Lyrical Poetry in Japan
The Japanese are recognized gurus in matters of meditation and leisurely admiring the surrounding nature. And this, by the way, is combined with exceptional performance and sometimes discouraging devotion to the native team. Do you still complain that after an 8-hour day, you only have enough strength to get home and go to bed? We hasten to draw your attention to spring Japan, the beauty of which has been inspiring poets to exquisite verses for more than a millennium. Matsuo Basho, one of the most famous representatives of the Japanese intelligentsia, worked near Kyoto, and preferred to work in those romantic hours when the cherry, obeying the spring gusts of wind, covers the ground with a carpet of delicate pink petals. Sakura blooms in late March — early April, so you still have time to book a tour to the Land of the Rising Sun. As for Hoffman’s advice, we remind our readers that Japan is also the birthplace of sake.
Epic poetry in Turkey
Do not feed a seasoned traveler with bread — let him talk about the dangers that lay in wait for him on the way. That elephants were not allowed to sleep all night, then a squirrel tried to drag up a tree and tear it to pieces, then a stray cat tried to take away the day’s ration… And if you are used to capturing your adventures on paper, pay attention to the experience of bygone days — for example, the opuses of Homer. In the legend of the Trojan War, more than a dozen devils will break their leg — the adventures of the heroes were so confused. Together with the muse of epic poetry, Calliope, the poet was clearly inspired by the local vodka ouzo — and we strongly recommend not to neglect this means of unraveling plot moves. Well, if you want to see the scene firsthand, go to Turkey — the legendary Troy is located there, however, now the city is called Truva. The horse is still standing in front of the gate, and you can even climb into it. Perhaps this adventure will inspire you to do something worse than the Iliad!
“Urania is older than Clio” in Guatemala
Another recognized classic of literature, Joseph Brodsky, was inspired not only by the muse of poetry, but also by her companions, as can be judged at least by the poem “To Urania” (the muse of astronomy, if anyone does not know). And indeed, watching the black velvet of the sky strewn with myriads of sparkling diamonds is akin to the most exciting of the arts. To fully surrender to the power of Urania, it is worth going to Guatemala — or rather, to one of the most magnificent archaeological parks of the Mayan civilization — Tikal. The city plan here is strictly subordinated to the location and movement of celestial objects — and this was at a time when Giordano Bruno and Galileo Galilei were not even in the project. For this reason, as well as thanks to the vast open spaces and negligible light pollution, Guatemala is unanimously recognized as the mecca of astronomers who rush with excitement to the Mayan cities and jungles armed with telescopes. And even closer to feel the connection with the muse, on the advice of Hoffmann, you can arm yourself with a glass of rompopo.
Hug Melpomene and cry in Greece
Where to read or even write tragic works, if not in Greece — in the homeland of this greatest of literary genres! Here, it seems, every olive tree has listened to a lot of stories about unrequited love, and every cobblestone was once seized in despair by a deceived lover and, perhaps, even launched into the window of an insidious traitor. Before going to Greece, you should refresh your memory of the nettle of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, and immediately upon arrival in Athens — go straight to the Dionysus Theater — to the first stage where this very nettle was once staged. An important hint: the theater as a phenomenon emerged from the celebrations in honor of Dionysus, the god of wine and fun, so that the muse really came out of the wine barrel. By the way, Greek tragedies are still staged on the stage of the Dionysus Theater (alas, in Greek) – so here you can really reincarnate into an ancient spectator. And to lure Melpomene for a glass of raki, by the way!
Song of Songs in Israel
“Oh, cover me with your kisses, for your caresses are better than wine,” the young shepherdess Sulamith called her lover. More than 25 centuries have passed since then, but the Promised Land is still bursting with vineyards, raising dry olive branches to the sky and melting under the hot summer sun. To check in practice in which landscapes Solomon and Sulamith indulged in love, you can go to Israel — and at the same time feel the inspiration of Polyhymnia, the muse of hymns, because the Song of Songs, without a doubt, is one of the most outstanding hymns of love. A powerful Israeli excursion is both the scorched expanses of the Negev desert, and the greenery of the Ein Gedi oasis, and the mystical water surface of the Dead Sea, and the eternally unhurried waters of the majestic Jordan. Perhaps, after visiting Israel, a love epic that is not inferior to the Song will come out from under your pen. Well, returning to the “guide” of today’s digest, Herr Hoffmann, we strongly recommend that you try the magnificent Israeli wines.