Poets' Corner

Here is an image of a stamp featuring a portrait of Colombian Modernist poet and politician Guillermo Valencia Castillo (1873-1943), engraved and printed by Waterlow & Sons, Ltd., and issued by Colombia on October 20, 1951, Scott No. 595, plus an image of a photograph of Guillermo Valencia in his salad days, and a translation of one of his poems from the collection Rites (1914). Bonus: Signature.

- nethryk



To a Friend in Death: Sursum

A pallid taper its long prayer recites
Before the altar, where the censers spread
Their lifting clouds, and bells toll out their dread,
In grief's delirious sanctuary rites.
There—like the poor Assisian—invites
A cloistered form the peace All-Hallowéd;
Against the dismal portals of the dead
Resting his weary brows for heavenly flights.
Grant me the honey-taste of the Divine;
Grant me the ancient parchments' ruddy sign
Of holy psalmody to read and prize!
For I would mount the heights immortal crowned,
Where the dark night is 'mid the glories drowned,
And gaze on God, into His azure eyes!

- Guillermo Valencia

Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi (aka Mevlânâ ("Master"), 1207-1273) was a Persian poet, jurist, Islamic scholar, theologian, and Sufi mystic. Here are images of a miniature sheet and the stamp contained within it depicting Rumi, printed by lithography, and issued by Turkey in 1957 to commemorate the 750th anniversary of the poet's birth, Scott No. 1263, plus a translation of one of Rumi's poems from Mathnawi III (1284-1288).

- nethryk



A Star Without a Name

When a baby is taken from the wet nurse,
it easily forgets her
and starts eating solid food.

Seeds feed awhile on ground,
then lift up into the sun.

So you should taste the filtered light
and work your way toward wisdom
with no personal covering.

That's how you came here, like a star
without a name. Move across the night sky
with those anonymous lights.

- Mevlânâ Rumi

Ali-Shir Nava'i (aka Alisher Navoiy, 1441-1501) was a Turkic Central Asian poet, writer, politician, linguist, mystic, and painter who is considered the greatest representative of Chagatai literature. Here is an image of a stamp depicting Nava'i at work, designed by Valeri Pimenov (1920- ), printed by photogravure, and issued by Russia (USSR) on April 29, 1968 to commemorate the 525th anniversary of the poet's birth Scott No. 3462, Zagorski No. 3537, plus an image of a portrait of Nava'i by an unknown artist, and a translation of an Uzbek ghazal (lyric poem) by Ali-Shir Nava'i

- nethryk



Fortune's wheel halts heavily before your dark eyes:
My soul suspended in the absence of those eyes.
Life-promising potions concocted into poison
Bringing me nearer to death, unveil your dark eyes.
A world of suitors entranced as you at your loom weave
A dream of self. They love you, your ravishing eyes
That once held me close in their wondrous draw
Now alien beyond my borderland. Your eyes
Burn into mine until brimmed with salt-spiked tears
Which flow, unburdened, into the channels of your eyes.
My very soul solidifies what once was vapor
And vapor becomes friend—your body, your dark eyes.
When Navoiy wrote his poems of yearning love,
Lovers heard him, his songs of dark, infinite eyes.

- Ali-Shir Nava'i
Translated by Dennis Daly

Here is an image of a stamp featuring a portrait of Slovak Romantic poet Samo Chalupka (1812-1883), designed by Karol Felix and Martin Cinovský (line drawing), printed by lithography, and issued by Slovakia on February 27, 2012 to commemorate the bicentenary of the poet's birth, plus an image of a photograph of Samo Chalupka, and a translation of a stanza from his poem Mor ho! ("Crush him!")

- nethryk



"Ho, crush him! O pride of all my race,
This crafty looter plotting to bind you in disgrace,
And though it drains your life- blood – this battle wild but brave
Choose rather that you perish than live a craven slave."

- Samo Chalupka

Gottfried "Götz" von Berlichingen (1480-1562), also known as Götz of the Iron Hand, was a German (Franconian) Imperial Knight (Reichsritter), mercenary, and poet. In 1773 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote a play based upon Berlichingen's memoirs. Here is an image of a stamp featuring a portrait of Berlichingen, designed by Günter Jacki (1936- ), printed by lithography, and issued by Germany on January 10, 1980 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the adventurer-poet's birth, Scott No. 1324, Michel No. 1036, plus an image of another portrait of Götz von Berlichingen.

- nethryk

Happy Birthday to Gorazd Zvonický (pseudonym of Andrej Šándor, 1913-1995), a Slovak poet, Roman Catholic priest, missionary, teacher and translator who lived most of his adult life in exile in Italy. Here is an image of a stamp featuring a portrait of Zvonický, designed by Peter Uchnár, printed by lithography, and issued by Slovakia on June 28, 2013 to commemorate the poet's birth centenary, plus an image of a photograph of Gorazd Zvonický which may have been a model for this stamp's design.

