RUDYARD KIPLING
English short-story writer, novelist and poet, remembered for his celebration of British imperialism and heroism in India and Burma. Kipling was the first Englishman to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature (1907). His most popular works include THE JUNGLE BOOK (1894) and the JUST SO STORIES (1902), a collection of tales about how animals came to be the way they are today. Rudyard Kipling was born in Bombay, India, where his father was an arts and crafts teacher at the Jeejeebhoy School of Art. His mother was a sister-in-law of the painter Edward Burne-Jones. India was at that time ruled by the British. Kipling's writings at the age of thirteen were influenced by the pre- Raphaelites. At the age of six he was taken to England by his parents and left for five years at a foster home at Southsea. His unhappiness at the unkind treatment he received was later expressed in the short story 'Baa Baa, Black Sheep', in the novel THE LIGHT THAT FAILED (1890), and in his autobiography (1937). In 1878 Kipling entered United Services College, a boarding school in North Devon. It was an expensive institution that specialized in training for entry into military academies. His poor eyesight and mediocre results as a student ended hopes about military career. However, these years Kipling recalled in lighter tone in one of his most popular books, STALKY & CO (1899). Kipling returned to India in 1882, where he worked as a journalist in Lahore for Civil and Military Gazette (1882-87) and an assistant editor and overseas correspondent in Allahabad for Pioneer (1887-89). Kilping's short stories and verses gained success in the late 1880s in England, to which he returned in 1889, and was hailed as a literary heir to Charles Dickens. In 1892 Kipling married Caroline Starr Balestier, the sister of an American published and writer, with whom he collaborated a novel, THE NAULAHKA (1892). The young couple moved to the United States. Kipling was dissatisfied with the life in Vermont, and after the death of his daughter, Kipling took his family back to England and settled in Burwash, Sussex. Kipling's marriage was not in all respects happy. The author was dominated by his wife who disliked the vulgar aspects of her husband's character. Kipling invented a persona acceptable to public and developed in his works his ideal man of action. During these restless years Kilping produced MANY INVENTIONS (1893), JUNGLE BOOK (1894), a collection of animal stories for children, THE SECOND JUNGLE BOOK (1895), and THE SEVEN SEAS (1896). Widely regarded as unofficial poet laureate, Kipling refused this and many honors, among them the Order of Merit. During the Boer War in 1899 Kilping spent several months in South Africa. In 1902 he moved to Sussex, also spending time in South Africa, where he was given a house by Cecil Rhodes, the influental British colonial statesman. In 1901 appeared KIM, widely considered Kipling's best novel. The story, set in India, depicted adventures of an orphaned son of a sergeant in an Irish regiment. Soon after Kipling had received the Nobel Prize, his output of fiction and poems began to decline. His son was killed in the World War I, and in 1923 Kipling published THE IRISH GUARDS IN THE GREAT WAR, a history of his son's regiment. Between the years 1922 and 1925 he was a rector at the University of St. Andrews. Kipling died on January 18, 1936 in London, and was buried in Poet's Corner at Westminster Abbey. Kipling's autobiography, SOMETHING OF MYSELF, appeared posthumously in 1937. Kipling's glorification of the British empire and racial prejudices, stated in his poem 'The White Man's Burden' (1899), has repelled many readers, and made uneasy also such admirers as W.B. Yeats and T.S. Eliot. However, readers loved Kipling's romantic tales about the adventures of Englishmen in strange and distant parts of the world. His most uncontroversial books are considered his tales for children. His own children appeared in the stories as Dan and Una - the death of 'Dan' in the WW I darkened author's later life. Characteristic for Kilping's work is realism, added with acute observation of men and landscapes, exploration of myth and fantasy, and sharp, racy style. "If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you; If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too; If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies, Or, being hated, don't give way to hating, And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise; " - From: IF by Rudyard Kipling On Aug 15, 10:59 pm, Lílian <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > AUTHOR: RAINER MARIA RILKE, Poet, writer. > > Widely considered one of the greatest lyric poets of 20th century > German Literature. > > 1875 > > Born on December the 4th in Prague. Son of Josef Rilke, > a railway inspector, and his wife Phia. > > 1886-1891 > > Military Academy. Already during his younger school days, > Rilke has ambitions as a writer. > > 1894 > > Publishes