Me And Rud

[poliphilo]

I have a personal link with Rudyard Kipling.

During WWI my grandmother- not the one I've posted pictures of but my mother's mother, who hated having her picture taken- was enrolled in the Women's Land Army. The Women's Land Army existed to fill the jobs vacated by male workers, mainly agricultural workers, who had gone off to fight. She was offered a posting to Kipling's farm at Burwash in Sussex. "Don't take it," she was warned, "Mrs Kipling is a tartar," but my Grandmother was a big fan and she went.

So far as I know she had an easy ride and I don't think she had much contact with the Kipling family, or if she did, it wasn't the stuff of anecdotes.

But one thing she did do was get Kipling to sign one of his books for her. A modern author would have put an inscription, "To Mary Allen, with respect and affection" or something like that. Kipling just crossed through his printed name and signed beneath it. I'm told he was chary about handing out autographs and that Carrie Kipling signed all the cheques to stop them being bought and sold by autograph hunters.

Kipling was a god in my mother's family. Not as big a god as Winston Churchill but not far behind. I was introduced to the Just So Stories and the Jungle Books and after that I was hooked and could find my own way.  There are many writers I admire and a handful I love and Kipling is at the head of the second list. I enjoy everything he did, from the children's stories to the "difficult" quasi-modernist stories of his old age.  When I grew up I collected Kipling first editions. Back then Kipling was as far out of favour as it's possible for a major writer to be and they could be had for a few shillings each.

When I was about twelve my Grandmother said she'd give me the signed copy of The Seven Seas provided I learned several verses of Kipling's poem "Sussex" by heart. No sweat.

God gave all men all earth to love
But since our hearts are small
Ordained to each one spot should prove
Beloved over all;
That as he watched creation's birth,
So we in godlike mood
Might of our love create our earth
And see that it was good."

Yup, I still know it.

Thanks, Granny.

Comments

[dakegra.livejournal.com]

Kate's parents live in Burwash, not too far from Batemans...

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

It's a beautiful part of the world.

[dakegra.livejournal.com]

that it is. We got married in the church in Burwash, then walked along the main street to K's parents' house where we had the reception. It's a great place.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

And now I want to see your wedding pix.

Any chance of you posting them?

[dakegra.livejournal.com]

just so happens that I have some online here. Quite a few of just guests, but some of the church and the high street too.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Ach. "page cannot be displayed". (Stamps in frustration)

[dakegra.livejournal.com]

try typing the address in, in case I've banjaxed it.

http://uk.geocities.com/dakegra/wedding.html

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Sorry to be a nuisance but that doesn't work either.

[dakegra.livejournal.com]

that's most peculiar. What browser are you using?

I thought I could just grab the photos using FTP from there, but for some reason our work firewall doesn't like it. I'll get them at home and put them up somewhere more useful...

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I'm using Internet Express. At least I think I am. I've tried other ways round- like googling "dakegra wedding"- but every path is barred.

[dakegra.livejournal.com]

ok. quick 'n dirty hacked up page, but try this:

http://www.dakegra.com/wedding/weddingfull.html

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Thanks.

These are great. I particularly like the one of the two of you on the bench. Would that be Pook's Hill in the background?

[dakegra.livejournal.com]

we were certainly on the right side of Burwash for it - facing south. I'm not sure of the actual location of Pook's Hill (neither is anyone else, from a quick google), but Mr Kipling would certainly be able to see the hills behind us from Bateman's...

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Then it's almost certainly Pook's Hill.

I don't think it's called Pook's Hill on the maps. That was just Kipling's name for it.

[dakegra.livejournal.com]

slightly nicer hack

http://www.dakegra.com/wedding/weddingviewer.html

[halfmoon-mollie.livejournal.com]

BEautiful pictures. Lovely bride, handsome groom, gorgeous location. What more could you ask for?

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Even better. Cheers!

[karenkay.livejournal.com]

I looooooooove Rudyard Kipling. The man knew how to write.

When I was at Yale, I remember seeing the inscription... I don't remember the whole story, if this guy was buried beneath the building, or what, or even what his name was any more. But the inscription said that this guy "lived by his pen and his sword". That always evokes Kipling for me.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Kipling is still under-rated. Probably because his politics are a little unfashionable. I think he's one of the very greatest English writers- up there on the same level as Dickens and Jane Austen.

[karenkay.livejournal.com]

Yes, I totally agree--about the point about his politics and about Dickens/Austen.

Kipling represents a kind of English version of "no guts, no glory".

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

There's that, but there's also so much more. No-one wrote better love stories. Do you know "Without Benefit of Clergy" or "The Brushwood Boy" or "The Wish House"? Three love stories, two tragic, one happy, all completely different and each one a masterpiece.

I read yesterday- apropos something else- that "the Brushwood Boy" influenced Strindberg. What a delicious conjunction!

[karenkay.livejournal.com]

No! I'm going to have to read them. I know I read some of his stories a long time ago, but it's been long enough I don't remember which is which.

Thanks for the recs.

[saskia139.livejournal.com]

Though I haven't read any other Kipling, I remember The Jungle Book and The Just So Stories very fondly. What other works of his would you recommend, for someone who only knows the children's books and wants to read more?

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I think you should get hold of an anthology of the short stories. I believe there's a good one out there edited by Craig Raine. Kipling is the best short story writer in the English language and his range is enormous.

Then there are the other books for children- Puck of Pook's Hill and its sequel, Rewards and Fairies and (possibly his masterpiece) the novel, Kim.

You might also want to look for a volume of the Collected (or selected) poems.

[solar-diablo.livejournal.com]

I know it's the most recognized and repeated, but I was always partial to If:

If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours in the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Kipling himself was surprised at how "If" took off. It was something he wrote as filler for Rewards and Fairies- one of his books of stories for children and he never thought it was anything special until...WhOOSH!

[morrison-maiden.livejournal.com]

I like Kipling. I'm not very familiar with his work, but I studied "White Man's Burden" in my history class. It's really nifty that your grandmother got her book signed!

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

As I rememeber White Man's Burden is an appeal to the Americans to take over from the British as top nation. Not very p.c.- but then Kipling was an unashamed (but not uncritical) imperialist.

u passed it on

[manfalling.livejournal.com]

u passed it on too- cos i`ve always adored the just so stories. favourite was always how the alphabet got written. genius.
not rwad much else tho. hmm. perhaps i will....

Re: u passed it on

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Try and get hold of a "Best Stories Of". There's only one short story writer who's in the same league and that's Chekhov- and they're so different there's really no point comparing them.

Re: u passed it on

[manfalling.livejournal.com]

would that be my boy anton chekhov?
or did i make that name up?

Re: u passed it on

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

No that's right- Anton Chekhov- short story writer and playwright

[queen-in-autumn.livejournal.com]

What a great story!

I fell in love with the Jungle Book and Rikki-Tikki-Tavi when I was in late elementary school. For years I could quote most of the Law of the Jungle (and still can recite parts of it.).

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I hate it how the Disney film has eclipsed Kipling's original.