Sonnet for Dennis Ritchie

#1

Post by tomheon » Fri, Nov 11, 2011, 1:25 PM UTC

Sonnet for Dennis Ritchie
edmundjorgensen.com

Re: Sonnet for Dennis Ritchie

#2

Post by jszmajda » Fri, Nov 11, 2011, 2:32 PM UTC

Very touching! Thanks for sharing.

Re: Sonnet for Dennis Ritchie

#3

Post by danso » Fri, Nov 11, 2011, 2:36 PM UTC

I wasn't sure if "Steve Jacks" was an admirer or some clueless middle manager at a newspaper meeting not wanting to talk about "C" because everyone is running "PCs" these days.

But here's his original letter: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-10-18/news/chi-11101...

Re: Sonnet for Dennis Ritchie

#4

Post by brudgers » Fri, Nov 11, 2011, 2:41 PM UTC

Spoken like a hacker, not a hack.

Re: Sonnet for Dennis Ritchie

#5

Post by michaelty » Fri, Nov 11, 2011, 3:20 PM UTC

"Exists, what can it be but information?

Your ghost performs the world’s computation."

Beautiful!

Re: Sonnet for Dennis Ritchie

#6

Post by diiq » Fri, Nov 11, 2011, 3:27 PM UTC

I clicked the link with my spine pre-cringed, ready for cheesy hacker poetry. Instead I found a lovingly crafted epitaph in stylish, uninterrupted verse. I immediately looked to see the other poetry. I was shocked that there were only two others posted --- I refuse to believe that someone who wrote this and The Little Bank of San Pietro dei Fiumi (also beautiful) has only written three poems. Post more, Mister Jorgensen!

Re: Sonnet for Dennis Ritchie

#7

Post by p4bl0 » Fri, Nov 11, 2011, 3:40 PM UTC

TIL that an english sonnet is not at all the same thing as a french one (I was confused at first, because in french a sonnet is a very strict form of poetry, which is not respected at all here). So thanks for that, and beautiful text, by the way :-).

Re: Sonnet for Dennis Ritchie

#8

Post by diiq » Fri, Nov 11, 2011, 5:02 PM UTC

p4bl0 wrote: post #7

TIL that an english sonnet is not at all the same thing as a french one (I was confused at first, because in french a sonnet is a very strict form of poetry, which is not respected at all here). So thanks for that, and beautiful text, by the way :-).

Both forms are pretty strict, but yeah, the French gets a little less leeway. He is respecting the English rules, while using some chic slant rhymes. I know English is abab cdcd efef gg --- am I right in remembering French as abba abba cc dccd?

Re: Sonnet for Dennis Ritchie

#9

Post by xianshou » Fri, Nov 11, 2011, 5:14 PM UTC

I was prepared to laugh, but that's actually...a little touching. Now who said hackers have no creative spirit!

Re: Sonnet for Dennis Ritchie

#10

Post by tomheon » Fri, Nov 11, 2011, 5:46 PM UTC

diiq wrote: post #6

I clicked the link with my spine pre-cringed, ready for cheesy hacker poetry. Instead I found a lovingly crafted epitaph in stylish, uninterrupted verse. I immediately looked to see the other poetry. I was shocked that there were only two others posted --- I refuse to believe that someone who wrote this and The Little Bank of San Pietro dei Fiumi (also beautiful) has only written three poems. Post more, Mister Jorgen…

So glad you enjoyed this, and "The Little Bank"! I just started the process of moving things out of the drawer and onto the site. There's a big backlog but I'm posting every week or two to avoid a "verse bomb" effect. However there's an RSS feed if you're interested.

Thanks again for the response. It's great to see that there are other hackers out there interested in poetry.