Reading a Poem A Day for a Year

I love poetry, but lately I have not been reading it much. I want to try and bring the reading of poetry back into my regular reading life, and I figured that a good way to do that would be to start with something designed for this purpose--The One Year Book of Poetry.

Not only does it contain a poem a day to read, it also has a Christian devotional message to go with each poem.

Another great way to read more poetry this year is to read some good poetry blogs and websites. My two favorites are: Kingdom Poets and dVerse. dVerse actually has daily prompts, so you can try writing your own poetry for fun. You can even join other poetry writers and link your poem to their community posts. The link for both of these websites is on the side panel of my blog for easy reference.

It's January 11th as I write this, and I have already missed 11 days, so I will be trying to catch up with the readings.

I love the first poem selection for day one. It's "The Lamb" by William Blake. He is one of my favorite poets. The poem really moved me and spoke to me because I have been feeling quite sad and disturbed by recent events in the news that struck me as terrifying and disheartening concerning the growing power and influence of evil in the world, and also the deception, cruelty, and dehumanizing rhetoric that is becoming a normal part of our public discourse.

The poem reminded me of the power and influence that goodness has, and that God has, and that we can experience in Christ. We don't have to be powerful in the way that evil leaders are powerful. Our power comes from Christ. It also showcases the beauty of innocent and gentle things through the imagery of things that we consider to be "powerless'--a lamb and a child.

Here is the poem in its entirety. It's comforting in these dark days...

"The Lamb", by William Blake

Little Lamb, who made thee?

Dost thou know who made thee?

Gave thee life, and bid thee feed

By the stream and o'er the mead;

Gave thee clothing of delight,

Softest clothing, wooly, bright;

Gave thee such a tender voice,

Making all the vales rejoice?

    Little Lamb, who made thee?

    Dost thou know who made thee?

    Little Lamb, I'll tell thee

    Little Lamb, I'll tell thee:

He is called by thy name,

For he calls himself a Lamb.

He is meek, and he is mild;

He became a little child.

I a child, and thou a lamb,

We are called by his name.

    Little Lamb, God bless thee!

    Little Lamb, God bless thee!

So many beautiful words here that are in stark contrast to the powers that be in the world today: "softest", "little", "meek", and "mild". It's a reminder to me of where true power lies.

Reading All of Shakespeare This Year

This year, I would like to finally read all of Shakespeare. I am planning on reading the plays in the order that they were (believed to be) written, based on the Royal Shakespeare Company's listing.

I always struggle with just "reading" the plays. What I find to be the best method is to read a summary of the play, then watch a video of the play being acted out (preferably by a professional production) while following along with the written text. I like to stop and make notes or underline things that I find interesting or write down any especially beautiful language in my commonplace book. If I get confused, I stop to check for understanding or to think about or reread a section.

The first play I have read so far is The Taming of the Shrew.

I was very skeptical going into this play that I would enjoy it in any real capacity because I thought that it might deal with gender issues in an outdated or outright immoral way.

The truth is...it does both of those things, but a good production of the play will try to interpret it in the least offensive way possible, often emphasizing the romantic comedy aspects or even outright subverting the misogynistic aspects.

The play involves scenes where the main male character starves and manipulates the main female character until she is forced to agree with him unconditionally, no matter whether or not what he is saying is true or objectively false. At the end of the play, she is required to give an extremely lengthy speech regarding how a woman should be completely subservient to her husband. A wager is made by the men of the play, and they "win" the wager by "taming" this outspoken (and quite often irate) woman.

I was surprised, however, to find genuine moments of lighthearted humor, romantic scenes, and a genuine change of heart by the characters as portrayed in the excellent production I watched. It was put on by The American Conservatory Theatre in 1976, and is currently free to watch on YouTube. I highly recommend it.

Some particularly beautiful lines that stuck out to me:

"For 'tis the mind that makes the body rich; And as the sun breaks through the clouds, So honour peereth in the meanest habit." --Act IV scene 3 lines 174-176

Edward Munch The Sun 1911

Can I Read Through the Bible in a Year?

I’m feeling ambitious this year, and I’m starting a project that involves reading through the Bible in a year. I don't think I will finish it in a year, but that's okay. It will take however long I need it to take.

Although I've read the New Testament through at least once and quite a few books of the Old Testament, and although I have also read much about the Bible, I have never read the Bible in its entirety.

I am looking into a few different plans to see which one will work best, but I haven’t decided on one yet.