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The Collaborative International Dictionary
Parnassus

Parnassus \Par*nas"sus\, n. [L., fr. Gr. ?.] (Anc. Geog. & Gr. Myth.) A mountain in Greece, sacred to Apollo and the Muses, and famous for a temple of Apollo and for the Castalian spring.

Grass of Parnassus. (Bot.) See under Grass, and Parnassia.

To climb Parnassus, to write poetry. [Colloq.]

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
Parnassus

late 14c., from Latin, from Greek Parnassos, mountain in central Greece, sacred to Apollo and the Muses, thus symbolic of poetry. Room writes that the name is from Hittite parna "abode." Related: Parnassian.\n\nVarious kinds of literary fame seem destined to various measures of duration. Some spread into exuberance with a very speedy growth, but soon wither and decay; some rise more slowly, but last long. Parnassus has its flowers of transient fragrance, as well as its oaks of towering height, and its laurels of eternal verdure.

[Samuel Johnson, "The Rambler," March 23, 1751]

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Parnassus (disambiguation)

Mount Parnassus is a sacred mountain in central Greece, near Delphi. The name "Parnassus" in literature typically refers to its distinction as the home of poetry, literature and, by extension, learning.

Parnassus or Parnassos may also refer to:

Parnassus (magazine)

Parnassus: Poetry in Review is an American literary magazine founded in 1973.

The magazine states on its website that its aim has been "to provide a forum where poets, novelists, and critics of all persuasions could gather to review new books of poetry, including translations [. . .] with an amplitude and reflectiveness that Sunday book supplements and even the literary quarterlies could not afford. Reviews and essays, to be effective, would have to shun academic thinking and prose, and above all, embrace the diverse voices of democratic pluralism. Our literary profile has been defined by a passion for disinterested, wide-ranging, incisive commentary — and lilting prose; a poet’s reputation has never guaranteed a favorable or negative review. We never impose a point of view on any of our writers."

Parnassus was founded by Herbert Leibowitz as editor and Stanley Lewis, the original publisher, in New York City. In 1976, Leibowitz set up the nonprofit Poetry in Review Foundation to sustain publication of the magazine, and he became publisher as well as editor.

Contributors of essays to the magazine include David Barber, Sven Birkerts, Hayden Carruth, Guy Davenport, Mary Karr, Wayne Koestenbaum, Seamus Heaney, Adrienne Rich, Helen Vendler, Eric Ormsby, and Marjorie Perloff.

The magazine has published special theme issues on subjects including women and poetry, the long poem, words and music, autobiography, multiculturalism, and poetry and movies. In 2001 the journal's 624-page 25th anniversary issue contained a survey of international poetries.

Parnassus prints original art in every issue and has commissioned portraits of poets from well-known artists such as Philip Pearlstein, Alice Neel, Red Grooms, Romare Bearden, as well as from young artists.

In 2007 the journal announced that it had lost its private funding, and that Volume 30 would be its last. In a piece in the Wall Street Journal (July 2007), Willard Spiegelman compared the fates of Parnassus and Poetry magazine, which had been heavily endowed by a bequest from Ruth Lilly. Because of this essay, another donor came to the rescue, anonymously, and gave Leibowitz enough money to keep the journal afloat for two more big issues, through Volume 32 (2010).

Parnassus (Mantegna)

The Parnassus is a painting by the Italian Renaissance painter Andrea Mantegna, executed in 1497. It is housed in the Musée du Louvre of Paris.

Parnassus (literary magazine)

Parnassus is the annual literary arts magazine of Northern Essex Community College in Haverhill, Massachusetts. The magazine has been in publication since 1965, and was a bi-annual publication until 2008, when it switched to a yearly publication, with issues released at the end of each year's spring semester in May. Parnassus is a free publication, and copies can be found at the Haverhill campus of NECC while available.

Parnassus is edited by students of NECC, and its contents feature student work in the areas of fiction, poetry, creative non fiction, photography, and other assorted artwork. The magazine is currently run as a club at NECC, and membership in the editorial staff is open to all current NECC students in either the fall or spring semesters each year.

Parnassus (see)

Parnassus is a former Roman town and bishopric and present Catholic titular see in Asia Minor (Asian modern Turkey).

Usage examples of "parnassus".

The antients may be considered as a rich common, where every person who hath the smallest tenement in Parnassus hath a free right to fatten his muse.

In like manner are the antients, such as Homer, Virgil, Horace, Cicero, and the rest, to be esteemed among us writers, as so many wealthy squires, from whom we, the poor of Parnassus, claim an immemorial custom of taking whatever we can come at.

On a coffee table, as in a dentist's office, were slick magazines, in casual disarray, with titles like Literature and Wit, The Poetic Athanor, The Rose and the Thorn, The Italic Parnassus, Free Verse.