Shadow & Light
How do you blog about a book that is hard to understand and of which a lot seems bunk, especially when it’s clear the author is on a higher intellectual plain than the reader? Here goes. Robert Bly, still alive at 93, has written scores of books - poetry, essays, translations. He won a National Book Award in 1967 for The Light Around the Body, a collection that focused on his opposition to the Vietnam War. A Little Book on the Human Shadow came my way via a donation to the floating book shop. Only 81 pages, it covers readings Bly has done, and includes an interview. His work has been influenced by renowned psychologist Carl Jung, who said: “Everyone carries a shadow and the less it is embodied in the individual’s conscious life, the blacker and denser it is.” If I understood Bly correctly, he believes humans begin to submerge aspects of personality even before the age of one. These are considered dark. He also believes they need to be restored if a person is to become whole. I don’t disagree about the shadow concept, although I think many traits should remain there. Unfortunately, certain vital ones get trapped there as well. I’ve dealt with this all my adult life. I have been unable to pull one out of the shadow. This is nobody’s fault but mine. It may be the prime motivation for my writing. What I didn’t like about the book was Bly’s one-size fits all self assurance, his know-it-all portraits of public figures like Ronald Reagan. The book has a copyright date of 1988. The Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. While it did so largely of its own weight, President Reagan did more than anyone to help it to its demise — and most of the world celebrated. I doubt there’s an accurate, all encompassing view on the psychology of human beings. Bly speaks as if there is. He uses some of his poetry to make his points. I’ve always have had trouble connecting with any poetry but that of song, and that was the case here too. There are many references to artists and works that may be obscure to most folks. Many were to me. Most of those who have rated the book at Amazon disagree with my opinion. 61 have forged to a consensus of 4.4 on a scale of five. Most must also be on a higher intellectual plain.
RIP Bill Buckner, 69, an excellent major leaguer unfairly defined by a single moment in a distinguished career. As a Mets fan, I rejoiced when Mookie Wilson’s squibbler got by him, which capped the miraculous comeback in Game Six of the ’86 World Series, but I was saddened at how Buckner was subsequently treated, the shadow that was cast over his life. He deserved a lot better. His career spanned 22 years, six different teams. He batted .289 overall, and was the NL batting champ in 1980 when he hit .324 for the Cubs. He was an All-Star in 1981. He had 2715 hits, ranking him 66th all-time. In contrast to modern players, his strike-out rate was phenomenal, 4.5%. Only Tony Gwynn had a better rate among their contemporaries. Buckner might have done even better if not for ankle surgeries in 1975-’76, which robbed him of speed and mobility. He always seemed to limp. He persevered. If not for those injuries, he might have had a Hall of Fame career. Well done, sir. (Facts from Wiki)
Despite the shadow of rain clouds, the floating book shop saw the light today, aided once again by the scaffold that kept my usual nook dry. My thanks to Steve, the poet laureate of Sheepshead Bay, just back from London, who bought five Springsteen CD’s; and to The Quiet Man, who purchased seven CD’s; and to the woman who selected Songs of the Humpback Whale by Jodi Picoult, the only work of fiction that sold during the session; and to the gentleman who chose 100 Questions, The Great American Bathroom Book, Volume 1 by Stevens W. Anderson, 1001 Dumbest Things Ever Said by Steven D. Price, and an illustrated collection of the works of the brothers Grimm; and to Barry, retired radical professor of Criminology at John Jay College facing charges of sexual harassment, who went home with Test Your Counter Culture Literacy.
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