Connecting to nature through poetry and prose
Emily Dickinson wrote: “Had Nature an Apostate-/ That Mushroom -it is Him!”. These lines acknowledge that mushrooms do not follow any of the traditional laws of nature. Dickinson is telling us, in her own poetic fashion, that mushrooms are a breed unto themselves. Today we have poems by Dickinson, Quinones, Sze, and Rohrer, that investigate the fascinating fungal kingdom.
The mini-season of Autumn Equinox runs from September 22 until October 7. The Harvest Moon is a relevant kigo, or seasonal words, to use when writing haiku. In today's post we will read some harvest moon inspired poetry and haiku.
Pastoral poetry focuses on an idealized notion of the rural landscape. This tradition started with Hesiod and we can still find traces of it in the work of Wendell Berry and Dylan Thomas.
At the end of summer, sunflowers are noticeable parts of the landscape. Poets William Blake and Kenneth W. Porter have both written about the sunflower. However, their poems feel very different.
The mini season of White Dew runs from September 7 until September 21. To honor this season we have collected several seasonal haiku by the early masters.
Gardens can provide us with food for our bodies and souls. Poets can help us see that connection in a new way. In today's post we have three poems that look at gardening featuring poets Beatrix Potter, Edgar Guest, and Karina Borowicz.
The 1960s brought an awareness of an emerging environmental crisis. This crisis captured the attention of poets and led to the creation of ecopoetry. Ecopoetry can then be separated into three large categories: nature poetry, environmental poetry, and ecological poetry.
The 72 seasons ask us to slow down. If we think about everything in micro-seasons, the beauty of everyday life opens up. Each block of time brings its own magic, and likewise, its own poetry to the world.
The Canadian Geese migration is one of those amazing feats of the natural world. When you think about this, and then watch them fly in their V formation, it makes sense that poets like Mary Oliver and Wendell Berry would incorporate them into their verse.
Visualizing Nature: Essays on Truth, Spirit, and Philosophy, is edited by Stuart Kestenbaum. In this book, Kestenbaum asked the essayist “How does nature speak to you? And how do you listen to nature?’ Each essayist responded in their own way harnessing their personal experience and expertise to share stories about forests, deserts, coral reefs, and shorelines.
The healing power of nature has been well documented, so it should be no surprise that people who felt the benefits of nature have taken to podcasting to share their experiences. This article shares four podcasts that are worth listening to if you want to learn more about how nature heals.
Poets John Keats (1795-1821) and Dan Beachy-Quick (b.1973) share their thoughts on crickets and grasshoppers.
SeasonWords.com 