In October, 2011, we were still looking at Eros, or romantic love. In September, 2011, we continued to study poems about Eros, or romantic love. In August, 2011, we were still looking at poems about friendship before we went on to Eros, or romantic love. In July, 2011, we continued to look at love, in particular, Philia or friendship. In June, 2011, we began to look at the different forms of love, featuring Storge, or family affection. In May, 2011, we continued with the remaining American poets laureate and went on to some of the great poets who have held this post in Britain. The selections featured poems by American poets laureate. In April, 2011, it was time again for the annual celebration of National Poetry Month. In March, 2011, the poems anticipated the arrival of spring. In February, 2011, the poems dropped in on childhood. In January, 2011, the poems listened in the snow, taking heed of the silence. In December, 2010, the poems rejoiced in the season for giving. In November, 2010, the poems contemplated the "old drama" that occurs every year this month. In October, 2010, the poems looked at ekphrasis, the special kinship between poets and painters. In September, 2010, the poems paused for some autumnal reflections. In August, 2010, the poems pointed to the joys of summer. In July, 2010, the poems celebrated the spirit of America. They answered the questions, What is poetry all about? and Why not just stick with prose? In the merry month of May, 2010, the poems "sang of brooks, of blossoms, birds and bowers." In June, 2010, the poems spoke of love, love, and love. In April, 2010, the poems celebrated National Poetry Month. In March, 2010, when this blog began, the poems were chosen at random, with no special topic in mind. Or scroll down farther to the index to look for names of artists and authors. The themes of each month are listed directly below here. Scroll down to the blog archives and click on the name of a month. Scroll up this column to the search this blog feature and type in word(s) from the title or poem or the name of the author. THERE ARE THREE WAYS YOU CAN FIND POEMS POSTED ON THIS BLOG. You won't be surprised, then, by my bemused attitude toward ice, snow, cold, and the tundra. This is located north of North Dakota, where the wind chill factor in the depths of winter can push the thermometer down to 40 degrees below Fahrenheit/Centigrade, and there are really only two seasons, winter and mosquitoes. I spent much of my childhood in the wind-swept prairie city of Winnipeg, Manitoba. As you follow this blog, you may note from time to time a trace of a Canadian accent. The original reader has been joined by more than two hundred others on my list, and now, by the readers of this blog, which I started at the invitation of the local public library in March, 2010. That was more than 2500 different poems ago, allowing for some repetitions around Christmas and Easter. I suggested he read poetry for inspiration and to get a feel for the rhythm of language, and I offered to provide him with a poem every day. His sentences had become stiff, stuck in academic jargon. In June, 2003, I was working with a graduate student who was having problems with writer’s block. MARIA HORVATH THE EDITOR More than eight years ago, I began emailing a different poem every morning to my friends and friends of my friends. RE-REVELATION WHILE MOVING TO VANCOUVER ISLAND “All our lives we work for that which at the last gate we simply give away.” ~ Charles Van Gorkom, Canadian poet (to visit his blog, please click here) In the verse below, it is precisely the poetic expression of what would otherwise be a prosaic truism that lends itself to contemplation. Because poetry is not quite natural speech, it makes the reader pause and invites him to reflect. Rhymes and rhythms and rhetorical tools like similes, metaphors, and alliteration elevate words that would sound merely mundane as prose and turn them into music as poetry. “To contemplate,” writes the poet Denise Levertov, “comes from ‘ templum, temple, a place, a space for observation, marked out by the augur.’” She goes on to say that “to meditate is ‘to keep the mind in a state of contemplation’ its synonym is to ‘muse,’ and to muse comes from a word meaning ‘to stand with open mouth’ - not so comical if we think of ‘inspiration’ - to breathe in.” Poetry can aid contemplation and meditation. CONTEMPLATION Each day this month we take the time for some quiet contemplation, guided by poetry.
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