Introductions and Welcome

[Lynn, Old School Classics]

basil wrote: "Hey I’m Basil; realized I’m not at all well read and have decided to do something about it (also want to be the coolest person at the artsy coffee shop and what better way to do that than to read t..."

Hello Basil and welcome. Do Modern Classics count? That is the perennial question, "What is a classic?" Just being able to discuss that might make you the coolest person in the artsy bistro.

Here's a topic of conversation starter: How much is poetry tied to the original language of the poet? Once a poem is translated into a new language is it even the same poem? Theme may be the same but sound elements and rhythm are altered. Can translation ever really capture a poem or for that matter the lyrics of a song? Each language has its own rhythm. That's why we can recognize what language others are speaking even if we can not comprehend their words.