booze&(a book):
we're alive,dear:it's(kiss me now)spring!
Tara Avery
“The earth laughs in flowers,” E. E. Cummings said. Who better, then, to usher us into the season of spring?
April was National Poetry Month. In honor of that, this issue’s booze and a book offers, not a novel, but a poet and his body of work.
Poetry – and, let’s face it, E. E. Cummings himself – sometimes has a reputation for impenetrability. Instead of being frightened off immediately, I challenge you to hunt down a book of Cummings’ poems (or click through to some of the helpfully provided links), mix yourself up something strong (it is entirely possible the addition of alcohol will only help your understanding) and enjoy words and spirit and the essence of life distilled. Behind the (sometimes, admittedly, almost unintelligible) unconventional use of form, syntax, spelling and punctuation, Cummings is a poet who writes magnificently about love, life, spring, death, beauty, sex. Anyone who writes words like “you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens/(touching skilfully, mysteriously) her first rose” deserves some attention. Roll the words on your tongue. Embrace them. Think about them. Enjoy them.
And for your foray into the works of this great twentieth century poet, I give you the (slightly strange—like Cummings, perhaps) Twentieth Century Cocktail. Like booze and poetry; Cummings and Spring, the Twentieth Century combines two of my favorite things: gin and chocolate.
The Twentieth Century
• 1 1/2 ounce Gin
• 3/4 ounce Lillet
• 3/4 ounce Lemon Juice
• 1/2 ounce Crème de Cacao (white)
Shake with ice. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with lemon slice.
The Lillet, I am told, can be replaced with sweet vermouth without totally losing the spirit of the beverage. If you want my opinion (and I know you do) – don’t be cheap with the gin. Bombay Sapphire. Hendricks. Van Gogh. These are the gins you want to spend a little extra for. Trust me.
Some of my personal E. E. Cummings favorites include:
somewhere i have never travelled
in time of daffodils (who know
when faces called flowers float out of the ground
it is at moments after i have dreamed
suppose
i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)
These poems, and many more, can be found at the following sites:
ee cummings
Poets.org E. E. Cummings
Poetry by ee cummings
Poet’s Corner – e. e. cummings