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Thursday, December 17, 2020

#PoetryFriday - Celebrating the Light

 

            Michelle Kogan, artist and poet, hosts our Poetry Friday today at her blog HERE. She welcomes us with stardust and a beautiful painting of friends in space, among the stars. And, alongside a poem of hope, she shares space bookmarks from her Etsy store. Thanks very much, Michelle!

          I get to love on my son, daughter-in-law, and grandson for a brief time Saturday to exchange gifts and SEE them for real! They live in Texas and are here for a few days of skiing, but sadly, we've decided not to be together like all our years before. We'll bundle up and stay outside. I'm happy to get together this brief while and hope they have a special time on the mountain! We have a condo near one of the resorts, where they're staying. 


Wishing everyone a special holiday, no matter how you're celebrating! May you have some sweet moments while ending this year. Nice memories can be made any hour, any day. 

         Monday, December 21st, the winter solstice arrives in the Northern Hemisphere, the shortest day and the longest night of the year. For many, it's a time to enjoy winter evenings inside, reading special books to loved ones at bedtime, or reading for oneself.


        Here is Susan Cooper's The Shortest Day, with a poem written long ago, now gorgeously illustrated by Carson Ellis.




          In her afterword, Susan Cooper writes of the long - ancient to today - celebrations that happen at the winter solstice, welcoming the sun after the longest night. She wrote this poem that is so beautifully illustrated by Carson Ellis for a group called Revels that celebrates the solstice with performances in various places. Ellis introduces the sun as a male figure with a sun's head. In the story, it both appears, disappears, and in the grand "re-entry", returns. On that final page, Ellis shows it filling the page in a landscape of snowy hills with children like those seen on the cover showing their excitement! There are few words and they are surrounded by all kinds of people 'reveling', bringing back the sun, "And everywhere down the centuries." In a somber double-page spread, Ellis shows the sky darkening, the sun nearly set while people gather wood as ravens watch. The book is history and poetry combined plus a celebration itself of people's ways of living life as best they know at the time.




The Shortest Day by Susan Cooper

  • And so the Shortest Day came and the year died
  • And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world
  • Came people singing, dancing,
  • To drive the dark away.
  • They lighted candles in the winter trees;
  • They hung their homes with evergreen;
  • They burned beseeching fires all night long
  • To keep the year alive.
  •               Find the rest here!
Discover more about the collaboration between Cooper and Ellis here from NPR.

 Happy Solstice Everyone!

22 comments:

  1. I, too, hope to have a very short, outdoor meet-up with my daughter, son-in-law, and little granddaughters on the Solstice. It just so happens that our closing for our new VA home is Monday - a rescheduled date after this snowstorm that has brought life to a standstill. We are grateful for the change of date so that we do not have to start traveling on icy roads. Thanks for bringing the book into focus. Light triumphing over darkness is a thought I find inspiring, Linda. Enjoy your Christmas reunion.

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  2. Linda, what a lovely post. I'm imagining the reunion with your dear ones--even in the cold will be joyous. This poem is new to me--but it's a keeper! I love the idea of a picture book devoted to this poem. I think I might need to get it. The darkening days have been tough on my schedule. Getting the dog walked, some semblance of a meal for family (everyone is working/schooling--on different schedules) and sanity for myself is tougher in the dark. But, the light is coming. Hooray!

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  3. Happy solstice to you, too! I'm happy to hear you'll be enjoying those loved ones in whatever ways you can. xo

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  4. Thanks Carol, Linda & Irene. It's a favorite time of year no matter the craziness & I am glad to be able to be with my son & family for a while & grateful that I can spend Christmas Day with my "in-town" daughter & family. If you find this book, I hope you love the history told & the beauty of it.

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  5. Thanks for sharing this gorgeous book, poem, and moving art. I love both of the art images here and especially the two contrasting ones shared in the NPR review— depths of darkness and then joy in each child celebrating the triumph of light!
    Have fun visiting with your family—I look forward to when our visits can be indoors with 🤗 Happy winter solstice Linda!

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  6. Happy Solstice to you, too, and thanks for sharing this beautiful book! I hope your time together is so so sweet, in spite of being short. <3

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  7. So happy to hear you'll be seeing your son and his family, Linda -- even a short time in person will be wonderful. Thanks for highlighting this book -- I had heard of it, but didn't know much about it -- it looks beautiful and I love Cooper's poem. Happy Solstice to you!!

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  8. What a beautiful book, and the language is just lovely. I love the combination of history and poetry.

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  9. I'm glad you got to see your family. We'll have a quiet Christmas, without our sons, but that's temporary. I love the image in Cooper's poem of people with torches to keep the year alive. It must have felt that day was going to totally disappear. Happy Holidays, Linda!

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  10. Thanks to Ruth, Jama, Jean, & Janice. I'm glad that you enjoyed this book & a little history of the Solstice through time.

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  11. I'm glad you got to see your son and his family. It's so hard when our children grow up and move away, and these times make it even harder. Christmas this year will be just my husband and me. Like so many other families, we decided it's better not to travel. Happy holidays, Linda! xo

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    1. Thanks, Linda. I will see them tomorrow & willet to spend Christmas Day with my daughter & family. We are all keeping safe so far. Merry Christmas to you all. I know it's different, but next year holds some hope!

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  12. The darkness and the light... more meaningful than ever right now, Linda. Thank you for posting this and enjoy that visit!

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  13. Oh, those "beseeching fires!" Like so many others, I'm also looking forward to the light. Wishing you a wonderful holiday season and a warm visit with family in the cold outdoors.

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  14. I'm so happy you'll be able to see your son and his family, even if it's a modified visit. My husband and I will spend Christmas the same way we did Thanksgiving, just the two of us. But I'm grateful for new hope that the end for all this is in sight.
    I wasn't familiar with this poem or book. Thanks so much for sharing. I just put the book on hold at the library and look forward to savoring it. Merry Christmas to you and yours, Linda!

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  15. "Nice memories can be made any hour, any day." -- Great attitude, Linda :-) Merry Christmas!

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  16. Thank you for highlighting this book. Somehow it passed under my radar. Now I will have to find a copy. Cooper's poem has so many resonant lines, but this one is the one I'm hanging onto: "As promise wakens in the sleeping land." Happy holidays to you and all your family, Linda!

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  17. What a lovely post about a hopeful book. We all need a dose of hope this year. Have a Merry Christmas and enjoy that one day of hugs and love and laughter.

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  18. Thank you all. The weekend was very busy & I did have a wonderful visit with my son and family! It was short but so nice to BE with them. Wishing each of you a good week of holiday cheer.

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  19. I love this book. Reminds me I need to buy copies for my nieces, all grown but who honor solstice.
    I hope your weekend was fabulous with your family.

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    1. Yes, we had a lovely visit, just too short! Thanks, Jone, I'm glad you love this book, too. It is a beauty!

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  20. Happy Solstice! May the sun and all that's light and good return to our world (and may we each do our part to help with the goodness whenever and wherever we can)!

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