Monet

Monet Refuses the Operation – Mueller

Photograph of wood panel wall with bright sunlight overlaid with words Lisel Mueller's poem

The post I am working on for Friday to mark the death of Camille Pissarro in 1903 reminded me of this post I did six and half years ago. I took the photograph in the hallway of an old converted house in Cambridge, MA – I was helping a friend of mine move out of the attic apartment. The light was just like that, pouring through a circular window at top of the stairs. Mueller’s poem came almost immediately to mind; this post is still one of my favorite very early ones from my blog. To read Mueller’s whole poem, go here.

Excerpt Tuesday – Monet Refuses the Operation – Lisel Mueller

MonetRefuses

This wonderful poem took on even more meaning for me when I learned that Ms. Mueller herself has all but lost her vision after suffering from progressive vision loss for years.  How does the physical sense of vision interact with our inner vision and creativity? The degeneration of the senses sometimes becomes a part of the legends of great artists – Beethoven and his hearing loss for example – and sometimes not. Read the full text of “Monet Refuses the Operation” here. A recording of Ms. Mueller reading it can be found here – she has a lovely and soothing voice. Photograph and composition by me. Enjoy!

Excerpt Tuesday – Monet Refuses the Operation – Lisel Mueller

MonetRefuses

Today’s excerpt is from “Monet Refuses the Operation” by Lisel Mueller (b. 1924) – read the whole poem here. Photograph and composition by me. Enjoy!