The Chinese Gardens

By Fabrizio Frosini

I want to take you to the threshold of this Frosini's book of poems and then withdraw so that you can encounter his poems with a sense of his poetic nature in the back of your mind, but a completely open mind otherwise.
I have identified three aspects of Frosini's writing which I will explain and also illustrate with a sampling of poems. In Frosini's Poetry:
1. The Truth is Affirmed ; 2. Beauty is Conveyed ; 3. The Personal becomes the Universal.
One of the key terms in contemporary poetry is 'POETRY OF WITNESS'. "Florence, A Walk With A View" is an excellent example of this type of poem. It exchanges the anger we experienced in the preceding poem with melancholy, but this is a haunted and desperate melancholy, not at all like the word's root meaning of sweet sorrow. Heinz Czechowski survived the World War II fire-bombing of Dresden, which killed 20,000 people. That is why Frosini refers to him as "The poet of the Death from the sky above Dresden". Czechowski probably wanted as much as any visitor to Florence to lavish all his attention on the art and architecture of this ultimate Renaissance city. In Fabrizio Frosini’s poem, the city charms the visitor with its natural beauty – "the silky lights of the / Sunset" – and artistic ambiance – "the intimate warmth of nostalgia that makes / Your heart melt at the sight around".
In the finest poetry, beauty is conveyed in all of it sensuous and spiritual glory. The title "Water Music " refers to one of Handel's most popular works, a masterpiece of baroque melody, rhythm and harmony. The poem, however, is not about this music.. For professional reasons, Fabrizio Frosini was in the small town of Pecs in Hungary, where he met Csilla, whom he describes as "a beautiful, bright, lovely, young girl." She is a shining element of the beauty this poem conveys. "I was in my room, staring at the clear sky through the window. The moon, so pale and magical, drawing my imagination to her. In my ears Handel's music was playing softly.". There is the beauty of Csilla's ambition to become a ballerina. There is the beauty of VITA NOVA : Dante's idealization of Beatrice with its artistic and moral benefits experienced by a contemporary couple. And finally the beauty of sublimation, when an otherwise sensuous experience must be transferred to the plane of the Imagination.
A given poem may garner many satisfied readers who have read it and been deeply moved in isolation from each other. The poem which exists on a printed page or at a website over time may have "nudged people's lives forward" but the poet himself is unaware of this truest measure of his poem's success. This is the case of another Frosini's poem: “Nocturnal Snowing”. This one is a Poem of Memory, which reveals the persistence of an experience of mutual attraction in the poet's life over many decades. The young woman, who is forever young and lovely in the poet's mind, becomes a touchstone of emotional value. She validates the poet's desire for her with her freshness and spontaneity, and their rapport shows this is a healthy and true desire for mutual happiness. But not all good experiences are given a future by the hand of fate. And so the poem also explores the emotional consequences of the loss of such a promising moment. At the website where “Nocturnal Snowing” is posted it is among the most read poems ever, with many and many comments by readers who were moved by this poem. The prevailing reaction in reader after reader is that “Nocturnal Snowing” related to their emotional lives. In other words, Fabrizio Frosini's personal experience reflected their personal experience, and thus the Personal becomes the Universal. [D.J.B.]

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fabrizio Frosini
• Release date: Aug 6, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310481796

