Rattle and Hum

Olde New England Towne

We know what it’s like to feel a seismic shift when reading groundbreakingly good poetry. And with all the talk of earthquakes lately, we thought now would be an opportune moment to consider some tremors of the literary variety. Before we get started, lets take stock and appreciate the movement of the earth and the geologic construction of words. Or as Edward Hitchhock says, “Shall not geology, which is the first science in affording scope for the imagination, be brought into favor with the Muses, and afford themes for the Poet?” Yes, Sir Ed, let’s be taken away with metaphors and metamorphic rock talk. Sifting the interwebs, we dug up this poem written about the 1653 New England earthquake…

Poem on the 1653 New England Earthquake

by Reverend Peter Bulkeley

The solid earth, before an angry God,
Shakes at the terrors of His awful nod.
The balance of the mighty world is lost—
Its vast foundations, in confusion toss’d,
Through all the hollows of its deepest caves
Rock like a vessel foundering in the waves.
Volumes of sulphurous air, with booming sound,
Burst through the gorges of the parted ground.

The earth doth heave, with groanings of distress,
Beneath the weight of human sinfulness.
Shall not our eyes drop penitential rain,
When all creation travaileth in pain?
Great God! who shall not fear Thee in the hour
When heaven and earth are trembling at Thy power!
Father, to nature’s tumult whisper peace,
And bid the wickedness of man to cease!

Did that get your bones rattling? Are you ready for something with even more voltage? Check out this snippet from John Ashberry’s poem called …by an earthquake

Running up to the girl, Alvin stumbles and loses his coins.
In a nearby dell, two murderers are plotting to execute a third.
Beatrice loves Alvin before he married.
B, second wife of A, discovers that B-3, A’s first wife, was
unfaithful.

Known For His Aftershocks

It’s likely this poem has nothing at all to do with earthquakes, which makes us like it even more. It’s sooo Ashberry.

Elsewhere, a tectonic plate bridging poetry and earthquakes exists over in the UK. A line-up of poets were caught raising foreign currency for Haiti last night (are prose writers raising coin for Chile?). But what’s most impressive about this fundraiser is how poetry “changes nothing” and yet is able to produce an earthquake-inspired event with a spectacular gathering of poetic minds.

All of this reminds us that life is fragile and in the end what really matters is an individual’s commitment to his or her art. For poets, when the ground splits and buildings tumble, a sharp memory can come in handy (and, let’s face it, there’s nothing like a smarty-pants scholar who can rattle off a poem when the occasion calls for it.). Milton’s Paradise Lost was passed down through oral tradition and any great poet worth her salt will have an impressive hard drive of memorized poems — after all, what are you going to rely on when an earthquake shatters your Kindle? — Lori Huskey

Video: Ivory Madison Rreads at Litquake