his first collection of poems, "Leben und Lieder", > or "Life and Songs." > > 1895 > > Begins Art and Literature History studies in Prague. > > 1896 > > Begins studies in philosophy at the University of Munich. > > Begins what will become a life-long friendship with the writer > and Russian-born intellectual Lou Andreas-Salomé. > > 1897 > > Follows Andreas-Salomé to Berlin. Following her advice, he changes > first > name from René to Rainer. > > 1899 > > Rilke enters the University of Berlin as an Art History student. > > 1899/1900 > > Together with Lou Andreas-Salomé, Rilke undertakes two extended > journeys through Russia. > Meets Leo Tolstoy. Plans a monograph on Russian painters, which, > however, is never written. > > 1900 > > Rilke spends the summer at the artists' colony at Worpswede. There he > meets the sculptress, > Clara Westhoff, and the painter, Paula Modersohn-Becker. > > 1901 > Breaks off his relationship with Lou Andreas-Salomé and marries Clara > Westhoff. > They move from Westerwede to Worpswede, where their daughter, Ruth, is > born. > > 1902 > > Dissolves household at Worpswede. Ends his marriage to Clara Westhoff, > although they remain close the rest of Rilke's life. Lack of funds > forces Rilke > to take on various writing commissions. Journeys to Paris, where he > meets > the sculptor, Auguste Rodin. > > Breaks away from the more subjective, sentimental style of his earlier > poetry. In part, perhaps > because of Rodin's profound influence -- Rilke takes a position as his > private secretary -- > Rilke's work begins to show an amazing compact quality, with great > attention > given to the unity of sound, image and meaning. Also remarkable is > the care with which the poems move as a sequence, from one poem or > quality > of space to the next. > > Writes one of his most famous poems Der Panther -- The Panther: > Six Ways of Seeing a German Poem -- which becomes the signature piece > of a collection called simply, "Neue Gedichte", or "New Poems." > > Birth of the Ding-Gedicht -- a 'thing' or object poem -- > characterized by an intense > seeing into the subject and short, tightly-crafted compositions with > striking imagery. > Also remarkable is the lack of the appearance of the poet himself, in > first person, > in the poems. > > 1903 > > Publishes a monograph on Rodin in Berlin. > > 1903-1906 > > Rilke's friendship with Rodin, as well as his travels to Paris, Rome > and Scandinavia, > profoundly influences his manner of writing. Characteristic of this > period is the > "sachlichen Sagens", or a more 'concrete' or 'factual saying' or > 'telling. > > 1905 > > The "Stunden-Buch" or "Book of Hours" is released. > Enrolls again in the Philosophy Seminar at the University > of Berlin as a student of Georg Simmel. > > 1906-7 > > Rilke is for a short time the private secretary of Rodin. > > Written around the turn of the century, and much influenced by the > Jugenstil, > "The Tale of the Love and Death of the Cornet Christoph Rilke" is > published, > which became a great popular success. > > 1908 > > In memory of Paula Modersohn-Becker, who died in 1907, > Rilke writes, "Requiem for a Friend." > > 1910 > > "The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge" is published. This is Rilke's > journal-like > book, written in prose-poem form, on which Rilke has worked since > 1904; its > young protagonist is a poor Danish poet living in Paris. > > 1912 > > At Castle Duino, near Triest, Italy, guest of Marie von Thurn und > Taxis-Hohenlohe, > Rilke composes the first of his Elegies as well as "The Life of Mary." > > Together with Andreas-Salomé, Rilke takes part in a Psychology > Congress in Munich > where he meets Sigmund Freud. > > 1914 > > At the beginning of the First World War, Rilke writes his "War Songs." > This initial enthusiasm for the war gives way quickly to devastation. > See from this period "Exposed on the Mountains of the Heart" at a > related website > by Cliff Crego, picture-poems.com: Out of an April: Mountains of the > Heart. > This extraordinary poem, which is one of the some five hundred pieces > Rilke left > behind in his uncollected work, was written in September of 1914. By > year's end, more > than a million men had died in the trenches along the French/German > front not > far from Paris. > > 1915 > > Rilke is conscripted into the Austrian Army. > > 1918 > > After the war, Rilke moves again to Munich, where he meets Hans > Eisler, > the composer, and Ernst Toller. > > 1919 > > Rilke leaves Germany and takes up residency at different addresses in > Switzerland. > > 1922-23 > > "The Duino Elegies" and the "Sonnets to Orpheus" are published. > > 1926 > > On December the 29th, Rilke dies at Val-Mont. "The Poetical Work of > Michelangelo", > as well as his voluminous correspondence, are published post mortem. > This body of work, > which includes letters to some of the most prominant writers and > intellectuals of his time, > such as Marina Tsvetaeva, Auguste Rodin, André Gide, Hugo von > Hofmannstahl, > Boris Pasternak, and Stefan Zweig. > > FURTHER READING: > > http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-panther/ > > Love Song > > How can I keep my soul in me, so that > it doesn't touch your soul? How can I raise > it high enough, past you, to other things? > I would like to shelter it, among remote > lost objects, in some dark and silent place > that doesn't resonate when your depths resound. > Yet everything that touches us, me and you, > takes us together like a violin's bow, > which draws *one* voice out of two separate strings. > Upon what instrument are we two spanned? > And what musician holds us in his hand? > Oh sweetest song. > > Rainer Maria Rilke > > On Aug 15, 6:08 pm, Anu <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > — Author : Rabindranath Tagore (7 May 1861–7 August 1941) > > > — Introduction : also known by the sobriquet Gurudev, he was a Bengali > > poet, visual artist, playwright, novelist, and composer whose works > > reshaped Bengali literature and music in the late 19th and early 20th > > centuries. He became Asia's first Nobel laureate when he won the 1913 > > Nobel Prize in Literature. > > > A Pirali Brahmin from Calcutta, Bengal, Tagore first wrote poems at > > the age of eight. At the age of sixteen, he published his first > > substantial poetry under the pseudonym Bhanushingho ("Sun Lion") and > > wrote his first short stories and dramas in 1877. > > > In later life Tagore protested strongly against the British Raj and > > gave his support to the Indian Independence Movement. Tagore's life > > work endures, in the form of his poetry and the institution he > > founded, Visva-Bharati University. > > > Tagore wrote novels, short stories, songs, dance-dramas, and essays on > > political and personal topics, composed music and paintings. Gitanjali > > (Song Offerings), Gora (Fair-Faced), and Ghare-Baire (The Home and the > > World) are among his best-known works. > > > Two songs from his canon are now the national anthems of Bangladesh > > and India: the 'Amar Shonar Bangla' and the 'Jana Gana Mana' > > respectively. > > > ☼ Legend : > > Tagore won the 1913 Nobel Prize in Literature. According to the > > Swedish Academy, it was given due to the idealistic and—for Western > > readers—accessible nature of a small body of his translated material, > > including the 1912 Gitanjali: Song Offerings. > > > In 1915, Tagore received the knighthood from the British Crown. But as > > a mark of rebuke to the rulers, post the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in > > 1919, he renounced the title. > > > Tagore's collected Bengali-language writings—the 1939 Rabīndra > > Racanāvalī—is canonized as one of Bengal's greatest cultural > > treasures, while Tagore himself has been proclaimed "the greatest poet > > India has produced". > > > Tagore was famed throughout much of Europe, North America, South > > America and East Asia. He was key in founding Dartington Hall School, > > a progressive coeducational institution; in Japan, he influenced such > > figures as Nobel laureate Yasunari Kawabata. > > > Tagore's works were widely translated into English, Dutch, German, > > Spanish, and other European languages by Czech indologist Vincenc > > Lesný, French Nobel laureate André Gide, Russian poet Anna Akhmatova, > > former Turkish Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit and others. > > > In the United States, Tagore's popular lecturing circuits (especially > > those between 1916–1917) were widely attended and acclaimed. > > > Tagore, through Spanish translations of his works, also influenced > > leading figures of Spanish literature, including Chileans Pablo Neruda > > and Gabriela Mistral, Mexican writer Octavio Paz, and Spaniards José > > Ortega y Gasset, Zenobia Camprubí, and Juan Ramón Jiménez. > > > Between 1914 and 1922, the Jiménez-Camprubí spouses translated no less > > than twenty-two of Tagore's books from English into Spanish. Jiménez, > > as part of this work, also extensively revised and adapted such works > > as Tagore's The Crescent Moon. Indeed, during this time, Jiménez > > developed the now-heralded innovation of "naked poetry" (Spanish: > > «poesia desnuda»). > > > Ortega y Gasset wrote that "Tagore's wide appeal [may stem from the > > fact that] he speaks of longings for perfection that we all have ... > > Tagore awakens a dormant sense of childish wonder, and he saturates > > the air with all kinds of enchanting promises for the reader, who ... > > pays little attention to the deeper import of Oriental mysticism". > > > Tagore's works were published in free editions around 1920 alongside > > works by Dante Alighieri, Miguel de Cervantes, Johann Wolfgang von > > Goethe, Plato, and Leo Tolstoy. > > > Modern remnants of a once > > ... > > read more »- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "English Learner's Cafe" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/english_learners?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
