EVERSAW HARDROCK, Oct 4, 2012
I'm a child of the universe no less than the trees and the
stars I have a right to be here. Happy Birthday Eversaw (aka) Hardrock 10/4/2012
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Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post showcases a YouTube video of the poem "Desiderata" by Max Ehrmann with a reading of this poem by Les Crane.
The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, and inspirational purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Max Ehrmann for writing the poem "Desiderata" and thanks to Les Crane for recording that poem. Thanks also to all those who were associated with this showcased video.
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Although the mission of pancocojams is to showcase Black cultures throughout the world, this post doesn't mean or imply that this poem and song originated from Black people. Both Max Ehrmann, the writer of "Desiderata" and Les Crane, the man reading this poem in this and in some other video recordings, were White Americans.
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DESIDERATA: WORDS FOR LIFE
(by Max Enhrmann)
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.
-Online Source: https://www.cse.cuhk.edu.hk/~cslui/desiderata.html
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INFORMATION ABOUT THE POEM "DESIDERATA"
Excerpt #1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desiderata
"Desiderata"(Latin: "things desired") is
a 1927 prose poem by the American writer Max Ehrmann. The text was widely
distributed in poster form in the 1960s and 1970s.
History
Max Ehrmann of Terre Haute, Indiana started writing the work
in 1921,[citation needed] but he did not assign it a title. He registered for
his U.S. copyright in 1927 using the poem's first phrase as its title. The
April 5, 1933 issue of Michigan Tradesman magazine published the full, original
text on its cover, crediting Ehrmann as its author. In 1933, he distributed the
poem in the form of a Christmas card,[1] now officially titled
"Desiderata."[2]
Psychiatrist Merrill Moore distributed more than 1,000 unattributed copies to his patients and soldiers during World War II.[1] After Ehrmann died in 1945, his widow published the work in 1948 in The Poems of Max Ehrmann. The 1948 version was in the form of one long prose paragraph, so earlier and later versions were presumably also in that form.[1][3]
The reverend Frederick Kates distributed about 200 unattributed copies as devotional materials for his congregation at Old Saint Paul's Church, Baltimore during 1959 or 1960.[1][3] The papers mentioned the church's foundation date of 1692, which has caused many to falsely assume that the date is that of the poem's origination.[4][5]
The text was widely distributed in poster form in the 1960s and 1970s, often with the incorrect date of 1692.[6] It was first partitioned into a few subparagraphs separated by "distinctive spacing figures" in 1970 by Pro Arts and Crescendo Publishers.[7] Later, it was divided into four or more subparagraphs separated by new lines in DePauw University's Mirage for 1978[8] and in the July/August 1999 issue of The Saturday Evening Post.[9] In some versions, almost all instances of "and" are replaced by ampersands.[10] Other versions change "the noise and the haste" to "the noise and haste" and change "be cheerful" to "be careful," notably in the 1971 spoken-word recording by Les Crane.[11]
Copyright status
[…]
The poem is now officially in the public domain throughout
the U.S., as written works registered before 1928 entered the public domain in
2023
Significant usages of the poem
[…]
In 1971, Les Crane used a spoken-word recording of the poem
as the lead track of his album Desiderata.[20] His producers had assumed that
the poem was too old to be copyrighted, but the publicity surrounding the
record led to clarification of Ehrmann's authorship and the eventual payment of
royalties. Crane's version peaked at #4 in Australia in December 1971.[21]
In 2010, Ehrmann's hometown of Terre Haute, Indiana unveiled
a bronze statue by Bill Wolfe of Ehrmann sitting on a park bench.[22]
Following his government's loss of majority in the 1972
Canadian federal election, prime minister Pierre Trudeau reassured the nation
by quoting Desiderata: "Whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the
universe is unfolding as it should.
[...]
In a 2012 interview on Oprah Winfrey's Master Class television special, actor Morgan Freeman explained how deeply the poem had shaped his life.[25]
When former Illinois governor and U.S. ambassador to the
United Nations Adlai Stevenson died in 1965, a copy of the poem was found near
his bedside, as he had planned to use it in his Christmas cards. This discovery
contributed further to the poem's popularity.[4]"...
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Excerpt #2
From https://www.dictionary.com/e/desiderata/ "Lexical Investigations: Desiderata", March 19, 2013
"Desiderata is a plural noun, with the singular form
desideratum, meaning “things wanted or needed.”
For many, the word desiderata most often evokes a famous poem by Max Ehrmann, written in 1927 and often referred to simply as Desiderata, without attribution or quotation marks. The poem begins with the oft-quoted lines, “Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, / and remember what peace there may be in silence.”
Though the poem has achieved a mythic quality and a
near-spiritual significance for some, it wasn’t well known until the 1970s when
it was made into hugely popular posters and sound recordings. Even Leonard
Nimoy of Star Trek fame included a spoken-word rendition of Desiderata on his
1968 album Two Sides of Leonard Nimoy in the track “Spock Thoughts.” Listen to
“Spock Thoughts” here.
Desiderata can be traced back to the 19th century, when it became fashionable for English-speakers to use little-known Latin words in place of shorter, more common Anglo-Saxon terms. Latin words were thought to be more elegant and more precise than their English counterparts, and the users of these words no doubt hoped to be seen as more intellectual and sophisticated. Desiderata gained popularity in the early 1800s as part of this trend, which had many critics. In 1864, Henry Alford wrote that English “is undergoing a sad and rapid process of deterioration. Its fine manly Saxon is getting diluted into long Latin words not carrying half the meaning.” Many, like Alford, considered Latinate words pretentious, and advocated for what they considered a purer form of English.
Spanish and French also absorbed desiderata from Latin, and the word continues to have the same meaning in both languages today.
Some writers misuse desiderata as a singular noun. The correct singular form is desideratum."...
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INFORMATION ABOUT THE LES CRANE "DESIDERATA" ALBUM
from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desiderata_(Les_Crane_album)
"Desiderata is a 1971 album by Les Crane with music by
Broadway composer Fred Werner and concept and various lyrics by David C.
Wilson. It is a spoken-word album with sung refrains and instrumental
accompaniment. The title and title track come from the widely circulated poem
"Desiderata", which was widely perceived as ancient wisdom and not
known to be a 1927 poem by Indiana lawyer Max Ehrmann.
Crane's supporting musicians included singer Evangeline Carmichael, whose daughter Carol Carmichael sang the "child of the universe" refrain on the title track, with musicians including keyboardist Michel Rubini, guitarist Louie Shelton, flautist Jim Horn and two percussionists, Joe Porcaro and Emil Richards. The album won the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album.[2]"...
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