Ross G Caldwell
frelkins said:let me politely disagree. there is purposely ugly -- some picasso, some of the german expressionists, damien hirst -- and then there is the simply god-awfully untalented. alas, C falls into the latter category. but of course non-beauty must probably be in the non-eye of the non-beholder.
I consider him a true naïve. His philosophy of art expresses it fully. There is no doubt he could have used some training, but then he would have considered his expression compromised.
His pencil or pen and ink drawings sometimes attain sublimity, I think.
on the other hand, people say he was a fantastic mountain climber. let's be honest: his poetry was terrible too.
Much is intolerable to us, I agree. But he did write a substantial amount of very very good poetry when he managed to break free of complex verse forms, and Shelly-Swinburne style. Much of it has to be read aloud to appreciate.
Read this selection of "Crowley's Least Dire Poetry" - they are all very good.
http://www.geocities.com/nu_isis/dionysus.html#isis
I mean by "good" that the rhythm and rhyme maintain an easy and musical pace.
Ross