Haiku Hopscotch

Hey world, Since it is spring I decided to do a little reflection on yet another recommendation, 'The Trees', by Phillip Larkin. When I googled him, I clicked on some of his quotes, and there was one I particularly liked- Life has a practice of living you, if you don't live it. I thought that was very true. Live life to the fullest, world. I have to say, Philip Larkin was a bit of a pessimist. His most famous poem is probably 'This Be the Verse', containing the immortal line: ' They F*** You Up, Your Mum and Your Dad'. This is a prime example of his pessimistic views of the world. Anyway his (seemingly only) happy poem, The Trees is what I'm going to be exploring now. Here it is: The Trees The trees are coming into leaf Like something almost being said; The recent buds relax and spread, Their greenness is a kind of grief. Is it that they are born again And we grow old? No, they die too, Their yearly trick of looking new Is written ...

Hey world, Before we get started I just wanted to point something out to all you, if you agree with what I'm saying or have a comment please feel free to add them at the bottom of the page, I'd love to hear what you think! I was recently given a really beautiful poem, I definitely had to reflect on it and share it with all of you. It is by one of my favourite authors, Ray Bradbury. For those of you who are not familiar with this author or his work, he is famous for having written 'Fahrenheit 451', amongst other novels. I read this earlier in the year, and found it phenomenal. If you haven't read it, I suggest you read it immediately. Particularly if (like me) you are a big fan of dystopian fiction... Anyway, here is the poem: Somewhere a band is playing, Playing the strangest tunes, Of sunflower seeds and sailors Who tide with the strangest moons. Somewhere a drummer simmers And trembles with times forlorn, Remembering days of summer In futures yet unborn. ...

Hey world, It occured to me recently, I write a weekly blog about poetry and yet have very little of my own on it. It is not because I never write any, quite the contrary.  I spend a lot of time reflecting on others' poetry, and as a result I find inspiration from a variety of different styles and sources. So I figured it was time to post my juvenilia for the world to see. Juvenilia, by the way, is the writing we produce when we're young, presumably to regret when we're old. Or not. The themes of my poetry are often linked with emotions, and I am also very fond of imagery. For some reason, I love writing poems that evoke a sense of nostalgia. I wrote one last week, about going to the beach in the summer with my family. One of the childhood memories I cherish most is going to the beach with my family and spending days there filled with sand castles, jumping in the waves and dodging pesky seagulls. My feet burn from the sun kissed sand. I hop as fast as ...

Ok so in poetry society last week we were looking at haikus, and now we are going to look at a poet from the Classical world who practised a similar economy with language: Sappho (630-570BC). I myself had never heard of her until this week, probably because only 650 of the 10,000 lines she wrote have survived the ravages of time. So I proceeded to do a bit of research. A Greek poet from the island of Lesbos, Sappho wrote mainly lyric poetry, and she is best known for her poems about love. Outside of the academic circles she is perhaps best known as a symbol of same sex desire, and her island home has given its name to just this kind of thing. But back to poetry. In spite, or because, of its fragmentary form (having literally disintegrated in many cases) - and because of the various ways in which it can be translated into modern English - Sappho's poetry appeals to modernists who like to interpret imagery. Take the following example from Hymn to Aphrodite- With cha...

Hello again world, So, obviously since my blog is called Haiku Hopscotch, I have to write a post about haiku! For those of you who don't already know what a haiku is, it's a Japanese poem of around seventeen syllables - arranged over three lines of five, seven, and five - traditionally evoking images of the natural world. We have been looking at Edna St Vincent Millay, an American poet who wrote during the first half of the twentieth century. Millay liked using traditional forms to both explore both new and old ideas: I will touch a hundred flowers and pick not one. In this haiku, which does not follow the 5-7-5 arrangement, Millay uses very concise and basic language to convey a natural but ambiguous message about our relationship with the world around us. We, in turn, attempted to do this in Poetry Society, as we write as well as read and reflect. My haiku doesn't exactly follow the five seven five pattern either, but that's ok, as ha...

Ok so hello again world. Today we were reflecting upon 'Hope' by Emily Dickinson. This poem forms part of a list we discovered on a blog listing 'must read' poetry: ( https://www.buzzfeed.com/krystieyandoli/life-changing-poems-everyone-should-read?utm_term=.uaNwkjM05#.nob4o8OgE ) This poem is really beautiful, and is written purely in a metaphorical vein. Using the extended metaphor of a bird - that 'thing with feathers' - the poet hones in on this creature's seeming weakness. It appears to lack any form of strength, yet: "... sore must be the storm - that could abash the little bird" In spite of a howling gale, the bird continues to sing. This is acutely accurate in the ways of hope, and is particularly motivational to me. Dickinson reminds us that no matter how small the chances, there is always hope in the world. No matter where you are, what you're doing, what's coming or what has happened, the bird still sings... 'And...

Hey world, 'A poet before anything else, a person who is passionately in love with language.' -W.H Auden I don't know about you, but I think that Auden's reflection on the essence of the poet encapsulates pretty much everything to which a writer should aspire. Not fame, not money; just an unfailing love of poetry, and the brilliance of the English language. For this reason, I'll be producing a weekly blog on the subject - a love letter, if you will, to the mother tongue. As a member of a club that assembles weekly to discover, read, and reflect upon poetry, I am one of a privileged few who know the unique consolations of the form. To most people, poetry is thought of as an incredibly boring topic. However, being a 'Poetry Nerd', as members of the poetry society are used to being referred, I believe that everyone can write their own poetry if they really try. To some, poetry flows easily; but for me it requires inspiration. It is this which we seek i...