Tag Archives: William Wordsworth

Listen Carefully, the Books Are Whispering

A Charles Simic poem celebrating the magic of libraries.

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Sterne’s Uncle Toby and My Own Toby

In which I reflect on the name I gave to my youngest son, linking him back to the kindly Uncle Toby in “Tristram Shandy.”

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Sad Thoughts in Early Spring

A guest post on Wordsworth’s “Lines Written in Early Spring” from Tobias Wilson-Bates to celebrate the official start of spring.

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Micah and Dickinson on Kindness

The prophet Micah’s famous observation about justice, kindness, and humility can lead us to other poems about kindness, including Dickinson’s “If I can stop one heart from breaking.”

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Pullman’s Debt to the Romantic Poets

In Secret Commonwealth and Rose Field, Pullman takes inspiration from the great Romantic poets in his quest to keep the imagination open.

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Travel to Innisfree—in Your Mind

Dreaming of a rural paradise as you find yourself trapped in an hot and smelly urban environment? You can travel, in your mind, to the lake isle of Innisfree with Yeats.

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Remembering My Son 25 Years Later

Emerson’s “Dirge” helps me remember and honor my son Justin on this 25th anniversary of his death.

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Oliver: My Work Is Loving the World

in Mary Oliver’s “Messenger,” the poet provides insight into what it means to live forever.

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What We Should Value in a Leader

Wordsworth’s “Character of a Happy Warrior” describes everything that Trump is not but it captures some of our great presidents.

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