Notes on Thought and Vision [Paperback]

Hilda Doolittle (H.D.) (Author), Paul Bowles (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2001

Notes on Thought and Vision by Imagist poet H.D. (Hilda Doolittle) is an aphoristic meditation on how one works toward an ideal body-mind synthesis; a contemplation of the sources of imagination and the creative process; and a study of gender differences H.D. believed to be inherent in women's and men's consciousness. Here, too, is The Wise Sappho, a lyrical tribute to the great poet of Lesbos, for whom H.D. felt deep personal kinship.

Product Details

• Paperback: 44 pages
• Publisher: City Lights Publishers (January 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0872861414
• ISBN-13: 978-0872861411
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #911,192 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Delicate, Not Brittle by Padma J. Thornlyre, November 4, 1997

By 

Padma Thornlyre - See all my reviews

This review is from: Notes on Thought and Vision (Paperback)

At her best, H.D. (Hilda Doolittle) is a poet. Her novels all display a poet's sense of immediacy, but are sometimes confusing for their interior "scapes" which are frequently all too fluid. Her poetry, however, directs the "flow" deliberately and masterfully. "Notes on Thought and Vision" is a rare example (like Nikos Kazantzakis's "The Saviors of God") wherein the distinction between poetry and prose evaporates. These "Notes" are intimate and compelling, watery and feminine, mystical and yet (strangely) earthy--composed of octopus, seaweed, and salt. Her language is delicate, but not brittle, her point of view keenly sensitive but never timid. "Notes" is an intelligent reflection on the sub- or un-conscious, and on the source(s) of poetic inspiration, from the only person, male or female, who ever wrote openly of her experience as Sigmund Freud's patient (see H.D.'s "Tribute to Freud"). "Notes on Thought and Vision" is a short book (and a small one), which contains a very large message that celebrates the feminine and the divine as one and the same. A must-read for any woman who seeks to explore her creativity and for any man who seeks his own "anima".

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars H.D. being H.D., August 20, 2000

By 

M. J. Smith (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Notes on Thought and Vision (Paperback)

I have a love/hate relationship with H.D. - I lack her enthusiasm for Greek and Egyptian mythology (I'd rather move a bit further to the Southeast) but I appreciate what she does with the mythology. Thus I am never quite sure to what audience I can recommend her.

The second piece in this book, "The Wise Sappho" is a meditation on the poetry of Sappho - a poetic meditation. If you have read Sappho, this is a must read piece as both Sappho and H.D. are talismen of the feminist strand of poets.

The first piece "Notes on Thought and Vision" needs to be placed in time. H.D. speaks of her discovery of a higher level of consciousness, a level she refers to as jelly-fish mind as she imagines it as a jelly-fish above us (for brain consciousness) or beside us (for womb consciousness) with tenacles into our body. Her examples come primarily from art, Greek mythology or "the Galilean" (Jesus). She specifically includes scientists among those dependent upon this jelly-fish consciousness. However, she cautions that body and mind are not to be neglected. Her description of her experience serves as an important insight into her poetry and prose and as one ray into understanding the literary circle in which she roamed e.g. Ezra Pound.