Eno meets Barfield

Spookily, after re-making the David Lavery connections in the previous post, and David hosting the Owen Barfield web site, I was checking out EnoWeb and came across this Brian Eno talk (with Will Wright of gaming / sim-city fame). (Part of “The Long Now” project mentioned previously here.) In it Brian mentions the Aeolian Harp, … Continue reading “Eno meets Barfield”

Barfield and Rorty

(Broad-band internet link from Aotou, China enables this post !) Finished Barfield’s History in English Words and started Rorty’s Contingency, Irony and Solidarity on the flight. Barfield uses etymology of English words to paint a picture of the history of thought through language, not just through the stems and origins of the individual words, but … Continue reading “Barfield and Rorty”

Owen Barfield’s Poetic Diction

Just read Barfield’s Poetic Diction, originally published in 1928, when he was 30. This Weslyan University Press edition has a 1973 Foreword by Howard Nemerov, as well as an original 1928 Preface, and 1952 Preface and a 1972 Afterword all by Barfield. I can see why people recommended I look at Barfield after Pirsig, Northrop … Continue reading “Owen Barfield’s Poetic Diction”

Pirsig and Barfield at the RMMLA

Pirsig presented to the Rocky Mountain Modern Languages Association on 13th October 1961 [see Timeline]. It seems Owen Barfield is a regular item on the RMMLA agenda. And this is a much better Barfield link that the one I blogged earlier which is a nasty frames-base site.

Barfield – C.S.Lewis – Oxford and Cambridge

Another little synchronicity the other day. When I mentioned to someone in the Pickerell (by Magdelene in Cambridge) that Barfield was on the reading list after Northrop, they knew of the C.S.Lewis / Inklings connection I blogged earlier. I knew of the Oxford 1917 to 1924 connection when Lewis (at University College Oxford) met Barfield … Continue reading “Barfield – C.S.Lewis – Oxford and Cambridge”

Northrop, Barfield and Rorty

I’m that close to finishing Northrop – 20 pages maybe (Post note – Completed Northrop BTW) – so I’ve got some more reading material lined-up, already despatched from Amazon. Richard Rorty – Philosophy and Social Hope Richard Rorty – Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity Owen Barfield – Poetic Diction: A Study in Meaning Owen Barfield – … Continue reading “Northrop, Barfield and Rorty”

Owen Barfield

Owen Barfield – Note to self – must read some Owen Barfield – for starters …The Owen Barfield WebsiteOwen Barfield and C S Lewis [Quote] Most notable of his works are perhaps History in English Words, Poetic Diction, Saving the Appearances, Unancestral Voice, and Worlds Apart. Barfield also wrote a fairy tale, The Silver Trumpet, … Continue reading “Owen Barfield”

Ian Glendinning, Psybertron & Robert Pirsig

I have maintained the “Psybertron Pirsig Page” (PPPage) as an online staticĀ (occasionally updated) resource simply to provide fixed public links and updates to other resources related to the life and work of Robert Pirsig including his two books ZMM (Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance – An Inquiry into Values) and Lila (Lila – … Continue reading “Ian Glendinning, Psybertron & Robert Pirsig”

Ways of Knowing Madness

This is an enabling post, to continue a fascinating dialogue with Eddo, more about which later. But like so many dialogues there is an element of “rehearsal” of what it is we think we already know – and have shared understanding of – before getting to “the point”. As usual I’m just breaking our stream … Continue reading “Ways of Knowing Madness”