Tag Archives: poetry wednesday

Poetry Wednesday 12/04/07: Starry Starry Night

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Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh Don McLean wrote the poem/song, “Vincent” (“Starry, Starry, Night”) in 1971 after reading a book about the life of artist Vincent Van Gogh. In the 1970s, the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam played the song daily and a copy of the sheet music, together with a set of Van Gogh’s paint brushes, is buried in a time capsule beneath the museum. If you have time, please also play the video while you read the poem. You will hear the … Continue reading →

Poetry Wednesday 06/25/08: Mike Pinder of The Moody Blues

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After 18 years, former Moody Blues vocalist and keyboardist Mike Pinder returned to the music business in 1995 with an enlightening album called Among the Stars. Yet it wasn’t until he set out to promote the disc that he found his true comeback vehicle — narrating children’s stories and poetry over his exquisite musical arrangements. “We were doing a show in Phoenix and I had some time off so I wandered into this bookstore,” Pinder said. “As soon as I walked in, I saw a … Continue reading →

Poetry Wednesday 07/09/08: Tennessee Williams

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For Poetry Wednesday this week, I am posting two great poems by Tennessee Williams because I feel they compliment my sister’s recent theme on couples. One of America’s greatest playwrights, and certainly the greatest ever from the South, Tennessee Williams wrote fiction and motion picture screenplays, but he also wrote some wonderful poetry. If Tennessee Williams had never written a single play he would still be known as a distinguished poet. The excitement, compassion, lyricism, and humor that epitomize his writing for the theater are … Continue reading →

Poetry Wednesday 05/21/08: Leonard Nimoy

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Leonard Simon Nimoy (born March 26, 1931) is an actor, film director, poet, musician, and photographer. He is best known for playing the character of Spock on Star Trek, an American television series that ran for three seasons from 1966 to 1969, in addition to several movie sequels. Nimoy was born in Boston, Massachusetts to Yiddish-speaking Jewish immigrants from Russia. His mother, Dora (nee Spinner), was a homemaker, and his father, Max Nimoy, owned a barbershop. Leonard Nimoy grew up in a Jewish Orthodox neighborhood … Continue reading →

Poetry Wednesday 10/08/08: A Woman of Valor

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A Woman of Valor, called Eshet Chayil in Hebrew, is a hymn which is customarily recited on Friday evenings, after returning from synagogue and singing “Shalom Aleichem” and before sitting down to the Shabbat evening meal. This hymn is from the Old Testament, and the description of this model woman, who is a devoted wife and mother, is so appropriate. Eshet Chayil is a twenty-two verse poem with which King Solomon concludes the book of Proverbs (Proverbs 31). The poem has an acrostic arrangement in … Continue reading →

Poetry Wednesday 12/03/08: Seven Poems by Pablo Neruda

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Left: Mossimo Troisi as Mario Ruoppolo and Phillippe Noiret as Pablo Neruda in the Italian film: Il Postino. Il Postino was an 1994 Italian film that was recommended to me by my sister, Sans Souci. It was originally released in the United States as The Postman, but it was later changed to Il Postino because of the release of Kevin Costner’s film of the same name. The film is a fictional story in which the real life Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda, forms a relationship with … Continue reading →

Poetry Wednesday 11/12/08: Graeme Edge

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Graeme Edge has always been the poet of The Moody Blues. Born on the 30th of March, 1941, in Rochester, Staffs (England), drummer Graeme Edge is best known as the drummer for the Moody Blues, but has also led his own band from time to time, the Graeme Edge Band. Although Edge’s love of boats and the sea almost made him decide on a different career path, he ultimately chose music, playing with local bands on a regular basis. Eventually, Edge received an invite from … Continue reading →

Poetry Wednesday 01/14/09: Mariana

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Mariana, 1851 by Sir John Everett Millais Oil on canvas The subject of this poem is drawn from a line in Shakespeare’s play Measure for Measure: “Mariana in the moated grange.” This line describes a young woman waiting for her lover Angelo, who has abandoned her upon the loss of her dowry. Just as the epigraph from Shakespeare contains no verb, the poem, too, lacks all action or narrative movement. Instead, the entire poem serves as an extended visual depiction of melancholy isolation.   Mariana … Continue reading →

Poetry Wednesday 03/11/09: Three Poems by Barack Obama

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The Poetry of Barack Obama, the next president of the United States. Published: May 18, 2008 New York Times Following are two poems by Barack Obama that were published in the Spring 1981 issue of “Feast,” a 51-page student literary journal that described itself as “a semi-annual journal of short poetry and fiction collected from the Occidental College community.” The journal is no longer published, according to a college spokesman.   . Pop by Barack Obama Sitting in his seat, a seat broad and broken … Continue reading →

Poetry Wednesday 04/22/09: The White Dawn

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Elaine by Herbert Gustav Schmalz (1856-1935) Oil on canvas The White Dawn By Charles Van Lerberghe (1861-1907) (Translated from French) The white dawn says to my dream: “Wake up, the sun is shining.” My soul listens and I raise my eyelids slightly towards it. A ray of light touches the pale flower of my blue eyes. A flame awakens my mouth, a breeze awakens my hair. And my soul, like a rose, trembling slowly all day through, wakes to the beauty of things, as my … Continue reading →