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    My brother, marking out stops on a tour for literature and history-minded cyclists, recently sent me an inquiry about a "heavenly" sculpture said to have inspired an important American novel. A little research indicated that he had the wrong sculpture in mind and also that the title of the novel had actually been inspired by a line in a 17th-century poem by someone who was definitely interested in the before-and-afterlife. What novel am I talking about, and what poem might this be?

    Question #87328. Asked by lanfranco. (Oct 15 07 5:14 PM)


    purrrr

    		Could it be "For Whom the Bell Tolls", the title from a work of Donne?
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_Whom_the_Bell_Tolls

    Hmmm...no idea where a sculpture would fit in though.

    Oct 15 07, 11:41 PM
    lanfranco

    		That's not a bad guess, purrrr, but try to think of a novel with a certain heavenly air to the title. And a poet best known for works with titles that could be similarly described.

    You don't need to identify the sculpture, but if you're interested in doing so, you'll need to locate more than one site.

    Oct 16 07, 7:49 AM
    queproblema

    		I'll throw this title out, very unconvinced it's what you're looking for.

    "The Sheltering Sky"

    http://www.harperacademic.com/catalog/book_xml.asp?isbn=0060199164

    Oct 16 07, 9:47 AM
    lanfranco

    		Hmm, I see that I need to send more specific clues winging everyone's way.

    There's one. Here's another: the title of the novel refers to something heavenly that also figures rather prominently in the best-known work by the poet.



    Oct 16 07, 4:07 PM
    bigponder

    		A wild guess: This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald, inspired by a line in Paradise Lost.

    Oct 16 07, 4:28 PM
    lanfranco

    		You're getting close, bp. "Paradise Lost" may help take you where you want to go.

    Oct 16 07, 4:32 PM
    zbeckabee

    		How about Milton's Samson Agonistes and Paradise Regained?


    http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~rbear/milton.html

    Oct 16 07, 5:26 PM
    lanfranco

    		Milton is excellent, as are "Paradise Lost" and "Paradise Regained" in terms of the hints.

    Try to take a side look at Milton, and also concentrate on the "important American novel" for a bit.

    Oct 16 07, 6:43 PM
    queproblema

    		I'm absolutely certain it can't be "All Under Heaven," by Pearl S. Buck. I'm sorry to say I've read this....but only once.

    http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/b/pearl-s-buck/all-under-heaven.htm

    Aha! But it could well be "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_of_Eden


    Oct 16 07, 7:18 PM
    lanfranco

    		WINGS!

    Oct 16 07, 7:23 PM
    queproblema

    		OH! (Rats.)
    Back to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil...

    Well, I'd found several "Wings of the Morning" but that doesn't seem right.

    Was the sculpture Brancusi's?

    Oct 16 07, 7:27 PM
    queproblema

    		Man, that Steinbeck was such a good answer....
    Surely you don't mean Henry James' "The Wings of the Dove." I didn't notice any doves there in Paradise. That was Noah.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wings_of_the_Dove

    Oct 16 07, 7:31 PM
    lanfranco

    		No doves, no Noah. I'm just going to let you all stew over this for a while, while I try to make arrangements to fly home this weekend.

    Oh -- that's a clue: I may not be able to get there.

    Oct 16 07, 7:51 PM
    bigponder

    		After that last clue I smell a Wolfe. Milton's poem Lycidas provided the title for Thomas Wolfe's first novel, Look Homeward, Angel.
    Here's a link:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Look_Homeward,_Angel

    Oct 16 07, 8:43 PM
    queproblema

    		Bravo!

    Here's the sculpture.

    http://www.asheville.com/news/urban.html

    Oct 16 07, 9:10 PM
    queproblema

    		We could replace the above link with this one, showing the sculpture large enough so the plaque can be read. Of course, this might not be the very sculpture your brother inquired about. I'm certainly going to inquire of my sister, who lives in Asheville.

    http://www.city-data.com/picfilesv/picv15866.php

    Oct 16 07, 9:16 PM
    lanfranco

    		Excellent, bp, you get the silver quill pen!

    The sculpture my brother was quizzical about isn't even in North Carolina but is being touted as Wolfe's angel. In fact, the original angel seems to be in a cemetery in Hendersonville, NC, and it would appear that the Asheville angel is a copy of it:


    http://www.literarytraveler.com/authors/thomas_wolfes_look_homeward.aspx

    Oct 17 07, 7:23 AM

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