Hi Lang,
welcome, & it’s true, the bringing up of old threads is frowned upon: I was waiting for someone to jump on you for that.
But, for the life of me, I can’t remember why it is frowned upon. I’m getting old & my memory was never that good anyway, but I dimly recall that there was a rather plausible reason once cited for this policy. I can’t come up with it, & am left wondering, why is this a problem? The critical forums (Musing on Mastery, Discerning Eye, Distinguished Guest), as well as General Talk, have deep archives of wonderfully interesting threads dating back to the last millennium or thereabouts. Why are these off-limits for revival? I can’t remember.
And your comments on the midges are a wonderful addition to the thread; I daresay Wilbur himself would relish them. As for “fiats”— see Rhina’s post, #16 in the thread, & Alicia Stallings: “quadrillions and fiats MAKE the poem” (#14). And especially Tim’s post #3, which has stuck in my mind since I first read it (some things I do remember): Wilbur himself was worried that “fiats” was too obscure, and Alan Sullivan (an Eratosphere legend, now deceased) reassured him with “fiat lux!” (& cf. Ralph, #30). The pluralization of “fiat” is like a privileging of particulars: the one-size-fits-all creation of light is broken down into the particular things that are lighted, each one calling forth its own light. If this might get confused with Italian cars, well, it’s a poetical risk worth taking.
Anyway, for my part, I provisionally thank you for reviving this old thread, pending my being reminded of why this is a bad thing to do.
|