I was going to finish reading a book by Jean Laplanche – so had “reading” on my todo list. But then I saw my blog and I felt an OCD compulsion to get through to canto 10! There are 120 cantos in the cantos. At this rate it will take me a long time to finish. But maybe if I read 10 a month I can finish in a year. This past weekend was the jewish new. year. So I am going to embark on reading the remaining 110 cantos this year. Lets see if I can do it!

Canto 9 : floods rose/ fought in snows – the cycle of a year – the weather – cyclical time is the tyme of myth – but quickly we are thrown into history – someone is escaping dogs! Who – I have no idea – I read canto 8 month ago. I really like the capital letters and proper nouns in this canto. I enjoy the repetition of And

And the, And they, and one, and he, and old

this continues for a while, interrupted by the occasional other line like – “As old bladder said” I like this line because I like the herb bladderwack – it feels slimy to me – It is a slimy word. Do I have synesthesia? The old wattle-wattle slipped into Milan (is this humor?) Then we go to pages of dialogue or quotations.

My problem is that I cannot distinguish between one canto and another. The distinctions seem arbitrary. They don’t have their own distinct character – they are all a mish mash – its like different kinds of stew. But stew sort of starts to taste the same. Maybe I will be able to distinguish more. Stew is also very filling

Canto 10

I recognize a vernacular here – I contemporary or early 20th century vernacular. This was probably hip at the time and now sounds like something from Downton Abbey (Downtown Babby)

As I read this canto I am drawn in. There seems to be a character, a hero or anti hero, a point of view. It reminds me of the middle section of the wasteland. I am drawn into the emotion of the thing even though there is a block of latin I do not understand – like something on a tomb stone or a decrepit monument.

I am in flow now with the canto