 Poetry: December 19, 2007 Issue [#2122] |
  Poetry
This week: Edited by: larryp
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Look round and round upon this bare bleak plain, and see even here, upon a winter's day, how beautiful the shadows are! Alas! it is the nature of the their kind to be so. The loveliest things in life, Tom, are but shadows; and they come and go, and change and fade away, as rapidly as these!
~~Charles Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit
The night was clear and frosty, all ebony of shadow and silver of snowy slope; big stars were shining over the silent fields; here and there the dark pointed firs stood up with snow powdering their branches and the wind whistling through them.
~~Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables |
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Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), also known as winter depression, is an affective, or mood, disorder. Most SAD sufferers experience normal mental health throughout most of the year, but experience depressive symptoms in the winter or summer. The condition in the summer is often referred to as Reverse Seasonal Affective Disorder.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasonal_affective_disorder
The season of winter, for many parts of the world, brings extremely cold and inclement weather. Winter is a time when even those not prone to depression may become despondent. Often, during this time of year, people succumb to what is called 'cabin fever.' The cold, inclement weather, makes travel difficult, so people stay at home – inside. While this can be a time of misery for the soul, if we allow, it can also be a great time for writing poetry – if for no other reason, the fact that we have more time. Inspiration for poems about winter comes in various ways – the physical beauty of the snow and ice, memories provided by past winters, finding warmth from the freezing temperatures, the spiritual feeling brought on by the season, etc.
There is much more to writing poems about winter than merely describing the falling snow and cold temperatures. As you read the following quotes, pay close attention to how each person views winter.
Never are voices so beautiful as on a winter's evening, when dusk almost hides the body, and they seem to issue from nothingness with a note of intimacy seldom heard by day.
~~Virginia Wolff, Night and Day
In the depths of winter I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.
~~Albert Camus, playwright and novelist
Winter, a lingering season, is a time to gather golden moments, embark upon a sentimental journey, and enjoy every idle hour.
~~John Boswell, historian
There is a privacy about it which no other season give you... In spring, summer and fall people sort of have an open season on each other; only in the winter, in the country, can you have longer, quiet stretches when you can savor belonging to yourself.
~~Ruth Stout, writer and gardener
Blow, blow, thou winter wind
Thou art not so unkind,
as man's ingratitude.
Freeze, freeze, thou bitter sky,
Thous dost not bite so nigh
As benefits forgot:
~~William Shakespeare, beginning lines of stanzas 1 and 2 of Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind
I like these cold, gray winter days. Days like these let you savor a bad mood.
~~Bill Watterson, American cartoonist
I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the landscape – the loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn't show.
~~Andrew Wyeth, artist and realist painter
On a cold wet Canadian winter night, there's nothing like crawling into bed with your laptop and curling up with a good disc.
~~Frank Ogden, futurist “Dr. Tomorrow”
Brew me a cup for a winter's night.
For the wind howls loud and the furies fight;
Spice it with love and stir it with care,
And I'll toast our bright eyes,
My sweetheart fair.
~~Minna Thomas Antrim, author of Naked truths and veiled allusions
What is your perspective of winter? When writing poems of winter, we can go much deeper than what the physical eyes perceive. What do your 'spirit-eyes' envision? What memories and desires are stirred within you by a winter's night? The season of winter dwells also within the heart, soul, and spirit of man. Winter is poetry waiting to be written.
There are three reasons for becoming a writer: the first is that you need the money; the second that you have something to say that you think the world should know; the third is that you can't think what to do with the long winter evenings.
~~Quentin Crisp, English writer and actor
As poets, I think most of us have realized that we are not going to earn a lot of money writing poems, but we do have something to say. The long winter's day and evening may be the perfect time for expressing ourselves through our poetry, for the words will come from the winter of the soul.
There's a Certain Slant of Light
There's a certain slant of light,
on winter afternoons,
That oppresses, like the weight
Of cathedral tunes.
Heavenly hurt it gives us;
We can find no scar,
But internal difference
Where the meanings are.
None may teach it anything,
'Tis the seal, despair,—
An imperial affliction
Sent us of the air.
