Poetical

Breakfast out at…

Very unfancy but very good food.

Because of the insistence of several (or fewer) fans of poetry, I have revised my introductory List of Poems. This list is supposed to be a guide for the normal person, a person who might be developing an interest. It is not intended to be a definitive list of great poetry, and there is no doubt that many great poems (especially those revered by English majors) are not included. It is intended to help incomers find a path through the weeds. The list is just a list of titles, not links, so anyone interested in reading all this great stuff will have to turn to books or search online and download.

And I think that to transfuse emotion—not to transmit thought but to set up in the reader's sense a vibration corresponding to what was felt by the writer—is the peculiar function of poetry. 
A. E. HOUSMAN

When we read Kipling we can usually say,
"That is just how I feel." Of course there is nothing "wrong" with that, but, when we read a great poet, we say, "I never realized before what I felt. From now on, thanks to this poem, I shall feel differently."
W. H. AUDEN

Blog Restructured

With the new year I’m switching this blog from once a day to whenever appropriate.
Over the past 14 or more years more than 5,000 daily posts have been put up.
Having to do a daily blog, with both text and at least one photo, is fun but challenging: it makes you pay attention and think about things, but it can be stressful, especially when the sun is sinking and there’s no photo in the can.

I will probably continue my habitual pattern of daily posts, but then, I might wait until I have a good shot or something to say—so please don’t expect a post daily. I think this new regimen might even allow me to do a little more longer-form writing, though I am determined to avoid becoming anything like an “influencer.” Thanks.

New Project

A big RC wooden schooner, built from scratch—no kit.

Fifty-eight inches on deck, but still small enough to make it up the basement stairs. Stitch-and-glue plywood on frames; fin keel with lead bulb (which I will have to cast from molten lead in a handmade mold). Removable keel and rig.
This is going to be a long term project, but can’t wait to start.

Also, I’ve updated the list of esential poetry. I was trying to buff it up to 100, but, because of high standards, only made it to 90. Still, a pretty good place to begin: Great Poetry