{"id":13577,"date":"2022-04-12T13:21:25","date_gmt":"2022-04-12T12:21:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cassandravoices.com\/?p=13577"},"modified":"2022-04-12T13:21:25","modified_gmt":"2022-04-12T12:21:25","slug":"the-love-poetry-of-judas-iscariot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/casswp.eutonom.eu\/index.php\/2022\/04\/12\/the-love-poetry-of-judas-iscariot\/","title":{"rendered":"The Love Poetry of Judas Iscariot"},"content":{"rendered":"

The prize painting in the National Gallery of Ireland is, without a doubt, Caravaggio\u2019s depiction of The Taking of Christ. <\/em>The painter presents us with an iconic image of Judas in the act of betraying Christ with the sign of a kiss, as previously arranged with Roman legionaries, who are depicted in costumes from Caravaggio\u2019s own time.<\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, Caravaggio even depicts himself in this great work, bearing a lantern so that he might better see the image of Christ.<\/p>\n

I am always reminded of the Rolling Stones song on Exile of Main Street <\/em>in which Jagger sings \u2018don\u2019t talk to me about Jesus, I just want to see his face!\u2019 And of course, Oscar Wilde\u2019s unforgettable lines taken from The Ballad of Reading Goal:<\/em><\/p>\n

Yet each man kills the thing he loves,
\nBy each let this be heard,
\nSome do it with a bitter look,
\nSome with a flattering word,
\nThe coward does it with a kiss,
\nThe brave man with a sword!<\/em><\/p>\n

So, betrayal in art, and particularly embodied in the Biblical figure of Judas, is nothing new. In fact, when I first saw some of Michael Corrigan\u2019s Judas poems, which was around this time two years ago, while co- editing the April edition of Live Encounters Poetry and Writing <\/em>with Mark Ulyseas<\/a><\/span>, I was immediately reminded of\u00a0 Brendan Kennelly\u2019s Book of Judas <\/em>(Bloodaxe Books, 1991) .<\/p>\n

So, I was intrigued. It was high time \u2013 twenty year separates the publication of these books \u2013 that a poet from this most treacherous of isles penned a few poems treating of the monumental and time-honoured theme of betrayal.<\/p>\n

Indeed, James Joyce never stopped harping on about how Irish history was full of tales of treachery. A Portrait of a Young Man as an Artist <\/em>(1916) begins with the parents of the young artist in question arguing over the betrayal of Charles Stewart Parnell.<\/p>\n

Continuing on the political scene \u2013 as a Cork man \u2013 how could I miss an opportunity to bring up the assassination of Michael Collins<\/a><\/span>\u2026!<\/p>\n

But enough, if I keep enumerating all the treacherous, low down dirty deeds that have been committed down through Irish history and immortalised by writers, and artists I\u2019ll never get started on this review!<\/p>\n

But one final word: isn\u2019t it interesting that both Michael Corrigan\u2019s book and Brendan Kennelly\u2019s were published in the UK?<\/p>\n

\n

Achtung, \u201cThe best way to serve the age is to betray it\u201d\u2026. The Book of Judas. Brendan Kennelly. 17\/4\/36-17\/10\/21. RIP. \u2013 Bono pic.twitter.com\/S7rWFC6kHG<\/a><\/p>\n

— U2 (@U2) October 20, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n