Monday Poetry Stretch - English Quintet

The English Quintet is composed of any number of 5-line stanzas with the rhyme scheme ababb cdcdd, etc. The number of syllables may vary and there is no requirement for meter, though they are often written in iambic pentameter.

Here's an example.

Go, lovely Rose
by Edmund Waller

Go, lovely Rose—
      Tell her that wastes her time and me,
      That now she knows,
When I resemble her to thee,
How sweet and fair she seems to be.

Read the poem in its entirety.

In this example, the syllable count is 4/8/4/8/8.

So, there's your challenge for the week. I hope you'll join me in writing an English quintet. Please share a link to your poem or the poem itself in the comments.

Remembering Francisco Alarcón

I was saddened to hear of the death of Francisco Alarcón last week. I had the pleasure of interviewing him for one of my National Poetry Month series on Poetry Makers. If you don't know him or his work, his obituary contains some lovely thoughts.

UC Davis poet fought injustice, approached world with sense of wonder

Reading Rockets conducted a nice interview with him. It is below.
Finally, I thought this might be a good time to share again his Poetry Makers interview. This was originally posted April 3, 2010.

*****

Several years ago while looking for some bilingual poetry for a student teacher, I stumbled across the book Iguanas in the Snow and Other Winter Poems / Iguanas en la nieve: y otros poemas de invierno, written by Francisco Alarcón and illustrated by Maya Christina Gonzalez. The vibrant art on the cover reeled me in, and once I was inside the magic of the poems enchanted me. Here's one I suggested she use with her ESL students, all recent immigrants, all Spanish-speaking.

Ode to Buena Vista Bilingual School here Spanish goes to school with English uno-dos-tres is as easy as one-two-three here children of all races write beautiful poems in English and Spanish even in spirals and following the beat of teacher Felipe's clave here children learn to sing with their hearts

Oda a la Escuela Bilingüe de Buena Vista aqui el español va a la escuela con el inglés uno-dos-tres es tan fácil como one-two-three aqui niños de todas las razas escriben bellos poemas tanto en inglés como en español hasta en espiral y siguiendo la clave del maestro Felipe aqui los niños aprenden a cantar con el corazón

Before moving on to Francisco's interview, take a few minutes to listen to him talk about his family and read some of his poems.

***************

How did you get started writing poetry? What got you hooked on children’s poetry?

Francisco: I started to write poems when I was around 13 years. I was in Guadalajara, Mexico, and I wanted to put down in writing my grandmother’s songs she used to sing. I thought the songs were part of the oral tradition but when I found out they were her own compositions that she had never written down, I decided to transcribe them. Since I don’t have a very good memory, I would make up for a line or two that were missing in the traditional ballads that usually have stanzas of four verses each.

I published my first book of bilingual poems for grown-ups in 1985. Later I became aware that there were almost no books of bilingual poems children written by any Latino poet in the United States, and so I wrote and published my first book of bilingual poems for children in 1997, “Laughing Tomatoes and Other Spring Poems” (Children’s Book Press). I published three additional books to complete the “Magical Cycle of the Four Seasons” of the year. I wrote a book of bilingual poems for children about dreams. “Poems to Dream Together” (Lee & Low Books, 2005). My latest book, “Animal Poems of the Iguazú / Animalario del Iguazú” (Children’s Book Press, 2008) is a celebration of a natural wonder of the world.

What are the things you enjoy most about writing poetry for children/young adults?

Francisco: I write poetry for children in the same way I write poems for grow-ups. My signature poetics is that “less is really more,” that is to say, that few words in a poem can express a great deal and some times better than long texts. I believe that poems can only be complete when they are read by readers or are heard by listeners. My poems demand readers and listeners who are “accomplices” of the author and can make sense of my poems that I believe are incomplete without the participation of readers and listeners. This is why I enjoy immensely reading aloud my bilingual poems to children during school visits or during poetry presentations in public libraries or community centers.

In the past, I used to present my poems together with slide shows, but last year, at the urging of the organizers of “Words Take Wing,” an annual literary presentation of children sponsored by the School of Education and that takes place at the Mondavi Performing Arts Center at the University of California, Davis, I began doing power point presentations in which my poems are projected to a screen together with visual images from my children’s books. I did this for the first time at a morning presentation at the Mondavi Center together with artist Maya Christina Gonzalez, the illustrator of five of my children’s book.

There were about 1,000 children and teachers in the audience in one of the largest performance theaters in Northern in California. It was a smashing great success and as a direct result, I was invited to visit about 20 schools in the surrounding areas in the following months. I see this as an integral part of the poetic process that starts with my solitary writing of the poems, then includes the edition and publication of the books of poems with artwork by inspired artists and designers, and finally extends to the actual presentation of the poems to children, their families and teachers, and the public in general. This process brings lots of joy and satisfaction to me as a poet and educator.

Who/what made you want to write?

Francisco: I began writing poems as a way to retrieve family memories, first by writing down the songs composed by my paternal grandmother in Guadalajara, Mexico, and then, by giving testimony of my family and personal experiences. After I do presentations of my poems to children, I usually ask children if they have any questions or comments, and often I receive some very insightful comments or questions from children, like the one I received at “El Festival del Libro” on March 14, 2010, in Sacramento.

