Author Archives: maedez

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About maedez

Writer, biographer, poet. History nerd, silent movie maven. Punk rocker, amateur baker, bookworm. Cricket fan, Scotch drinker, craft beer snob.

Daily Diversion #116: “Nature” is What We See*

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Whenever I hike through the 733 acres of our local cemetery, I have to stifle the compulsion to declaim poetry to an audience of tombstones, trees, and birds. Instead, I turn the words inward, or whisper them under my breath. The shadow-poets I prefer change with the seasons. If winter’s sharp, cold, stinging reach is perfect for Sylvia Plath, then the gloriously still warmth of spring is the natural home for the distilled, profound and subtle Emily Dickinson.

Two graves and wildflowers

Two forlorn graves and clumps of wildflowers are the perfect audience for Emily’s poems.

*“Nature” is what we see” is the opening line from an Emily Dickinson poem.

Daily Diversion #115: As Fast As We Can

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Take a seat

Take a seat

“My dear, here we must run as fast as we can, just to stay in place. And if you wish to go anywhere you must run twice as fast as that.”-Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Algernon Charles Swinburne is Ready for His Close-Up

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Algernon Charles Swinburne died on 10 April 1909. In addition to being ever-ready for a good close-up…

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…he was quite an accomplished and well-rounded writer.

QUOTE: “For winter’s rains and ruins are over,/And all the season of snows and sins;/The days dividing lover and lover,/The light that loses, the night that wins.”

SOME WORKS: Mary Stuart; The Sisters; Atalanta in Calydon; Songs of Two Nations; A Century of Roundels; A Study of Shakespeare.

A KEEPSAKE:

A Swinburne Poetry Selection at Professor Booknoodle

A Swinburne Poetry Selection at Professor Booknoodle. $25.00

 

[Intermezzo] Lost Words

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It’s a true story. I know how it ends, but I can’t move forward. The last twenty pages are as weighty as a boulder, as immovable as a broken vault door. My heart refuses to face the acrid, bloody truth, to acknowledge the twisted metal and shattered dreams. His unwritten novels poke through the years like torpid headlights in a fog. Am I a horrid person for lamenting the tragedy of lost words?

[R]evolving Incarnations Wants You!

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Do you love reading? Are you very, very brave like a storybook hero(ine)? If you answered yes, then you are welcome to join the dialogue of [R]evolving Incarnations. We are looking for hearty, passionate readers to take our 40 question Q&A. If you are unfamiliar with the series, follow these links:

The only requirement is that you love, love, love reading. Genre preference doesn’t matter, really! We hope to represent as many bookish experiences and viewpoints as possible, whilst fostering frank and refreshing discussions of what it means to be a reader in the 21st-century. If you are interested in taking the invigorating plunge, or have any questions, you may leave a reply in the comment section or e-mail us at: onetrackmuse@gmail.com. Thank you, and happy reading!

FYI: [R]evolving Incarnations is taking a break this week, as I am still spending time with The Chef before he leaves on his trip!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Color/Colour

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The earth has music

“The earth has music for those who listen.”-George Santayana

Flowers...

“Flowers…are a proud assertion that a ray of beauty outvalues all the utilities of the world.”-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Those who contemplate

“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature –the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.”-Rachel Carson