World Poetry Day 2016

March 21, 2016 / Clanmother / 4 Comments

By the River

Today is World Poetry Day, a time to celebrate and recognize the deep and profound influence poetry has on the human spirit. Poetry captures the heart with words that give light to our innermost thoughts and longings. It is a measure of who we are as individuals as well as a society. And best of all, we are all, in one way or another, poets. As Plato once wrote: “Every heart sings a song, incomplete, until another heart whispers back. Those who wish to sing always find a song. At the touch of a lover, everyone becomes a poet.”

Poetry comes from an oral tradition which brings together other creative endeavours such as music and dance. For me, listening to poetry is the ultimate experience. Perhaps this preference comes from the encouragement of my mother who introduced me to poetry when I was a young child. My first recitation was “The Swing” by Robert Louis Stevenson. To this day, I remember every word, every nuance, every lilt.

Happy Poetry Day 2016. May the celebration continue all year long.

Another Year, but he is remembered…

January 26, 2016 / Clanmother / 11 Comments

Robert Burns

“But little Mouse, you are not alone,
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes of mice and men
Go often askew,
And leave us nothing but grief and pain,
For promised joy!
Still you are blest, compared with me!”
Robert Burns

Robbie Burns was celebrated this past weekend with the traditional Address to a Haggis accompanied by the rousing sound of bagpipes. For those of you who have not tried Haggis, please do – you may be surprised by how much you enjoy the “Trenching your gushing entrails bright.” Never fear, there is vegetarian Haggis so all can join in the merriment.

A Facebook response to my tribute to Robbie Burns, was especially noteworthy: “Another year gone, but he is remembered.” The truth of this comment is indisputable, which is confirmed by a recent CBC article, which states that Robbie Burns holds the third position on the number of non-religions statues after Queen Victoria and Christopher Columbus; the Guinness World Records places Auld Lang Syne as holding the third place on most popular song in the world.

How did a man of humble birth who was home-schooled, become a household word and an inspiration to the founders of both liberalism and socialism? Perhaps it was his understanding of and compassion for the human spirit. His poetry is direct, spontaneous, sincere; his themes as haunting as they are radical. He spoke of class inequities, patriotism, poverty, cultural identity – issues that we struggle with 257 years after his birth.

Life does bring about an ending, but words cannot be contained. They live on and stoke fires in the hearts and minds of those that follow. When we read William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Percy Bysshe Shelley, we are reading words that hold the influence of Robbie Burns. When we listen to Bob Dylan, it is good to know that he was motivated by Robbie Burns’ “A Red Red Rose.” Even now, “Robert Burn s, The Musical,” is a reminder of the endurance of the words of a poet.