Poetic Homage to Gala-Salvador Dali.

Poetic Homage to Gala-Salvador Dali
by A. Reynolds Morse for
The Dali Museum, Cleveland (Beachwood) Ohio (1973).

 

I must admit that I am not a connoisseur of poetry.  When I do indulge in said written word, I prefer it to be short and to the point--like Robert Frost's poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay" or Poe's "Annabel Lee."  Say what you will, but anything else just goes over my head.

The poetry found in Poetic Homage to Gala-Salvador Dali falls into the category of poetry that I just don't understand.  As such, I cannot appreciate the inspiration reflected in these works, or that which inspired Morse to reprint said works therein.  Even Morse's astute explanation of the historical or social background to each poem does not make anything clearer for me.

 

Nevertheless, this book, like all Morse books for the Dali Museum, is erudite in its treatment of the subject at hand.  One finds assembled six Dalinian poems which span the years 1926-1964.  However, as the book's title suggests, these are not poems written by Dali, but about Dali.

Each poem is accompanied by an introduction and a biographical note about each author.  There are photographs of Dali and illustrations throughout.  Most notable are the several Dali drawings illustrating "Three Dry Spells" by Edward James.  One would likely have to track down a 1936 copy of the French art magazine Minotaure just to see these drawings.

 

Finally, the reader is treated to two new sonnets penned by Salvador Dali himself.

The entire package is, as always, well-done, but the poetry just doesn't do it for me.  If you're into that kind of thing, you might like this book.

The book is extremely rare, and as indicated on the book itself, it is limited to 250 copies.  My copy has an empty space where it should be numbered, leading me to suspect that more than 250 copies were actually put into circulation.

It seems that there are several numbered copies available in cyberspace for about $35.