Poetry and art, Bliss Cameron and Peter Doig

Bliss Carmen,
Canadian Poet
(1861 - 1929)

Bliss Carman, Canadian Poet,  was Born April 15, 1861 in Fredericton, New Brunswick. He came from a family of educated literary figures and poets. He was the son of William Carman and Sophia Mary Bliss (Sophia Mary Bliss was a descendant of Daniel Bliss of Concord, Massachusetts, the great-grandfather of Ralph Waldo Emerson; and was the aunt of Charles G.D. Roberts).

He was enrolled in Oxford University, but left after only three days of attendance and enrolled instead at Edinburgh University, where some friends from New Brunswick were also enrolled. He studied physics, mathematics and philosophy. He returned to Fredericton in 1883 and taught at Collegiate Grammar School. In 1884, while Roberts was editor of Goldwin Smith's The Week, had his first poem published ("Ma belle Canadienne."). After that his career as a writer and poet took off.

Earth Voices by Bliss Carman

I heard the spring wind whisper
Above the brushwood fire,
"The world is made forever
Of transport and desire.
"I am the breath of being,
The primal urge of things;
I am the whirl of star dust,
I am the lift of wings.
"I am the splendid impulse
That comes before the thought,
The joy and exaltation
Wherein the life is caught.

"Across the sleeping furrows
I call the buried seed,
And blade and bud and blossom
Awaken at my need.

"Within the dying ashes
I blow the sacred spark,
And make the hearts of lovers
To leap against the dark."II

I heard the spring light whisper
Above the dancing stream,
"The world is made forever
In likeness of a dream.

"I am the law of planets,
I am the guide of man;
The evening and the morning
Are fashioned to my plan.

"I tint the dawn with crimson,
I tinge the sea with blue;
My track is in the desert,
My trail is in the dew.

"I paint the hills with color,
And in my magic dome
I light the star of evening
To steer the traveller home.

"Within the house of being,
I feed the lamp of truth
With tales of ancient wisdom
And prophecies of youth."III

I heard the spring rain murmur
Above the roadside flower,
"The world is made forever
In melody and power.

"I keep the rhythmic measure
That marks the steps of time,
And all my toil is fashioned
To symmetry and rhyme.

"I plow the untilled upland,
I ripe the seeding grass,
And fill the leafy forest
With music as I pass.

"I hew the raw, rough granite
To loveliness of line,
And when my work is finished,
Behold, it is divine!

"I am the master-builder
In whom the ages trust.
I lift the lost perfection
To blossom from the dust."IV

Then Earth to them made answer,
As with a slow refrain
Born of the blended voices
Of wind and sun and rain,

"This is the law of being
That links the threefold chain:
The life we give to beauty
Returns to us again."

ART WORK BY;

Peter Doig (born 1959)
Peter Doig was born in Edinburgh but spent much of his time in different parts of the world. In 1962 he moved with his family to Trinidad, where his father worked with a shipping and trading company, and then in 1966 they moved again to Canada. Although he studied in London; in 1979 he studied art at the Wimbledon School of Art, St Martin's School of Art (where he became friends with Billy Childish) and later the Chelsea School of Art, where he received his MA, his Canadian childhood influenced much of his work.  In the middle 1980s, he returned to the place of his childhood and  lived and worked in Montreal.

In 1993 he won the first prize at the John Moores exhibition with his painting Blotter and in 1994 he was nominated for the Turner Prize. From 1995 to 2000 he was a trustee of the Tate Gallery. In 2002, Doig moved back to Trinidad, where he set up a studio at the Caribbean Contemporary Arts centre near Port of Spain, and also became professor at the fine arts academy in are very abstract with a number harking back to the snowy scenes of his childhood in Canada.

delete reply pestep55 wrote on Sep 23, '09 Thanks for the intro Bliss and Peter, you really made the art and poetry showcase each other /:-)

delete reply fransformation wrote on Sep 23, '09 Thanks for a very intersting poetic post.

delete reply sweetpotatoqueen wrote on Sep 23, '09 Very lovely presentation. This poem is so rich in it's imagery...would enjoy reading more of this talented poet. The artwork is quite vibrant...thanks for this lovely combination of art and words.

delete reply brendainmad wrote on Sep 22, '09 Colourful and nice paintings to go with an equally colourful and nice poem. Youreallyknow how to co-ordinate the two things.

delete reply caffeinatedjo wrote on Sep 22, '09 Beautiful imagery in the poem and the paintings. Thanks for the introduction to both artists.

delete reply veryfrank wrote on Sep 21, '09 Wonderful post Loretta. It is really something how two artists born a hundred years apart can blend so well.

delete reply byranon wrote on Sep 21, '09 What a wonderful poem! I've never heard of Carman before but now I want to read more. The artwork is lovely as well. Thank you!

delete reply lauritasita wrote on Sep 21, '09 Loretta, this post is so delightful ! The poetry and art go together so well. Thanks for introducing me to this poet. I always come away learning more from you.