walk to the Paradise garden

A Village Romeo and Juliet è il titolo di un dramma lirico del compositore inglese Frederick Delius. L’opera, sulla falsariga del celebre dramma di Shakespeare, narra la storia di due innamorati, Sali e Vreli, e contiene un intermezzo sinfonico ( qui ), il cui titolo,  Walk to the Paradise Garden, viene adottato da William Eugene Smith per un suo celebre scatto, quello che riprende i suoi figli, Pat e Juanita,  che si avviano verso una radura.

William Eugene Smith rcconta così la foto:

"While I followed my children into the undergrowth and the group of taller trees – how they were delighted at every little discovery! – and observed them, I suddenly realized that at this moment, in spite of everything, in spite of all the wars and all I had gone through that day, I wanted to sing a sonnet to life and to the courage to go on living it….
Pat saw something in the clearing, he grasped Juanita by the hand and they hurried forward. I dropped a little farther behind the engrossed children, then stopped. Painfully I struggled — almost into panic — with the mechanical iniquities of the camera….
I tried to, and ignore the sudden violence of pain that real effort shot again and again through my hand, up my hand, and into my spine … swallowing, sucking, gagging, trying to pull the ugly tasting serum inside, into my mouth and throat, and away from dripping down on the camera….
I knew the photograph, though not perfect, and however unimportant to the world, had been held…. I was aware that mentally, spiritually, even physically, I had taken a first good stride away from those past two wasted and stifled years."

 ( qui qualcosa su W.E. Smith )