A nine-year old girl commented that she noticed that all the poems I had read were in some way connected to my own life. I told her that I appreciated very much her insightful comment, and that yes, for me, poetry is an extension of my own life; that my poems are direct reflections of life and reality that I find fascinating, mesmerizing, and magical; that although I celebrate the imagination of other poets and writers, my poetry is a celebration of our surrounding reality, than more than being fictitious, my poetry is above all a testimony of life.

I told the audience that I have thinking about my work as a poet of the past 30 years; that I have come to the conclusion that maybe the main reason why I have never used periods in my poems is that in reality all my poems are really part of a single very long poem that is my life; that a big final period will mark my tombstone. And then I read the following poem that I include here:

Life Poem not a single period in all of my poems-- my life is really the one poem I've been writing all these years --one single long sentence with no periods-- the day I pass away will mark the last and only period of all my life poem

Poema Vida ni un solo punto en todos mis poemas-- mi vida es de veras el único poema que he estado escribiendo todos estos años --una sola larga oración sin puntos-- el día que muera marcará el único punto final de todo mi poema vida

Have you had any formal poetry training? If not, how did you learn to write what you do?

Francisco: I had the privilege of having excellent education opportunities in my lifetime. I was a scholarship student that attended El Instituto de Ciencias, an elitist high school run by the Jesuits in Guadalajara, Mexico. Since I was in the Dean’s List, I was given the keys to a wonderful literary library of more than 3,000 books that was at my personal disposal. This library was a paradise for a teenager interested in devouring books.

Then after I moved to California and went to college, I took many solid courses on Latin American and Spanish literature and got a BA in Spanish and History from California State University, Long Beach. For five years I undertook graduate studies at Stanford University, in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese. I consider Fernando Alegría, a Chilean poet and novelist who was the cultural attaché in the Chilean Embassy during the Allende government, and a professor at Stanford, one of my literary mentors. When I was a Fulbright scholar in Mexico, I met and became a very close friend of Elías Nandino, who at 80 years old was a survivor of generation of Mexican writers known as “Los Contemporáneos.” Elías Nandino became my mentor in poetry and life.

While attending Stanford, I moved and lived in the Mission District in San Francisco, California, and met and collaborated with many great poets and writers like Juan Felipe Herrera, Lorna Dee Cervantes, José Antonio Burciaga, Lucha Corpi, Jack Hirschman, Alejandro Murguía, among others.

Being faculty to some intensive poetry workshops like “Art of the Wild” organized by Jack Hicks, professor fo UC Davis, in Squaw Valley near Lake Tahoe in California, taught a great deal about poetry. I had the chance to interact with Gary Snyder, who is one of the main teachers of poetry of my generation. Above all I have to say that life is the teacher, mentor, inspiration, and main theme of my poetry.

Can describe your poetry writing process?
Francisco: I am always very puzzled by poets who say that they write poetry every day at a certain time. I have never been able to do so. I write poems really in a fit of passion. I can go on days and months without writing anything and then suddenly poems come rushing to me unexpectedly. I have learned to leave everything aside and become a medium for the poems. Whole collections of poems have come to me in a matter of few days. Most of the bilingual poems my latest book, “Animal Poems of the Iguazú / Animalario del Iguazú.” came to me while I was visiting the Iguazú National Park in Northern Argentina. So, I can say the poems were written in situ.

For some unknown reason, I write most of poems by hand on yellow lined paper blocks. Maybe I see myself as a secretary taking dictation for a poetic brief instead of a legal one. I am so old fashioned; I still use cursive handwriting; for me, the movement and cadence of writing by hand are very inspirational and conducive to poetry.

Do you have a favorite among all the poems/poetry books you have written?
Francisco: This is very difficult question to ask to poet like me. It’s like asking a father about his favorite son or daughter. I celebrate each poem of every poetry book as being unique and part of a large book that I have been writing all my life. For me poetry somehow escapes the realm of the possible. I read some of my poems I wrote decades ago as if I had written them yesterday, and others that I wrote recently I read them as if someone else had written them; they keep surprising me.

Would you like to share the details of any new poetry project(s) that you’re working on?

Francisco: I have been working on two books of poems for children. The first one is collection of bilingual poems about the Mesoamerican origin of Chocolate. I have submitted the manuscript to several published and I have been told by editors that although they loved my poems they found that the subject matter, chocolate, is really a taboo subject for children’s books, because chocolate supposedly makes people obese. But my poems deal with the indigenous origins of chocolate and not about the sugar that was later added to chocolate. I sent the manuscript to a university press that is still considering it. I know that when my book of chocolate poems comes out it will do really well among children, educators, critics, and the public in general.

