The Structure of the Villanelle
At the LRB blog (which also offers a telling reminiscence of CLS by Jim Holt) , Michael Wood finishes a villanelle begun by Colm Toíbín: “A Structuralist Lament.” Here’ an excerpt:Myth and symbol slide and skid,
It’s lost for good, the fine old trail.
They don’t thrill at the sign as we once did,
Trapped as we were between the ego and the id.
A commonly-expressed sentiment, expressed in uncommonly delightful form. But is it true? Is the trail lost? And if so, is are there traces, scents worth sniffing out and following? That’s the question we Savage Readers will be asking.