- nethryk

Happy Birthday to Polish poet Czeslaw Milosz (1911-2004). Here is an image of a stamp depicting King Carl XVI Gustav presenting the 1980 Nobel Prize for Literature to Milosz, designed by Eva Ede after a photograph by Jan Collsiöö, engraved by Czeslaw Slania (1921-2005), and issued by Sweden on April 23, 1986 as one in a se-tenant strip of five stamps commemorating the Swedish king's 40th birthday, Scott No. 1598, Facit No. 1409, plus an image of the cover of a biography of the poet, and a translation of Czeslaw Milosz's poem "Hope."

- nethryk



Hope

Hope is with you when you believe
The earth is not a dream but living flesh,
that sight, touch, and hearing do not lie,
That all things you have ever seen here
Are like a garden looked at from a gate.

You cannot enter. But you're sure it's there.
Could we but look more clearly and wisely
We might discover somewhere in the garden
A strange new flower and an unnamed star.

Some people say that we should not trust our eyes,
That there is nothing, just a seeming,
There are the ones who have no hope.
They think the moment we turn away,
The world, behind our backs, ceases to exist,
As if snatched up by the hand of thieves.

- Czeslaw Milosz

Valmiki is celebrated as the harbinger-poet in Sanskrit literature. The epic Ramayana, dated variously from the 5th century BC to the first century BC, is attributed to him. Here is an image of a stamp depicting Maharishi Valmiki, and illustrating a hunting scene from the Ramayana, printed by photogravure, and issued by India on October 14, 1970, Scott No. 523, plus an image of a painting of Valmiki composing the Ramayana, and a few verses from the "The Lure of the Golden Deer," Chapter 43 of "The Forest Trek" portion of the epic.

- nethryk



From "The Lure of the Golden Deer," in the Ramayana

On spotting the deer Seetha calls Rama and Lakshmana to have sight of it.
Lakshmana immediately concludes it to be Maareecha, but Seetha, keeping his observation aside asks Rama to fetch it.
Rama is also fascinated when he looked at that deer and he explains to Lakshmana as to why that particular deer is to be hunted down.
"Oh, noble prince, come here," thus she called her husband and peered at the deer, and again she called, "really come with your younger brother quickly," and again gazed at the deer, and thus she oftentimes called and oftentimes saw the deer fondly.
Those manly lions Rama and Lakshmana thus bidden by Vaidehi came there exploring that place and then they saw that Golden Deer.
But Lakshmana became incredulous on seeing it and said to Rama, "I believe this deer to be that Maareecha, the demon."
"Oh, Rama, when kings engaged in hunting games were delightedly moving in the forest, this Maareecha killed many of them resorting to many disguises, for he is a guise-changer by his wish.
"Maareecha is an expert in many wiles and he has now assumed the form of this Golden-Deer, oh, manly lion, which is not more than the scintillating city of Gandharva-s, a city of wiles, which any trickster can create to make-believe.
"Oh, Raghava, this kind of amazing animal with gemlike dapples is nonexistent in the world, isn't it. Hence, oh, lord of the world, this is truly a phantasm. No doubt about it." So said Lakshmana to Rama.

- Maharishi Valmiki

Stephan G. Stephansson (1853-1927) was an Icelandic poet and farmer who emigrated to the USA in 1873, and ultimately settled in Alberta, Canada in 1889. Here is an image of a stamp featuring a profile view of Stephansson, designed by R. Jónsson, engraved by French artist Claude Haley (1923-1988), and issued by Iceland on August 1, 1975 to commemorate the centenary of the first Icelanders to America, Scott No. 480, Facit No. 541, plus images of a sculpted cameo of Stephan G. Stephansson from his monument at Vatnsskarð pass near Varmahlið, a photograph of the poet, and a translation of one of his poems.

- nethryk




A Childhood Memory

Still I recall you, peak,
with your pulsating brooks,
that beauty and majesty
merged in embrace.
Over land's evening beauty
long the view from the peak,
and higher than the stars
I have stood there.

Still I recall you, cairn,
on the wind-combed gravel,
you, my book-stack,
below the farm!
In your refuge I stole
many moments for reading,
which wide as heaven kindled
their autumn star's candles.

- Stephan G. Stephansson, 1872
Translated by Bernard Scudder.

Ivan Alekseevich Kuratov (1839-1875) was a Komi poet and linguist, and a founder of Komi literature. Here is an image of a stamp featuring a portrait of Kuratov, designed by Boris V. Ilyukhin, printed by lithography, and issued by Russia (USSR) on June 26, 1989 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the poet's birth, Scott No. 5776, Zagorski No. 6015, plus an image of the photograph of Ivan Alekseevich Kuratov which was a model for this stamp's design.