Fabrizio Frosini

Born in Tuscany, Italy. Currently living close to Florence and Vinci, Leonardo's hometown. Doctor in Medicine, specialized in Neurosurgery, with an ancient passion for Poetry, he is the Author of over 2,000 poems published in 20 personal books. Frosini writes in Italian, his native language, and English. He is the founder of the International Association "Poets Unite Worldwide," with which he has published more than 50 Anthologies. Among his own books: «The Chinese Gardens - English Poems», «Prelude to the Night», «Anita Quiclotzl & Her Souls - Anita Quiclotzl e le Sue Anime» (Bilingual Ed.) - [for the others, see below].~*~In Frosini's Poetry:1. The Truth is Affirmed ; 2. Beauty is Conveyed ; 3. The Personal becomes the Universal.One of the key terms in contemporary poetry is 'POETRY OF WITNESS'. "Florence, A Walk With A View" is an excellent example of this type of poem. It exchanges the anger we experienced in the preceding poem with melancholy, but this is a haunted and desperate melancholy, not at all like the word's root meaning of sweet sorrow. Yet, in Fabrizio Frosini's poem, the city charms the visitor with its natural beauty - "the silky lights of the / Sunset" - and artistic ambiance - "the intimate warmth of nostalgia that makes / Your heart melt at the sight around".In the finest poetry, beauty is conveyed in all of it sensuous and spiritual glory. The title "Water Music" refers to one of Handel's most popular works, a masterpiece of baroque melody, rhythm and harmony. The poem, however, is not about this music.. here is a shining element of the beauty this poem conveys - "I was in my room, staring at the clear sky through the window. The moon, so pale and magical, drawing my imagination to her. In my ears Handel's music was playing softly." - There is the beauty of VITA NOVA, in this Frosini's poem: Dante's idealization of Beatrice with its artistic and moral benefits experienced by a contemporary couple. And finally the beauty of sublimation, when an otherwise sensuous experience must be transferred to the plane of the Imagination. Other Frosini's poem, like "Nocturnal Snowing", are Poems of Memory, that reveal the persistence of an experience of mutual attraction in the poet's life over many decades. There, a young woman, who is forever young and lovely in the poet's mind, becomes a touchstone of emotional value. But not all good experiences are given a future by the hand of fate. And so Frosini's poetry also explores the emotional consequences of the loss of such a promising moment... The prevailing reaction in reader after reader is that Frosini's verses relate to their emotional lives. In other words, Fabrizio Frosini's personal experience reflects their personal experience, and thus the Personal becomes the Universal...~*~Books published as sole Author:(*BE*: Bilingual Editions, English–Italian ; All books have PAPERBACK and EBOOK Editions)– «The Chinese Gardens – English Poems» – English Ed. – (published also in Italian Ed.:– «I Giardini Cinesi» – Edizione Italiana);– «KARUMI – Haiku & Tanka» – Italian Ed.;– «Allo Specchio di Me Stesso» ('In the Mirror of Myself') – Italian Ed.;– «Il Vento e il Fiume» ('The Wind and the River') – Italian Ed.;– «A Chisciotte» ('To Quixote') – Italian Ed.;– «Il Puro, l'Impuro – Kosher/Treyf» ('The pure, the Impure – Kosher / Treyf') – Italian Ed.;– «Frammenti di Memoria – Carmina et Fragmenta» ('Fragments of Memories') – Italian Ed.;– «La Città dei Vivi e dei Morti» ('The City of the Living and the Dead') – Italian Ed.;– «Nella luce confusa del crepuscolo» ('In the fuzzy light of the Twilight') – Italian Ed.;– «Limes —O La Chiave Dei Sogni» ('The Key to Dreams') – Italian Ed.;– «Echi e Rompicapi» ('Puzzles & Echoes') – Italian Ed.;– «Ballate e Altre Cadenze» ('Ballads and Other Cadences') – Italian Ed.;– «Selected Poems – Επιλεγμένα Ποιήματα – Poesie Scelte» – Greek–English–Italian (Αγγλικά, Ελληνικά, Ιταλικά – Greek translation by Dimitrios Galanis);– «Prelude to the Night – English Poems» – English Ed. (published also in Italian Ed.:– «Preludio alla Notte» – Edizione Italiana);– «A Season for Everyone – Tanka Poetry» – English Ed.;– «Evanescence of the Floating World – Haiku» – English Ed.;– «From the Book of Limbo – Dal Libro del Limbo» – *BE*;– «Anita Quiclotzl & Her Souls – Anita Quiclotzl e le Sue Anime» – *BE*.~*~Forthcoming publications:– «Mirror Games — A Tale» – English Edition (also in Italian Ed.:– «Giochi di Specchi — Un Racconto»);– «Il Sentiero della Luna» ('The Moon's Path') – Italian Edition.~*~For the Anthologies published by Fabrizio Frosini with "Poets Unite Worldwide", see Frosini's profile as a PUBLISHER, or POETS UNITE WORLDWIDE's profile.~*~Some of Frosini's poems are also published in the Anthology "Riflessi 62" (Italian Edition), edited by Pagine Srl.~*~Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/poetsuniteworldwide/Website address:https://poetsuniteworldwide.org/Blog:https://poetsuniteworldwide.wordpress.com/Twitter username:@fabriziofrosini

Book preview

This book is a collection of fifty three poems: forty seven poems originally written in English —mostly in 2014, others in 2015— plus six older poems written in Italian and then translated by myself into English.

