Connecting to nature through poetry and prose
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 about this season. Today we have six haiku by four haiku masters that reference the harvest moon.
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.
Three resources that explore the challenges and benefits of reading and writing poetry,. These sources also offer insight into the ways we can learn and grow with poetry.
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.
Poets John Keats (1795-1821) and Dan Beachy-Quick (b.1973) share their thoughts on crickets and grasshoppers.
"Love for Other Things" by Tom Hennen. Hennen’s style is described as “almost Taoist, with a tempered knowledge of self and world." I read Hennen’s poetry and say to myself, “This is poetry that works for me”.
August has promoted many poets to pick up the pen and start writing. Here are two poems by Lizette Woodworth Reese and Sara Teasdale that reflect my August experience.
