Poets – Page 4 – On The Road Book Club

Another Year, but he is remembered…

“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 AddressContinue reading “Another Year, but he is remembered…”

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 Dylan Thomas

“A good poem is a contribution to reality. The world is never the same once a good poem has been added to it. A good poem helps to change the shape of the universe, helps to extend everyone’s knowledge of himself and the world around him.” Dylan Thomas

Happy Birthday Sylvia Plath

“And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” Sylvia Plath

October Celebration

My dear friend at Leaping Tracks advised me that today the United Kingdom celebrated National Poetry Day. In 1996, Canada set aside April as the month to appreciate poetry. Most of us would agree, however, that poetry cannot be limited to a day, a month, even a year. Poetry allows us to exchange complex thoughtsContinue reading “October Celebration”

Christmas Eve with Christina Rossetti

In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan, Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone; Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow, In the bleak midwinter, long ago. *** Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him, nor earth sustain; Heaven and earth shall flee away when He comes to reign. In theContinue reading “Christmas Eve with Christina Rossetti”

Poetry on a Canapé

Kaleidoscopes, those marvelous toys containing mirrors and pieces of coloured glass, amuse us with reflections that change patterns as we move a small tube around and around. There is a random joy in each transformation that materialises as we gaze with rapt attention through a tiny eyehole. These constantly fluctuating designs are a reminder ofContinue reading “Poetry on a Canapé”

Gertrude Stein – A Bold Experimenter

“Writing and reading is to me synonymous with existing.” Gertrude Stein If I was ever asked who I would like to spend an afternoon with, I would choose Gertrude Stein. After all, she lived in Paris surrounded by all that she loved best – art, music, poetry, food and wine. Her residence at the salon,Continue reading “Gertrude Stein – A Bold Experimenter”

The Month for Poetry

Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote The droghte of Marche hath perced to the roote And bathed every veyne in swich licour…. Than longen folk to goon on pilgrimages, Geoffrey Chaucer, Prologue to the Canterbury Tales It all started in 1995 when the Academy of American Poets brought together a group of publishers, booksellers, librarians, literary organizations, poetsContinue reading “The Month for Poetry”

January, 1795

“In a society where the rights and potential of women are constrained, no man can be truly free. He may have power, but he will not have freedom.” Mary Robinson The first time I heard the name, Mary Robinson, was when I was looking into the life of Emma Hamilton, the great love of LordContinue reading “January, 1795”