PoeMS, BALLETs, AND OTHER ART

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  • Swan Lake by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

  • Shostakovich Trilogy by Alexei Ratmanksy.

  • “Sunstone” by Octavio Paz.

  • “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T.S. Eliot.

  • “And Death Shall Have No Dominion” by Dylan Thomas.

  • The Rebel's Silhouette by Faiz Ahmed Faiz. Faiz Ahmed Faiz was one of Pakistan's most beloved poets. Like many of his era, he combined themes of love, worship, and revolution. A great example: "Hum Dekhenge," rendered beautifully by Iqbal Bano here.

  • “Claire de Lune" by Claude de Bussy.

  • JMW Turner. JMW Turner is called the "Painter of Light" for amazing paintings like this one:

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Antilibrary:

  • The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri. I have been slowly making my way through this epic and beautiful poem. Recently, though, I found myself even more drawn to it because I learned something amazing from my Joseph Campbell readings. Miguel Asin Palacios, a Spanish priest and Arabic and Islamic studies scholar, wrote a book in 1919 with the translated title, The Muslim Eschatology in the Divine Comedy. He very meticulously detailed how the Divine Comedy draws its core narrative structure and many details from Muslim mythology—in particular, the stories of Isra and Miraj, the Prophet Muhammad's night journey and ascension to the heavens.

  • “The Waste Lands” by T.S. Eliot.