On a beautiful spring morning when she is startled by birdsong, Mary Oliver describes a merging with nature where she “began to understand what the bird was saying.”
Tag Archives: William Wordsworth
Such Singing in the Wild Branches
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Spring", "Such Singing in the Wild Branches", Intimations of Immortality, Mary Oliver, Nature Comments closed
Once We Memorized Poetry
Memorizing poetry used to be standard classroom practice and poetry was widely popular before the snobs came in.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud", "Ozymandias", "Trees", Alfred Lord Tennyson, Cleanth Brooks, Gunga Din, Joyce Kilmer, Memorizing poetry, Percy Shelley, Robert Penn Warren, Rudyard Kipling, Ulysses Comments closed
The Moment Kindheartedness Walks In
Sometimes when I get depressed about the state of the world, I do two things. First, I remind myself that too often I allow myself to be stampeded into fear by media headlines, which use adrenaline to hook us. Second, I recollect the many generous and kind people in my life and in the world. […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Kindness", Tintern Abbey, violence, Yusef Komunyakaa Comments closed
With Aging, Abundant Recompense
In a follow-up to yesterday’s post where I talked about my cancer-ridden friend Alan, I examine another passage from The Brothers Karamazov. This one is focused on aging generally, not just death. If you ever find yourself getting depressed about getting old, check it out. And check out as well William Wordsworth’s Intimations […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Aging, Brothers Karamazov, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Intimations of Immortality, Nature, Tintern Abbey Comments closed
Essay Grading and the Great Wall of China
At this time of year, I sometimes wonder why I signed up for this gig. Stacks of ungraded essays are strewn “far and wee” across my study, and only the knowledge that I have completed my student essays in the past assures me that I will make it through this batch. In my hour of […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged After Apple-Picking, Franz Kafka, Great Wall of China, Robert Frost, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, teaching, Work Comments closed
Nature or Poetry? Choose Both
“The world is filled with the grandeur of God.” “The sounding cataract haunted me like a passion.” In my last two posts, I reported how poetry sprang to mind as I walked through some of California’s natural wonders, specifically Big Basin Redwoods State Park and Yosemite National Park. Today I meditate on the relationship of […]
The Cataract Haunted Me Like a Passion
Ansel Adams, Yosemite Falls Julia, Toby (our youngest son) and I visited Yosemite National Park for the first time last week, and I am still vibrating from the stunning rock faces and gorgeous waterfalls. It was remarkable to see what seemed, at a distance, to be thin, almost delicate, streams of water pouring from great […]
How Lost Innocence Can Breed Monsters
Continuing the theme of lost innocence leads me to a discussion of Stephen King, America’s master of horror. Whether you like him or not, King is the bestselling author in the world because he taps effectively into our collective nightmares. One of these nightmares is over losing touch with our childhood innocence, and there is […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Intimations of Immortality, It, lost innocence, Stephen King Comments closed