When it comes, the landscape listens,
Shadows hold their breath;
When it goes, 'tis like the distance
On the look of death.
~~Emily Dickinson
Soon Shall the Winter's Foil Be Here
Soon shall the winter's foil be here;
Soon shall these icy ligatures unbind and melt—A little while,
And air, soil, wave, suffused shall be in softness, bloom and
growth—a thousand forms shall rise
From these dead clouds and chills as from low burial graves.
Thine eyes, ears—all thy best attributes—all that takes cognizance
of natural beauty,
Shall wake and fill. Thous shalt perceive the simple shows, the
delicate miracles of earth,
Dandelions, clover, the emerald grass, the early scents and flowers,
The arbutus under foot, the willow's yellow-green, the blossoming
plum and cherry;
With these the robin, lark and thrush, singing their songs—the
flitting bluebird;
For such the scenes the annual play brings on.
~~Walt Whitman |
Winter poems from around Writing.com:
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Arash 
This should have been posted in the previous newsletter, but I give myself a chance to see if we can open a discussion.
Love poetry is overrated, overused and disgusting. So is free verse. You say why?
(In my humble opinion,) people abuse free verse as a style and love as a subject. They find it easy and 'claim' to be so fond of free expression that they don't want to be encumbered by style; HOWEVER, %90 of them haven't read an entire poetry collection. They're too lazy to learn and try to protect themselves by naming each other 'modernists'. That's AN EXCUSE AND VERY PATHETIC! I would accept that statement from a VERY experienced poet or a true pioneer who intiated such a creative and new idea that he/she caused a huge change in the world of poetry. NOT from somebody who abuses it as a device to cover up his/her indolence. People say 'write as it comes to you and don't be burdened by literary elements'. That's for somebody who reads 10 times as much as he/she writes. Not vice versa
Hi Arash -
How very bland life would be if we all shared the same preferences, enjoyed the same things, and held the same opinions. Thanks for sharing your preferences and opinions.
kansaspoet
Larry
JudithJean France
Different stages of life, bring different thoughts of love. Starts one thinking. Will have to come back to this in a few days. Blessings...-
Thank you JudithJean France for your continued support of the Poetry Newsletter.
kansaspoet
Larry
Fyn-elf 
Great newsletter, as always!!!
Thank you Fyn-elf !
kansaspoet
Larry
A Captivated Soul
I really loved this newsletter and I loved the poem "when you are old."
This is such a good point.
Thanks A Captivated Soul
I am glad you enjoyed the featured poem and the newsletter.
kansaspoet
Larry
njames51 
A wonderful newsletter about love poems! And you showcased my favorite poet: Yeats, and his truly moving words of love: "When You Are Old". How can we ever say that poems expressing love to a friend, a husband, a wife, a child, a mother, a grandfather, can ever be boring or out of style or out of touch? I loved your discussion of coloring, of voice, imagery, movement. And who can write a finer line than the one you quoted:
"But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face." (Yeats)
Thank you for the wonderful newsletter!
Thank you njames51 for sharing your thoughts and your appreciation of the Keats poem, one of my favorites. Thank you for your support and encouragement.
kansaspoet
Larry
Duchess Laughing Lemurs
I copied the Frances Mayes quote from the 11/21 poetry newsletter onto an index card. Though it specifically mentions poets, the quote could apply to any type of writing. I loved also the comparison of writing a poem to coloring a picture.
Thank you Duchess Laughing Lemurs . I am glad you were inspired by the quote from Frances Mayes. There is nothing new under the sun really, just the way we perceive things individually. Thanks for your comments and support.
kansaspoet
Larry
Pen Name
Dear Larry,
Thank you for giving props to love poems. My folder marked "Love/Romance Poetry" has the least amount of views, but contains some of my best work.
Sincerely,
Lotusneko
Thank you Pen Name . I'll have to drop into your folder sometime. I too enjoy writing love poetry.
kansaspoet
Larry
Editorial team for Poetry Newsletter:
Stormy Lady 
Red Writing Hood <3
larryp
We appreciate your comments.
Next week: guest editor
Kate - Writing & Reading 
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