Saturday 14 February 2009

Postcard 19: Happy [Ancient] Valentine's Day

The O2: Tutankhamun 2008

Unlike Edward Lear (of limerick fame) who actually travelled to Egypt, I have to content myself with a virtual visit today. I am reminded of a happy evening in the company of Tutankhamun at the O2 almost a year ago. You may wonder why I have chose to post on 'things ancient' for Valentine's Day, and the reason is that we came across an intriguing 2009 Near Eastern Valentine Contest for entries in ancient scripts and languages. It is run by the publishers, Eisenbrauns, who specialize in books on the Near East and Biblical Studies. Matthew Scarborough won himself an honourable mention in the contest for a Hittite version of 'You are my sunshine'. This song was immortalized for me in the television adaptations of The Balkan and Levant Trilogies (aka as the Fortunes of War novels) by Olivia Manning. Emma Thompson acted the part of Harriet Pringle and Kenneth Branagh was Guy in these memorable productions.

On my travels on the internet I came across a site on Ancient Hebrew poetry. I studied classical Greek and Latin as a student, and have often regretted the fact that I did not have the opportunity to learn some Hebrew. For those who prefer things a little more modern, I note that a new book is out, Poets on the Edge: an Anthology of Modern Hebrew Poetry selected and translated by Tsipi Keller.

And finally, for those of you who enjoy a short challenge, there is the opportunity on the Boston Phoenix site to write a Six Word Memoir Valentine in (you guessed it) six words. Happy Valentine's Day ... and happy writing!






1 comment:

Mistlethrush said...

You're always full of useful information Caroline!

Have to say the size of the statue in the photo makes it seem ohj so scary