Aragorn Reads William Blake By the Golden Gate

Viggo Mortenson, the actor who played Aragorn in Return of the King at City Lights in San Francisco browsing with William Blake: what's the odds of turning to the page in Blake and reading the word "Orc"?

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Since he starred in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, Mortensen's readings have played to standing-room-only crowds. "I've been asked, 'Doesn't it bother you that most people come because of the movies,' not because of my poetry? But it doesn't matter to me, because once they're there, they listen to the poems. I bring other poets along, and they listen to them, too.'' I ask Mortensen to pick out his favorite poets. He hesitates. There are so many, he says, he wouldn't know where to begin. Just then an older woman who has an obvious familiarity with the poetry section selects a William Blake volume and settles into the room's only comfortable chair. Mortensen, who believes everything happens for a reason, is convinced she's showing him the way. He reaches for another Blake collection and turns to "America: A Prophecy," a poem that eerily seems to predict the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"Fury! rage! madness! in a wind swept through America," Mortensen reads in almost a monotone, letting the words speak for themselves.

"And the red flames of Orc that folded roaring fierce around / The angry shoes, and the fierce rushing of th' inhabitants together: / The citizens of New-York close their books & lock their chests."


King of the big screen a champion of poetry Blake's poetry makes an impression on Mortensen by Ruthe Stein in SFGate