Thursday, August 29, 2013

Meeting with Triumph and Disaster

Today we are looking at visuals for Rudyard Kipling's poem "If." When my son, age 15, read this poem recently, he looked up afterwards with a "Yes!" expression on his face and said, "You wouldn't just be a man; you'd be a *boss*!"

First up, listening to "If." I'm not sure who this is. Ralph Fiennes?


If by Rudyard Kipling
Calligraphy by Susan Loy

A line from "If"
photo from Academy of American Poets

Pugyard Kipling
by Chet Phillips

If by Rudyard Kipling
Poster by Kunal Sawant

If by Rudyard Kipling
Poster by Sailor Danny

If by Rudyard Kipling
Poster by Stefano Agabio

More:

* "If" illustrated by Effie Pappa
* "If" has its own Facebook page.
* You can get a t-shirt featuring Kipling's mustache.
* Kipling wrote a story that I found thrillingly terrifying as a child. Anyone else remember it?
* David Gilmour: "Kipling was so disgusted by the Nazis and the sight of their flag that he removed the swastika, a Hindu symbol of good luck, from his bookbindings. It had been his trademark for nearly forty years but it was now 'defiled beyond redemption'."

3 comments:

  1. I love all the visuals you found, Tabatha, especially the poster. Artists make beautiful things, don't they? I don't know the voice, but the recording was nice to hear. Thanks!

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  2. According to YouTube, it was Ralph Fiennes (but maybe with a cold?).

    Very interesting visual interpretations. The poster by Kunal Sawant really struck me.

    The Pugyard Kipling illustration was cute, too!

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  3. What a great poem. Yes, the poster by Sawant stuck with me too.

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