By Shane Devine [Epikoros] "The Flammarion engraving," unknown artist The devil wrote the Bible To lead mankind astray; Meant to worship nature, He now adores decay. Praise the cosmos as it is, And you shall be set free – Wish it were some other way And you'll desire of that tree That shatters blissful gardens … Continue reading Song of a Gnostic Epikoros

By Shane Devine Ekphrases on the Stanza della segnatura I. In troubled youth, I searched for meaning So to the Vatican I journeyed. Its library I lit up with a torch Looking for hidden Mysteries. "The Parnassus" by Raphael, 1509-1511 I traveled long to Mt. Parnassus Seeking out some spring of genius, Liquid from the … Continue reading Modernity, or The Disputation of the Sacrament

By Shane Devine "The Virgin Annunciate" by Antonello da Messina, 1476 A cycle of sonnets dealing with the universe as understood by modern science and its implications on humanity's understanding of itself. I have long been seeking a way out of the nihilism of materialism, one that is final and complete, without cheap recourse back … Continue reading Mystery Sonatas

By Shane Devine "Vesuvius from Portici" by Thomas Wright, 1774-1776. Credit: Art collection of the Huntington Library in Pasadena, CA. (This is the first chorus section from my play "Gesualdo." The story of the Baglioni family can be found in Jacob Burckhardt's The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy, p. 20-24 in the Modern Library … Continue reading First Chorus from “Gesualdo”

By Shane Devine Marble relief with a dancing maenad. Adaptation of work attributed to Kallimachos, ca. 27 B.C. - A.D. 14. Credit: Fletcher Fund, 1935. Written June 2016 “I can say what I want in a whisper,” he said This to me in a dream; it was Sallust the crisp, The robust and annihilate writer … Continue reading The Art of Poetry (an Ars Poetica)

By Shane Devine "The father of Psyche sacrificing at the Temple of Apollo" by Claude Lorrain, 1663. O god of Sun! We call your busy rays,Perfecting Earth on Spring's sublime debut,Upon this lawn of land within the gazeOf marble thick and bold portraying You.We gather strong and healthy oxen babes,Who praise your brill'iance for the … Continue reading Hymn to Apollo

By Shane Devine Written March 2015 "Dionysos" from the Richelieu Collection; 2nd century CE, discovered in Italy. Credit: © Marie-Lan Nguyen / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY 2.5. The sun gives life to dewdrop'd grass. Reflection off the morning bay Illumes the temple's colored glass To bathe us for the coming day. Upon the altar lies … Continue reading Dithyramb