truly awe-inspiring!