A heartfelt thanks to the Minnesotan poet and friend Daniel J. Brick, who has written the Introduction to this book, as well as a commentary on many of the poems. His friendship is a honor and a privilege.

(Fabrizio Frosini, Firenze)

Foreword

by Daniel J. Brick

I have been reading and studying Fabrizio Frosini's poetry for nine months, and it has begun to echo in my mind spontaneously as I read. I almost feel myself anticipating the movement of his verses as I keep up with the steady stream of poems he is producing. This essay, however, is not about projection but rather consolidation. I want to take you, the reader, to the threshold of Frosini's most recent book of poems, "The Chinese Gardens," and then withdraw so that you can encounter his newest poems with a sense of his poetic nature in the back of your mind, but a completely open mind otherwise.

I have identified three aspects of Frosini's writing which I will explain and also illustrate with a sampling of poems. In Frosini's Poetry:

1. The Truth is Affirmed,

2. Beauty is Conveyed,

3. The Personal becomes the Universal.

~*~

1. The Truth is Affirmed

Goethe titled his autobiography "Poetry And Truth. He did not call it Poetry and Knowledge or Poetry and Wisdom or Poetry and Faith. No, he knew exactly what he was doing in placing Poetry and Truth" in such a prominent parallel position of parity. And his point was surely to highlight Poetry as an avenue to Truth. One of the world's greatest poets has acknowledged Poetry as a paramount means by which Truth is affirmed. And surely Goethe meant this as a corrective to Plato's infamous denigrating of poets as liars and his subsequent expulsion of them from his Republic. For Goethe, the poet is an essential player in human affairs, and a key attribute of his creativity is the delivery of the truth.

Fabrizio Frosini has inherited and internalized Goethe's enlightened view of this societal role of poets.

The poem "Is It True That The Devil Wears Prada?" is a poetic diatribe against the egregious greed of entrepreneurs already swollen with the world's profits. The poem's language is not enhanced with poetic diction but rather translated into the plain speech in which the world's commerce is conducted. This bluntness highlights what he finds so unacceptable in the economic system.

What matters is the growth of wealth of a tiny

Minority. Everything else is an annoying surplus of

Little —if any— relevance.

He expresses special ire toward "numbered accounts at offshore/ Havens, and with bitter irony admits their material value outstrips any other supposed/ Paradise," presumably of an outmoded spiritual nature.

One of the key terms in contemporary poetry is 'Poetry Of Witness'. "Florence, A Walk With A View" is an excellent example of this type of poem. It exchanges the anger we experienced in the preceding poem with melancholy, but this is a haunted and desperate melancholy, not at all like the word's root meaning of sweet sorrow.

Heinz Czechowski survived the World War II fire-bombing of Dresden, which killed 20,000 people, mostly civilians; that is why Frosini refers to him as "The poet of the Death from the sky above Dresden."

Czechowski probably wanted as much as any visitor to Florence to lavish all his attention on the art and architecture of this ultimate Renaissance city. In Fabrizio Frosini’s poem, the city charms the visitor with its natural beauty — "the silky lights of the/ Sunset — and artistic ambiance — the intimate warmth of nostalgia that makes/ Your heart melt at the sight around."

But Czechowski's experience is markedly different. In his 'Florence' poem he writes, «Who is not/ melancholic/ here he becomes such.» Clearly, the poet carries within his soul the violence that he witnessed: in the emotional sense, he did not survive Dresden, he too was one of the victims.

This poem is a striking parallel to Baudelaire's The Abyss, with Czechowski caught in the same dilemma which afflicts Pascal:

Pascal had his abyss, it followed him.

But the abyss is all – action and dream.

Language, desire! – And who could count the times

The wind of fear has made my blood run cold!

But Czechowski's path is a stoic one, or perhaps existential, in the accommodations to harsh realities and terrible memories that both the ancient and modern philosophies advocate. Frosini's language expresses this attitude with pitch perfect diction:

..There is but one path to follow:

Our