Two Sonnets
from The Tennis Court Oath (1962)
I. DIDO The body’s products become Fatal to it. Our spit Would kill us, but we Die of our heat. Though I say the things I wish to say They are needless, their own flame conceives it. So I am cheated of perfection. II. THE IDIOT O how this sullen, careless world Ignorant of me is! These rocks, those homes Know not the touch of my flesh, now is there one tree Whose shade has known me for a friend. I’ve wandered the wide world over. No man I’ve known, no friendly beast Has come and put its nose into my hands. No maid has welcomed my face with a kiss. Yet once, as I took passage From Gibraltar to Cape Horn I met some friendly mariners on the boat And as we struggled to keep the ship from sinking The very waves seemed friendly, and the sound The pray made as it hit the front of the boat.
Here is a transcription of Ashbery’s remarks:
“The picture on the jacket was supplied by Wesleyan. It seems to be a contemporary print of the event at Versailles. I had hoped they would use drawings from Jacques-Louis David for his vast painting ‘The Tennis Court Oath.’ It was apparently his practice to draw figures without clothes first and add them later. These drawings show naked men leaping joyfully in the air, waving their hats, which creates a bizarre effect.
I had very little input into the production and I suspect the press wasn’t at all happy with it (though it has remained continuously in print since 1962). I had submitted it at the urgent request of John Hollander, who was a longtime supporter of my work and (just guessing here) managed to get it accepted over the objections of the other jurors. I only met John some time later when he was passing through Paris, and would like to take this occasion to mention what a lovely human being he was, totally devoted to poetry.”
In addition to the Ashbery, there are lots of other fascinating books to check out here (although there seem to be only two volumes of poems included, a book by Rita Dove and Ashbery’s).
And, if any of you are in the market for a very special first edition of the Tennis Court Oath or many other wonderful books, be sure to head to Christie’s on December 2, wallet in hand!
