【Canada Archives】
Christopher Middleton,Canada Archives 1926–2015
In Memoriam
Christopher Middleton
We’ve received word that the poet Christopher Middleton has passed away at eighty-nine. Guy Davenport called him “an incomparable stylist, a wry ironist, a philosopher of words. The only category in which he fits justly,” he added, “is that of poet.” The Review published Middleton throughout his career, beginning in our Summer–Fall 1960 issue, from which the poem below, “Edward Lear in February,” is taken.
Edward Lear in February
Since last September I’ve been trying to describe
Two moonstone hills,
And an ochre mountain, by candlelight, behind,
But a lizard has been sick into the ink,
A cat keeps clawing at me, you should see my face,
I’m too intent to dodge.
Out of the corner of my eye,
An old man (he’s putting almonds into a bag)
Stoops in sunlight, closer than the hills.
But all the time these bats flick at me
And plop, like foetuses, all over the blotting paper.
Someone began playing a gong outside, once.
I liked that, it helped; but in a flash
Neighbours were pelting him with their slippers and things,
Bits of coke and old railway timetables.
I have come unstuck in this cellar. Help.
Pacing up and down in my own shadow
Has stopped me liking the weight it falls from.
That lizard looks like being sick again. The owls
Have built a stinking nest on the Eighteenth Century.
So much for two moonstone hills,
Ochre mountain, old man
Cramming all those almonds into a bag.
Search
Categories
Latest Posts
Who’s Afraid of Ocasio-Cortez?
2025-06-25 21:56A Graphic Novel before the Term Existed by James Sturm
2025-06-25 21:50Farewell to Manhattan’s Secret Bookstore by Molly Crabapple
2025-06-25 21:27Rotten Goes Rancid
2025-06-25 20:27Popular Posts
The National Hologram
2025-06-25 22:13Remembering Toni by The Paris Review
2025-06-25 22:11What’s the Use of Beauty? by Cody Delistraty
2025-06-25 21:17Learning Curve by Curtis Gillespie
2025-06-25 20:14Queer Poserdom
2025-06-25 20:12Featured Posts
Russia’s Zombie Election
2025-06-25 22:06Google Nest Doorbell deal: $119.99 at Amazon
2025-06-25 21:53QR codes are a security nightmare, according to FTC
2025-06-25 20:19Fear of a Black Universe
2025-06-25 19:39Popular Articles
Don’t Let Them Win
2025-06-25 22:12Best Garmin deals: Score a Garmin watch for up to 40% off at Amazon
2025-06-25 20:38The Soviet Children Who Survived World War II by Svetlana Alexievich
2025-06-25 20:36Elon Musk's X is letting paid users hide their likes
2025-06-25 20:11The Last Temptation of Paul Schrader
2025-06-25 19:37Newsletter
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates.
Comments (37483)
Openness Information Network
K Street Taxpocalypse
2025-06-25 21:42Style Information Network
Best air purifier deal: Get up to 23% off Dyson air purifiers at Amazon
2025-06-25 21:41Ignition Information Network
Redux: The Thread of the Story by The Paris Review
2025-06-25 20:56Habit Information Network
Foldable iPhone may still be on the way, per new evidence
2025-06-25 20:38Leadership Information Network
Witch Kids of Instagram
2025-06-25 20:15