Max Ehrmann, Desiderata, (grace, America, quote, Jewish)

[cb2008]

Thanks to Cruithne who introduced me to this poem, i have fallen in love with it. It has an interesting history of its own. Ehrmann never copyrighted it. The original had no sentences, jus one big block. It has its own beauty. It has since been reformatted all different ways and i liked this one version I am posting here. I think there is much that can be discussed and has already been discussed here. I cannot bold my favorite, as there are too many lines that speak to me.

The title i think means To be Desired.

Max Ehrmann


Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann, Desiderata, Copyright 1952.

[Unsettomati]

Desiderata is amusing. It's a sort of stream-of-consciousness list of observations and suggestions that are mostly obvious and fairly trite.

I first encountered it when driving to work one Sunday a decade or so ago, and on the radio was an old re-broadcast of an American Top Forty program from the 1970s. And lo and behold, Casey Kasem introduces one of the most bizarre 'popular' songs I've ever heard, and it plays.

That's right, Desiderata was not only a single but a top ten hit around the world, peaking at #8 on the Billboard charts in the United States. It features a repeated vocal chorus (which just oozes with an early-70s new-aged vibe) based on several lines of the poem, along with a serene spoken word recitation of the poem itself.

In the car, I literally laughed out loud at this line:
[L]isten to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bUTcy6w2Rw

[cb2008]

Originally Posted by Unsettomati

Desiderata is amusing. It's a sort of stream-of-consciousness list of observations and suggestions that are mostly obvious and fairly trite.

I first encountered it when driving to work one Sunday a decade or so ago, and on the radio was an old re-broadcast of an American Top Forty program from the 1970s. And lo and behold, Casey Kasem introduces one of the most bizarre 'popular' songs I've ever heard, and it plays.

That's right, Desiderata was not only a single but a top ten hit around the world, peaking at #8 on the Billboard charts in the United States. It features a repeated vocal chorus (which just oozes with an early-70s new-aged vibe) based on several lines of the poem, along with a serene spoken word recitation of the poem itself.

In the car, I literally laughed out loud at this line:
[L]isten to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bUTcy6w2Rw

Thanks for the link, I will listen to it. I too laughed out loud at that line. Reminded me of CD

[chief scum]

Originally Posted by Unsettomati

In the car, I literally laughed out loud at this line:
[L]isten to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.

I know it is better for me to own the put down in that line, rather than projecting it on others. I accept all judgements.

[ElijahAstin]

I first heard the poem, in spoken word musical format, while watching F is for Family. The song (if not the lyrical content) is definitely a product of its time and place. Les Crane’s deep, mellifluous voice certainly juxtaposes interestingly with the flowery lyrics and proto-new age instrumentation.

More importantly, hearing the song, and looking it up on Wikipedia, prompted me to learn more about Les Crane, that nice and stunningly handsome Jewish boy whose talk show career probably should have lasted longer (and been better-remembered) than it ultimately did. He may have been just a little bit ahead of his time, even if he is also memorialized, semi-disparagingly, in the Phil Ochs song “Love Me, I’m a Liberal.”

He also married, and had a daughter with, Tina Louise.

[Cruithne]

Originally Posted by Unsettomati

Desiderata is amusing. It's a sort of stream-of-consciousness list of observations and suggestions that are mostly obvious and fairly trite.

I first encountered it when driving to work one Sunday a decade or so ago, and on the radio was an old re-broadcast of an American Top Forty program from the 1970s. And lo and behold, Casey Kasem introduces one of the most bizarre 'popular' songs I've ever heard, and it plays.

That's right, Desiderata was not only a single but a top ten hit around the world, peaking at #8 on the Billboard charts in the United States. It features a repeated vocal chorus (which just oozes with an early-70s new-aged vibe) based on several lines of the poem, along with a serene spoken word recitation of the poem itself.

In the car, I literally laughed out loud at this line:
[L]isten to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bUTcy6w2Rw

I guess poetry is a personal and subjective thing.

I do not find it at all trite. The opposite. I've always loved it and will continue to love it and appreciate it in the age that it was written.

I had no idea someone had turned it into a song and I won't be watching the video.
A bit like the saying that you should never meet your heroes, I think watching the video will ruin the charm the poem has always held for me.

( I did meet one of my heroes once. Sarah Jessica Parker. I loved her until I met her. She was absolutely horrible. Talk about shattered expectations. )

[Thoreau424]

I've enjoyed that over the past few years that I've known about it. I even printed it up on a nice page-sized format, as if for framing.

Great words of wisdom in my opinion. I don't care what anyone else thinks (esp. criticism), but it rings true to me.

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by Thoreau424

I've enjoyed that over the past few years that I've known about it. I even printed it up on a nice page-sized format, as if for framing.

Great words of wisdom in my opinion. I don't care what anyone else thinks (esp. criticism), but it rings true to me.

Objectively speaking, it’s not bad poetry. It’s one of those things that’s probably, in significant part, a victim of its own success. Les Crane said in a late ‘80s interview that he could no longer listen to the song without gagging.

[chief scum]

Originally Posted by Unsettomati

In the car, I literally laughed out loud at this line:
[L]isten to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.

Originally Posted by chief scum

I know it is better for me to own the put down in that line, rather than projecting it on others. I accept all judgements.

Originally Posted by Thoreau424

I've enjoyed that over the past few years that I've known about it. I even printed it up on a nice page-sized format, as if for framing.

Great words of wisdom in my opinion. I don't care what anyone else thinks (esp. criticism), but it rings true to me.

I don't know if the "criticism" mentioned in your post was directed at me. If it was maybe read some of the lines that followed the line I responded too, and the context of it.

...If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself...

P.S. It is also written in the Torah, in the instructions for the king, to not think of himself as better than his brothers. If that is the instruction for the king, how much more for everyone else.

[cb2008]

Originally Posted by Cruithne

I guess poetry is a personal and subjective thing.

I do not find it at all trite. The opposite. I've always loved it and will continue to love it and appreciate it in the age that it was written.

I had no idea someone had turned it into a song and I won't be watching the video.
A bit like the saying that you should never meet your heroes, I think watching the video will ruin the charm the poem has always held for me.

( I did meet one of my heroes once. Sarah Jessica Parker. I loved her until I met her. She was absolutely horrible. Talk about shattered expectations. )

Poetry is not always subjective, it can be critically analyzed per certain criteria of the form.
That it is good or bad poetry is not at all what this work is about. It is the sensibility, and the wisdom, that resonates. It was generosity on his part to share this freely and wide. I am just amazed i had not met this before, ever.
I dont get the ridicule.
“ Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.”
Absolutely.