Earth Day Poetry

Happy Earth Day! And Poetry Month!

In the spirit of both of holidays, here is a poem about appreciating the Earth:

"Influence of Nature" by William Wordsworth

Therefore am I still

A lover of the meadows and the woods

And mountains, and of all that we behold

From this green earth; of all the mighty world

Of eye and ear, both what they half create

And what perceive; well pleased to recognize

In nature, and the language of the sense,

The anchor of my purest thoughts, the nurse,

The guide, the guardian of my heart, and soul,

Of all my moral being.

Do you have a favorite nature poem? I am a big fan of Romanticism and transcendentalism, so I will be celebrating Earth Day by appreciating nature as well as having my own personal escape to it. It's a beautiful day here at the BYU Bookstore, and it would be a shame not to go outside and clear my head the way Wordsworth did back in his day.

Have a great day!

-Hillary

Poetry Month - Shakespeare, a Master Wordsmith

 I stumbled across this Meme recently and it made me appreciate Shakespeare's work even more:

 So to recognize one of the master wordsmiths of history, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you poetry by Shakespeare:

"Those Lips that Love's own Hand did Make" by William 

Shakespeare

 
Those lips that Love's own hand did make
Breathed forth the sound that said "I hate"
To me that languished for her sake;
But when she saw my woeful state,
Straight in her heart did mercy come,
Chiding that tongue that ever sweet
Was used in giving gentle doom,
And taught it thus anew to greet:
"I hate" she altered with an end,
That followed it as gentle day
Doth follow night, who like a fiend
From heaven to hell is flown away.
"I hate" from hate away she threw,
And saved my life, saying "not you."

Poetry Month - Emily Dickinson

"He ate and drank the precious words,          

His spirit grew robust;

He knew no more that he was poor, 

Nor that his frame was dust. 

He danced along the dingy days,              

And this bequest of wings     

Was but a book.

What liberty    

A loosened spirit brings!"

-Emily Dickinson

This poem is one of my favorites because I have felt what it describes.  My favorite poems make me laugh or they give expression to what I am unable to express but wish I could.

Emily Dickinson said it best when she defined poetry this way: “If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire can warm me I know that is poetry. If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry. These are the only way I know it. Is there any other way?”

- Anita

Happy Poetry Month!

From all of us at the BYU Bookstore, we hope you have a wonderful Poetry Month!

This is an exciting time for the BYU Bookstore, it's a great time to celebrate captivating work, to stop and enjoy the beauties of language, to step out of the ordinary life and transcend into more enriched human beings.

As Pulitzer prize writer Carl Sandburg put it,

"Poetry is the journal of the sea animal living on land, wanting to fly in the air.  Poetry is a search for syllables to shoot at the barriers of the unknown and the unknowable.  Poetry is a phantom script telling how rainbows are made and why they go away."
 
We hope you will stop and take some time out your day to appreciate poetry more, whether that's reading on, writing one, or participating in poetry reading.

Come celebrate with us for the following events:

And also, stay tuned this next month while we share some of our favorite poems with you.

Ciao!

-Hillary