*Of Ithaka And Atlantis

Pilgrims, tourists, and the uses of utopian enchantment

“Odysseus And The Sirens” by John William Waterhouse

Earlier this week, in my long divorce post, I quoted in full Auden’s great poem “Atlantis,” which I’ll repost here:

Being set on the idea
Of getting to Atlantis,
You have discovered of course
Only the Ship of Fools is
Making the voyage this year,
As gales of abnormal force
Are predicted, and that you
Must ther…