- nethryk

Here is an image of a stamp featuring a portrait of Tunisian nationalist poet Aboul Qasim Chabbi (1909-1934), designed by Hatem El Mekki (1918-2003), engraved by Pierre Munier (1889-1962), and issued by Tunisia on November 20, 1962, Scott No. 425, plus an image of a photograph of the poet which was surely the model for this stamp's design, and a translation of the first verse of Chabbi's poem "To the Tyrants of the World," condemning the French conquest of Tunisia. Note: This stamp was probably among the last few engraved by the great French artist and engraver Pierre Munier.

- nethryk



From To the Tyrants of the World

Hark! You tyrannous dictator,
lover of darkness, enemy of life.
You mocked the cries of the weak,
and your palm is stained with their blood.
You set out tarnishing the enchantment of existence,
sowing the thorns of anguish among the hills.

- Aboul Qasim Chabbi

Happy Birthday to German poet Matthias Claudius (1740-1815), also known by the penname of "Asmus." Here is an image of a stamp featuring a portrait of Claudius, designed by Fritz Lüdtke, printed by lithography, and issued by Germany on August 9, 1990 to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Claudius's birth, Scott No. 1611, Michel No. 1473, plus an image of the original portrait of the poet which was the model for this stamp's design, and an anonymous translation of Matthias Claudius's humorous poem "The Hen."

- nethryk



The Hen

A FAMOUS hen 's my story's theme,
Which ne'er was known to tire
Of laying eggs, but then she 'd scream
So loud o'er every egg, 't would seem
The house must be on fire.
A turkey-cock, who ruled the walk,
A wiser bird and older,
Could bear't no more, so off did stalk
Right to the hen, and told her:
"Madam, that scream, I apprehend,
Adds nothing to the matter;
It surely helps the egg no whit;
Then lay your egg, and done with it!
I pray you, madam, as a friend,
Cease that superfluous clatter!
You know not how 't goes through my head."
"Humph! very likely!" madam said,
Then proudly putting forth a leg,—
"Uneducated barnyard fowl!
You know, no more than any owl,
The noble privilege and praise
Of authorship in modern days—
I'll tell you why I do it:
First, you perceive, I lay the egg,
And then—review it."

- Matthias Claudius

Happy Birthday to Brazilian Romantic poet Luís Nicolau Fagundes Varela (1841-1875). Here is an image of a stamp featuring a portrait of the poet, and inscribed with the first stanza from his famous poem Noturno ("Nocturnal"), designed by Mario Dittz, printed by lithography, and issued by Brazil on August 29, 1991 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the poet's birth, Scott No. 2327, plus an image of a photograph of Luís Nicolau Fagundes Varela, and my own attempt at a translation of his poignant, short poem As letras ("The Letters").

- nethryk



As letras

Na tênue casca de verde arbusto
Gravei teu nome, depois parti;
Foram-se os anos, foram-se os meses,
Foram-se os dias, acho-me aqui.
Mas ai! O arbusto se fez tão alto,
Teu nome erguendo que não mais vi!
E nessas letras que aos céus subiam
Meus belos sonhos de amor perdi!

The Letters

In the thin green bark of the bush
I carved your name, then left;
years went by, months went by,
days went by, I find myself here.
But ah! The bush became so high,
Your name could no longer be seen!
And in those letters that rose to the heavens
My beautiful dreams of love lost!

- Luís Nicolau Fagundes Varela

Today is Poet's Day! Here is an image of a stamp designed after a detail from a portrait, by English artist Thomas Phillips RA (1770-1845), of English Romantic poet George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, FRS (1788-1824) attired in Souliotes (Albanian) costume, printed by lithography, and issued by Greece on April 4, 1974 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the poet's death (during the Greek War of Independence), Scott No. 1197, plus an image of the original 1813 work of art, and Lord Byron's poem So we'll go no more a-roving.

- nethryk



So we'll go no more a-roving

So we'll go no more a-roving
So late into the night,
Though the heart still be as loving,
And the moon still be as bright.

For the sword outwears its sheath,
And the soul outwears the breast,
And the heart must pause to breathe,
And love itself have rest.

Though the night was made for loving,
And the day returns too soon,
Yet we'll go no more a-roving
By the light of the moon.

- Lord Byron

Happy Birthday to Juliusz Slowacki (1809-1849), a Polish Romantic poet who is considered one of the "Three Bards" of Polish literature, and the father of modern Polish drama. Here is an image of a stamp commemorating the centenary of Slowacki's death, designed by Polish artist Mieczyslaw Watorski (1903-1979), engraved by Boguslaw Brandt (1909-1983), and issued by Poland on December 5, 1949, Scott No. 466, plus an image of a portrait of the poet by British engraver James Hopwood the Younger (c. 1800–1850), and a URL link to an translation by Walter Whipple of Juliusz Slowacki's poem "My Testament:" http://www.mission.net/poland/warsa...testamen.htm

- nethryk