tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post8415769427557361703..comments2024-03-26T01:52:45.563-07:00Comments on Fred's Place: The Winter Solstice: December 21, 2009Fredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-89020031516540778722009-12-26T14:42:41.189-07:002009-12-26T14:42:41.189-07:00Anonymous,
Thank you. Glad you liked it. It is ...Anonymous,<br /><br />Thank you. Glad you liked it. It is one of my favorite poems by Hardy.<br /><br />From the Introduction to _The Works of Thomas Hardy_, published by _The Wordsworth Poetry Library_:<br /><br />"Thomas Hardy was a poet by choice, a novelist by necessity. His writing of prose fiction he never viewed as anything more than a temporary profession--an economically compulsory interruption of his poetic career in a world where poetry did not pay. . .At heart he was always a poet..."<br /><br />He is like Robert Graves in this respect.<br /><br /><br />The Wordsworth collection has almost 900 pages of Hardy's poetry. He began writing poetry early on, continued writing while he was writing novels, and after he stopped writing novels, went on to writing poetry full time. He published his first collection of poetry at age 58--_Wessex Poems_-which contained approximately 200 poems. I would guess that conservatively the Wordsworth collection has over 500 poems.<br /><br />If you are interested in reading another favorite of mine by Hardy, go to the entry for June 5, 2009 or go to the list of labels and click on "Hap."Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-27078326088985295512009-12-25T19:42:54.221-07:002009-12-25T19:42:54.221-07:00I had no idea Thomas Hardy wrote poetry, Fredr! T...I had no idea Thomas Hardy wrote poetry, Fredr! That was lovely.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-53793286046658911442009-12-23T08:16:58.466-07:002009-12-23T08:16:58.466-07:00R. T.
Merry Christmas and best wishes that 2009 w...R. T.<br /><br />Merry Christmas and best wishes that 2009 was better than 2008, but not as good as 2010 will be.Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-29118425693091967042009-12-23T08:15:14.737-07:002009-12-23T08:15:14.737-07:00R. T.,
Yes, it does match up, as the darkness of ...R. T.,<br /><br />Yes, it does match up, as the darkness of night which is most challenging can be seen as the daily equivalent of the yearly period of darkness at the Winter Solstice. <br /><br />The thought of daybreak then relates to the hope of Spring.<br /><br />Perhaps there even might be a relationship here with the darkness or the Void (in Taoist terms) that brackets life here and now. What went before and what comes next? The hope for an afterlife?Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-26019237036397630772009-12-22T12:06:17.261-07:002009-12-22T12:06:17.261-07:00Thank you, Fred (and thank you, Thomas Hardy). You...Thank you, Fred (and thank you, Thomas Hardy). Your poignant posting reminds of something that seems to match up with your Taoist commentary:<br /><br />Each sunset is an occasion for reflecting on the past, and each sunrise is an occasion for looking toward the future. The darkness of night, which waits for each of us between sunset and sunrise, is almost always even more challenging.<br /><br />Merry Christmas, Fred.R/Thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07791522136032565027noreply@blogger.com