“Ah, Hope! What would life be, stripped of they encouraging smiles, that teach us to look behind the dark clouds of today, for the golden beams that are to gild the morrow.” Susanna Strickland Moodie Susanna Strickland Moodie was born December 6, 1803, to a family of writers and poets. Her birthplace may have beenContinue reading “OTR Celebrates June with Susanna Strickland Moodie”
Category Archives: Poets
OTR Celebrates Spring with Irish Poets
Patrick Henry Pearse was an Irish teacher, barrister, poet, writer, nationalist and political activist. He is considered by many to be the essence and soul of The Easter Rising of 1916. He loved Ireland and died fighting for its freedom. The Mother I do not grudge them: Lord, I do not grudge My two strongContinue reading “OTR Celebrates Spring with Irish Poets”
OTR Celebrates Spring with Irish Poets
I was about four years old when my mother introduced to me to “The Fairies” by William Allingham. I recall my concern over poor little Bridget, until I reasoned that she really was quite alive still living with the “Wee folk, good folk.” William Allingham was born March 19th, 1824 in Ballyshannon, County Donegal. Continue reading “OTR Celebrates Spring with Irish Poets”
OTR Celebrates Spring with Irish Poets
Today is the first day of spring. What better way to welcome spring than by declaring it, thanks to UNESCO, to be World Poetry Day? William Butler Yeats, considered to be one of the greatest poets of the twentieth century, was proud of his Irish nationality. In his poem, A Prayer for My Daughter, heContinue reading “OTR Celebrates Spring with Irish Poets”
OTR Celebrates Irish Poets
Arthur William Edgar O’Shaughnessy, 1844 – 1881 William Edgar O’Shaughnessy’s career may have been as an assistant in the British Museum, but his true love was literature. Epic of Women was published in 1870 when he was twenty-six, followed by Lays of France in 1872 and Music and Moonlight in 1874. He was friends withContinue reading “OTR Celebrates Irish Poets”
OTR Celebrates Irish Poets
March belongs to the Irish poets. Ireland’s dramatic landscape, history, language and people have granted richness and dignity to their poetry. There are so many remarkable poets and poems to choose from so I decided to start at the beginning. “The Mystery” is considered to be the first Irish poem attributed to one of Ireland’sContinue reading “OTR Celebrates Irish Poets”
OTR Celebrates Lucille Clifton
“You might as well answer the door, my child, the truth is furiously knocking.” ― Lucille Clifton, Good Woman: Poems and a Memoir 1969-1980 As we leave February, the month that Canada celebrates Black History, I wanted to include a poem by Lucille Clifton (1936 – 2010). She focused on family life and on the African-American experience.Continue reading “OTR Celebrates Lucille Clifton”
Happy Valentine’s Day
“Where you used to be, there is a hole in the world, which I find myself constantly walking around in the daytime, and falling in at night. I miss you like hell.” Edna St. Vincent Millay Edna St. Vincent Millay always gives us a different perspective. After all, Valentine’s Day should carry a little surprise.Continue reading “Happy Valentine’s Day”
OTR Celebrates Maya Angelou
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Maya Angelou Maya Angelou has reached iconic status in today’s world. Even so, her journey was not for the fainthearted. Born Marguerite Johnson in 1928 in St Louis, Missouri, MayaContinue reading “OTR Celebrates Maya Angelou”
OTR Celebrates Langston Hughes
February is the month that Canadians celebrate Black History. One of my favourite poets is Langston Hughes, who was first acknowledged as a significant literary figure in the 1920’s, during the Harlem Renaissance period. He was only in his twenties. His wrote about difficult times, yet his was a voice of profound optimism andContinue reading “OTR Celebrates Langston Hughes”
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