Fun
“Housesitting” by William Brewer
Dear Kay,
We live in an age where the rules of Twitter are pretty much the only poetic form that anybody knows anymore.
But even as Twitter sucks out our souls, sometimes it giveth, too. A while ago, I started following Poem-a-Day (@POETSorg) amid the noise. It’s my favorite Tweet to read most days, a link to a poem that you can read and also listen to as poets read their own work.
That’s the dosage of poetry that works for me. It’s like looking at one painting in a museum. Think how hard that painter worked on that one piece. Show the love! Spend time with it!
I’ve written about Poem-a-Day before, when William Brewer appeared with his stunning poem, “Debris.”
(That poem is what led me to order his collection, I Know Your Kind. You’d do yourself a favor to order it.)
Well, on Friday, William Brewer appeared again on Poem-a-Day, this time with “Housesitting.”
It’s so interesting to see it on the page, then to listen. Not the same experience at all—I like seeing the words and their relationship to each other, and the way you read a poem by reading a line, then going back to the top again, scavenging your way through it.
When you hear it, it’s a different poem. Here is William Brewer, reading “Housesitting.”
Today is Mother’s Day—sending love to everybody!
Love,
Ann
Poem-A-Day is the best! Such a great way to start your day. And I like the way they use the weekends to publish older, public domain poems. I don’t usually listen to them, but just listened to this one and caught all sorts of inner rhymes and alliterations that my eyes missed, so I may add a listen to my morning routine.
Happy Mother’s Day Ann!
Happy Mother’s Day Kay!
Sending love and hugs.
Lovely. Thank you and have a happy Mother’s Day.
Well, poetry is one of the most individual tastes, I think. This one doesn’t speak to me.
I had a poetry app on my old phone … it was lovely. Listening aloud is such a different experience than listening in your head …. maydays I’ll go and play Whishaw reading Keats (audio from “Bright Star”) on this gray and rainy mother’s day in the tri-state area.
Thanks so much for bringing Poem-a-Day to my attention. I had a subscription to Writer’s Almanac for many years – it, too, would send a poem a day to your email inbox. But it was discontinued due to Garrison Keillor’s demise and I’ve missed it horribly ever since. Looks like Poem-a-Day will fill the gap.
Panhala is another service that sends out a poem every morning, accompanied by an always breathtaking photo. If the visual arts are your thing, this might be just the poetry source for you! I’m hoping Poem a Day comes on some other platform besides Twitter, as I don’t tweet.
I get it as an email every morning. Another non-tweeter here (non-twitterer?)
Thanks for this! Another short-but-lovely literary Twitter account is A Small Fiction. They tweets are funny and dark-humored and, as advertised, very small!
Just skipped another holiday….
IT IS easier for me since I am on my grieve journey..
Just keeping life simple….deb
I’m aware that I am missing something but I refuse to learn how to “tweet “