In which I explain how Yeats’s “When You Are Old and Gray” frames the dedication that opens my book.
Tag Archives: W. B. Yeats
One Man Loved the Pilgrim Soul in You
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "When You Are Old and Grey", Aging, Julia Bates, Marriage Comments closed
On Lear and Turning 73
Poet David Wright finds retirement lessons in “King Lear.” And aging lessons as well.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Lines on Retirement after Reading Lear", Aging, Carl Jung, David Wright, King Lear, William Shakespeare Comments closed
Mary and the Threefold Terror of Love
Yeats’ “Mother of God” is a good poem for the third Sunday in Advent.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Among School Children", "Mother of God", Advent, Virgin Mary Comments closed
Poets Talking Poetry over a Beer
In this R.S. Thomas poem, two poets engage in the never-ending discussion of whether poetry is more craft or inspiration.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Circus Animals Desertion", "Poetry for Supper", Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer, Ion, John Keats, Parliament of Fowls, Plato, R. S. Thomas, Squire's Tale Comments closed
Poetry and Our June 8, 1973 Wedding
I share the wedding ceremony that Julia and I went through 50 years ago.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Ars Poetica", "Prayer for My Daughter", "Tortoise Shout", Archibald MacLeish, D. H. Lawrence, Songs of Songs, Weddings Comments closed
The Theatricality of Martyrdom
While visiting a Dublin exhibit of the Easter, 1916 Rising, I thought both of a Borges short story and Yeats’s famous poem about the event.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Easter 1916", Dublin, Easter Rising, Ireland, Irish independence, Jorge Luis Borges, Theme of the Hero and the Traitor Comments closed
Leaving Ireland to Fight
One option for Irishmen leaving the country has been fighting for other countries. Yeats captures this in “An Irish Airman Foresees His Death.”
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Irish Airman Foresees His Death", Ireland, Irish emigration, war Comments closed
What Made Roger Federer Special
Recently retired Roger Federer had a quality possessed by the 17th century Cavalier poets.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Adam's Curse", "Requiem for Sonora", "Song", "To Lucasta Going to War", If, John Suckling, Mark Kingwell, Peter Bodo, Rafael Nadal, Richard Lovelace, Richard Shelton, Roger Federer, Rudyard Kipling, sprezzatura, To Althea from Prison Comments closed
Gun Violence and Armageddon
Wednesday This past Sunday I shared a number of poems from Lucille Clifton’s Book of Days to reflect on how Christian nationalists, many of them wielding weapons of war, work against Jesus’s goal to bring the kingdom of God to Earth. One poem from the collection particularly stands out in the wake of the mass […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Easter 1916", "armageddon", Buffalo mass shooting, gun violence, Lucille Clifton, Uvalde mass shooting, violence Comments closed
