I became acquainted with Christina Rossetti’s poetry while reading The Oxford Book of Christian Verse earlier this year. While her poems were written before the age of free verse, I was struck by how natural her language is—she avoids awkward word order to fit a poem’s meter or rhyme scheme. Some of her imagery isContinueContinue reading “Dream Land—Christina Rossetti”
Category Archives: Guest post
These Are the Clouds
I’ve been reading through a book of poems by Yeats. So far, his work is marked by eclectic and contrasting elements. Many of his poems draw imagery from Irish mythology; the natural and supernatural worlds blur into something that is both yet not quite either. Other poems strike decidedly modern notes. This isn’t surprising sinceContinueContinue reading “These Are the Clouds”
It’s in the Genes—Kate McKamey
My daughter, Kate, attends high school at Wilson Hill Academy. Recently, her biology class had two projects: 1) do something artistic about genetics; 2) create a related meme. Kate opted to write six haiku about DNA and create a meme about writing poetry. We have writers on both sides of the family, so Kate comesContinueContinue reading “It’s in the Genes—Kate McKamey”
MCMXIV—Philip Larkin
One of the poets I’ve been reading lately is Philip Larkin (1922-1985). Larkin has many striking poems, but one that stands out to me is “MCMXIV”. MCMXIV is, of course, 1914 in Roman numerals. The title suggests the beginning of World War I. Larkin begins the poem by talking about long lines of men, thenContinueContinue reading “MCMXIV—Philip Larkin”
A Wandering Minstrel 