“To me the converging objects of the universe perpetually flow, All are written to me, and I must get what the writing means.” –Walt Whitman Walt Whitman is the principal of my pantheon of poets. For 50 years, Whitman has been my muse. To realize I’ve misunderstood him is a serious blow. In the “Who goes […] (Read more)

I heard John Ciardi speak when I was a freshman in college. At the time he was poetry editor and contributor at Saturday Review. His reading of “On Flunking a Nice Boy out of School” impressed me. When I happened to come across the poem some years later as a teacher, I photocopied it and kept […] (Read more)

After the dark cold of winter, the sight of golden daffodils tossing their sprightly heads in the breeze is a harbinger of spring. In April 1996, I organized tour to England for Fr. Edgar Parrott, an Episcopal priest and friend, who wanted to offer his congregation an opportunity to explore the roots of the Anglican faith […] (Read more)

Miss Baumgartner read Ella Wheeler Wilcox’s poem “Lifting and Leaning” to my ninth grade English class no doubt to illustrate a point. I brought the poem home to my parents. Mom and Dad liked the poem so much they bought a copy of Best Loved Poems of the American People that became one of my […] (Read more)

Robert Pinsky, former U.S. Poet Laureate, read Horace’s ode “To Licinius” on the PBS Newshour shortly after 9/11. Horace’s counsel to Licinius is to pursue the middle way, a path of evenmindedness and equanimity. The middle ground and compromise are far from what is heard in today’s angry ad hominum public discourse. What strikes me about Horace’s […] (Read more)

Upon Julia’s Clothes Whenas in silks my Julia goes, Then, then (methinks) how sweetly flows That liquefaction of her clothes. Next, when I cast mine eyes, and see That brave vibration each way free, O how that glittering taketh me! —Robert Herrick In six lines with a simple rhyme scheme (AAA BBB), Robert Herrick creates […] (Read more)

I was in the third year of college when I read William Butler Yeats’ “The Lake Isle of Innisfree.” The poem expresses Yeats’ desire to be in a place of peace, quiet, and simplicity to pursue his art. The tone of the poem resonated in a deep place within me. “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” […] (Read more)

Amy Kermeth was a retired teacher from New York state who had been head of the lower school at the Albany Academy for Boys and who taught ancient history in the upper school. When Amy retired, she moved to Sonoma, California. I was librarian at the high school there. Amy volunteered in the library helping […] (Read more)

A 1959 Caedmon recording of Ed Begley, Sr. reading selections from Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass echoes in my ears. I was 20 years old and Begley’s voice and Whitman’s poetry formed a major impact on my life. I still have the Signet Classic paperback copy of Leaves of Grass I bought for 75 cents. […] (Read more)

Auntie Beth died suddenly. Coronary thrombosis gives no warning. Driving to the funeral home, people on the sidewalks and in cars were happy, laughing, and enjoying life. “Don’t you know what a sad day this is?” I wanted to scream. “Can’t you see my grief?” Any attempt to find words to express feelings related to […] (Read more)