Poetry Comics! Mahendra Singh

Poetry and images are no strangers. From ancient illuminated texts, to William Blake, to Lewis Carroll (to name a mere few) illustration is a powerful ally beside poetry. I’m excited by the writer who feels compelled to expand his rapport with the poem by creating art. I think it’s the excitement of language that can bring forth the illustrative in such an electrifying way. So for our third installment on Poetry Comics, we have the stunning images of Mahendra Singh alongside his translations of Jean de La Fontaine.

~Bianca Stone

The Stag Upon the Vine
(V; 15)

A hunted Stag concealed in vines,
in this verdant tropic havoc
grown riotous thick by fecund luck
till hounds and men lose heart, resigns
the chase and he’s free again
to devour the vine, all decency defy
till they hear him, hounds and men
they return and set on him to die
a just punishment, he now knows too late
forget me, he cries, yet remember my fate
then falls and the pack falls upon him
stoic he dies while huntsmen join in
forsake gratitude for greed, the egotist’s whim:
betray thy saviour and revel in thy sin

Le Cerf et la Vigne
(V; 15)

Un cerf, à la faveur d’une vigne fort haute,
Et telle qu’on en voit en de certains climats,
S’étant mis à couvert et sauvé du trépas,
Les veneurs, pour ce coup, croyaient leurs chiens en faute;
Ils les rappellent donc. Le cerf, hors de danger,
Broute sa bienfaitrice : ingratitude extrême !
On l’entend, on retourne, on le fait déloger :
Il vient mourir en ce lieu même.
« J’ai mérité, dit-il, ce juste châtiment :
Profitez-en, ingrats. » Il tombe en ce moment.
La meute en fait curée : il lui fut inutile
De pleurer aux veneurs à sa mort arrivés.
Vraie image de ceux qui profanent l’asile
Qui les a conservés.

A Dog Who Took His Prey for Shadow (VI; 17)

There’s only illusion on offer down here:
all the fools chase their shadows till their
swelling numbers soon appear
to make the wise despair.
Aesop’s dog was of that obscurant race
his prey reflected on the water’s face,
left one for the other to give chase
he nearly drowned with little grace
but returned enlightened to river’s shore
and mistook shadow for prey no more

Le Chien qui lâche sa proie pour l’ombre (VI; 17)

Chacun se trompe ici-bas :
On voit courir après l’ombre Tant de fous qu’on n’en sait pas La plupart du temps le nombre.
Au chien dont parle Ésope il faut les renvoyer.
Ce chien, voyant sa proie en l’eau représentée, La quitta pour l’image, et pensa se noyer. La rivière devint tout d’un coup agitée;
A toute peine il regagna les bords,
Et n’eut ni l’ombre ni le corps.

 
Related links from Mendra if you’re interested
1.
2. An English SF writer, Adam Roberts, whose is one of the best, and most catholic, literary blogs around … he does it all, SF, verse, very astute criticism … I am planning to illustrate an upcoming SF book of his later on, very tasty stuff indeed.
3. Will Schofield has , mostly book stuff … plus, he’s a devotee of Raymond Roussel.
4. The Hypnerotomachia Poliphili is the book that defined the classical look and format of the western mass-produced book … type, paper and illustrations are completely integrated.
5. Hans Rickheit is one of the best, and one of the few genuinely imaginative people making comix … may be a bit disturbing for some readers though … his recent book, The Squirrel Machine, was 100-proof American Gothic surrealism. Link and .

Mahendra ends with some final words…
I hope someone has the common sense to toss a copy of Christopher Marlowe’s plays and verse onto my funeral pyre to keep me company on the journey … with Chapman’s continuation of Hero & Leander, of course … in fact, toss in a copy of Chapman’s Odyssey also. Those are the two poets who I’m in the mood to spend eternity with.