Under the Influence of the Druid Bard

It seems that as much as I might neglect my novel manuscript, she pursues me. Take my recent trip to Arizona for example.

I networked day and night at the National Conference for Tobacco or Health and had little time for relaxation and no time for writing, except for editing my clients’ work. I met a woman from Erie who invited me to rent a car for a day trip to Scottsdale to see Taliesin West.

I’m a fan of Frank Lloyd Wright homes, but I’d never set foot in one until last Friday. During the guided tour we learned a little about Frank’s personal life and how the house evolved from year to year. Of greatest interest to me was that the home did not have glass windows, originally. Canvas was stretched across the openings. Mrs. Wright the Third convinced Frank, over the course of 10 years, to use glass because he would then be able to work, inspired by the scenery around the house. Then, when he blasted to excavate for his cabaret, all the glass in the house shattered.

The guide told us, before we even set foot in the house, that taliesin means "shining brow." Then she talked about how the house was purposefully situated not on the top of the hill, but under the top, like a brow, so as to blend with the landscape.

This morning I got around to an Internet search for the word. I came up with some of Frank’s own words:

"Taliesin was the name of a Welsh poet, a druid-bard who sang to Wales the glories of fine art. Many legends cling to that beloved reverend name in Wales.

"Richard Hovey's charming masque, 'Taliesin,' had just made me acquainted with his image of the historic bard. Since all my relatives had Welsh names for their places, why not Taliesin for mine? . . . Literally the Welsh word means 'shining brow.'

"This hill on which Taliesin now stands as 'brow' was one of my favorite places when as a boy looking for pasque flowers I went in March sun while snow still streaked the hillsides. When you are on the low hill-crown you are out in mid-air as though swinging in a plane, the Valley and two others dropping away from you leaving the tree-tops standing below all about you."

- Frank Lloyd Wright

My Facebook friends wrote to me and suggested that I read Loving Frank. After checking the synopsis, I understand that this story of taboo love is meant to inspire me to finish "Acoustic Memory." And so I must return to the influence of the bard.