A quiet notice V2Melody closes at midnight on , Spanish time.

Closes

A note from Richard

V2Melody will close at midnight on 20 January 2028

This site has been a retirement project in musical poetry: poems chosen with care and set to music, offered freely for as long as it felt right to keep the garden open.

The work no longer holds the place it once did in my life. I have gone as far with it as I wish to go. Like a sand mandala, it was made to be completed and then released. I am not attached to its permanence, and I do not believe any of it needs to last beyond the time it was given. The poems were already here before I arrived and began to experiment with them. They will still be here when these musical experiments, and indeed myself, have been swept away, like the sand of a mandala. Nothing has been lost.

I want a simpler end to my life, days of simple love and enjoyment with my wonderful wife of 20 years. The work of maintaining a server, the monitoring, and the residual obligations that come with keeping a site alive no longer fit that life.

From 4 November 2026 I will not be adding new poems or musical poems to the site.

Until midnight on 20 January 2028, Spanish time, everything remains available exactly as it is. That is when my VPS server contract comes to an end, and it will not be renewed. After that, the server will be switched off and the site will disappear.

The Mandala Is Finished explains this more fully.

Thank you to anyone who found a poem, a track, or a quiet moment here.

The pleasure was in the making.

Richard


1721

Science Culture Exploration

Inoculation Against Smallpox Introduced to Europe

Poet involved

What happened

In 1721, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu introduced the practice of variolation, or inoculation against smallpox, to Britain after observing its use in the Ottoman Empire. This method sparked public debate and eventually led to the adoption of inoculation in Britain, significantly impacting public health. Montagu's advocacy for inoculation highlighted the importance of cross-cultural exchange in medical practices and laid the groundwork for future vaccination efforts.

Literary impact

Lady Mary Wortley Montagu's advocacy for inoculation against smallpox in 1721 blended personal narrative with public discourse, making her a significant figure in Enlightenment literature. Her letters and poems addressed scientific progress and women's intellectual agency, influencing the literary landscape of the time.

Source: Wikipedia

Poets alive in 1721

27 poets

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