Happy Birthday, Elizabeth Barrett Browning I love you not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you. I love you not only for what you have made of yourself, but for what you are making of me. I love you for the part of me that you bringContinue reading “Milestones: Happy Birthday Elizabeth Barrett Browning”
Category Archives: Birthdays
The Professor
As in years past, January 3rd is a special evening. Tonight, I will join other J.R.R. Tolkien fans from around the world in raising a glass to toast the birthday of this much loved author at precisely 21:00 (9:00pm) local time. I have chosen a special combination of cranberry juice and soda for the occasion.Continue reading “The Professor”
Milestones: Happy Birthday Jane Austen
Jane Austen would be pleased to know that her letters will be preserved for all to see. This morning, I read the most exciting news on The Literary Hub. Walker Caplan wrote that The Honresfield Library’s rare collection, that dates back to the 1800’s, came up for auction this May. Up until then, this collectionContinue reading “Milestones: Happy Birthday Jane Austen”
Milestones: Mark Twain
On November 30, 1835, Mark Twain is born. “In a good bookroom you feel in some mysterious way that you are absorbing the wisdom contained in all the books through your skin, without even opening them.” Mark Twain
The Poetry of Rupert Brooke
On this day in 1887, English poet Rupert Brooke, described by W.B. Yeats as “the handsomest young man in England,” is born. Rupert Chawner Brooke is known for his idealist war sonnets written at the beginning of WWI. While his poem,“The Soldier,” also known as “Nineteen-Fourteen: The Soldier” was immediately popular, looking back there isContinue reading “The Poetry of Rupert Brooke”
Celebrating William Shakespeare
For many, William Shakespeare is the greatest writer in the English language. He is called England’s national poet or the “Bard on Avon” or “The Bard.” William Shakespeare continues to entertain, long after his passing, reminding me that once words are written, they take on a life of their own. In the year that weContinue reading “Celebrating William Shakespeare”
Dancing with Daffodils
April 7, 2020. I am having tea with the poet, William Wordsworth. Today marks his 250th birthday and I’m inviting you to our celebration. English Breakfast tea is steeping nearby, a fitting choice for meeting up with an important Romantic English poet, who was destined to become the British Poet Laureate. Ah, English Breakfast blendsContinue reading “Dancing with Daffodils”
A Toast to the Professor
“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo. “So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The FellowshipContinue reading “A Toast to the Professor”
Happy Birthday, Christina Rossetti
“Who has seen the wind? Neither you nor I but when the trees bow down their heads, the wind is passing by.” Christina Rossetti
Happy Birthday C.S. Lewis
“We were talking of DRAGONS, Tolkien and I In a Berkshire bar. The big workman Who had sat silent and sucked his pipe All the evening, from his empty mug With gleaming eye glanced towards us: “I seen ’em myself!” he said fiercely.” C.S. Lewis Today, I am celebrating C.S. Lewis’s birthday by drinking teaContinue reading “Happy Birthday C.S. Lewis”
On The Road Book Club 