The second book is a collection of poems about Aztec calendar. I have titled this unpublished book, “Tonalamatl: Book of Days / Libro de los días.” This is a trilingual collection that includes short poems for the 20 days in the Aztec calendar in Spanish, English, and Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs. The poems in Nahuatl are translations done by Natalio Hernández, one of the most distinguished Mexican poets who write in Nahuatl in Mexico. This book is directed toward middle school children and young readers and is a groundbreaking literary project because it will be the first time that a picture book will be published in English, Spanish, and Nahuatl in the United States. I am in the process of looking for a publisher.

Pop Quiz!
Your favorite dead poet?

Francisco: In English, two of my favorite poets are E. E. Cummings and Langston Hughes. In Spanish, I would say Federico García Lorca and Pablo Neruda.

Your favorite place to write?
Francisco: I don’t have a particular place for writing. I have written many of my poems on my kitchen table and on small notebooks as I walk around or right after I wake up in the morning, also in the middle of night still on my bed.

Favorite quote on writing/poetry?
Francisco: "The earth laughs in flowers" by E. E. Cumming. I once wrote a poem that resembles this quote:

SPRINGTIME
hills are starting
to crack a green
smile once again

Your nominee for the next Children’s Poet Laureate?
Francisco: I would nominate Pat Mora, who has published so many beautiful children’s books.

***************

Francisco has done such a wonderful job describing his art that I can't add much more. I wish I had thought to ask if he composes in Spanish, English, or both. I'm not sure it matters, but to someone who is sadly monolingual, I am intrigued by those who can "think" in a second language. And frankly, I struggle to write decent poetry in my native language, so reading Francisco's work fills me with even more admiration and wonder knowing he's working in two languages.

I'd like to end this remarkable interview with two of my favorite poems. The first can be found in Poems to Dream Together / Poemas Para Sonar Juntos. The second can be found in From the Bellybutton of the Moon and Other Summer Poems / Del Ombligo de la Luna: Y Otros Poemas de Verano.

In My Dreams buffaloes roam free once again on the plains whales become opera singers of the sea dolphins are admired by all for their smarts and joy in my dreams there is no word for "war" all humans and all living beings come together as one big family of the Earth	En Mis Suénos los búfalos rondan por las praderas libres otra vez las ballenas se vuelven cantantes de ópera del mar los delfines son admirados por todos por su ingenio y alegria en mis sueños no hay una palabra para "guerra" todos los humanos y todos los seres vivientes se juntan como una gran familia de la Tierra
Ode to My Shoes my shoes rest all night under my bed tired they stretch and loosen their laces wide open they fall asleep and dream of walking they revisit the places they went to during the day and wake up cheerful relaxed so soft	Oda a mis zapatos mis zapatos descansan toda la noche bajo mi cama cansados se estiran se aflojan las cintas muy anchose se duermen y sueñan con andar recorren los lugares adonde fueron en el día y amanecen contentos relajados suavecitos

All poems ©Francisco X. Alarcón. All rights reserved.

To learn more about Francisco, visit these sites.

• Video interview with ¡Colorín Colorado!
• Becoming Bilingual: Read Together with Francisco Alarcón (Be sure to watch the video clip!)

Godspeed, Francisco. You will be missed.

Poetry Friday - Sandburg's Snow

Schools here are closed for a preemptive snow day. It doesn't look bad yet, but we are hunkered down for the weekend and hoping we don't lose power.

Today I'm sharing a poem from the book Smoke and Steel (1922) by Carl Sandburg.

VIII. Circles of Doors
4. Snow

SNOW took us away from the smoke valleys into white mountains, we saw velvet blue cows eating a vermillion grass and they gave us a pink milk.

Snow changes our bones into fog streamers caught by the wind and spelled into many dances.

Six bits for a sniff of snow in the old days bought us bubbles beautiful to forget floating long arm women across sunny autumn hills.

Our bones cry and cry, no let-up, cry their telegrams:
More, more—a yen is on, a long yen and God only knows when it will end.      

In the old days six bits got us snow and stopped the yen—now the government says: No, no, when our bones cry their telegrams: More, more.

The blue cows are dying, no more pink milk, no more floating long arm women, the hills are empty—us for the smoke valleys—sneeze and shiver and croak, you dopes—the government says: No, no.

*****
I do hope you'll take some time today to check out all the wonderful poetic things being shared and collected by Tara Smith as A Teaching Life. Happy poetry Friday friends!

Monday Poetry Stretch - Prefix Poem

Long ago I read a post at the blog How A Poem Happens. In it, poet Idra Novey shared her poem Trans and described its creation. In the poem she used the prefix trans- as the title of her poem and created sections that begin -late, -gress, -mogrify, -form, and -scend.

I love the idea of taking a prefix and using it to form a series of words, each their own piece of a whole. If you need help generating a possible word list, try More Words. Enter your prefix or word of choice and click search for words. Scroll down the page (past the definitions) until you find the link for list all words starting with __. You'll find this a helpful tool. 

So, there's your challenge for the week. I hope you'll join me in writing a prefix poem. Please share a link to your poem or the poem itself in the comments.

Monday Poetry Stretch - Rime Couée

The rime couée is a French poetic form, written as an number of sestets. The poem begins with an eight syllable rhyming couplet, followed by a six syllable line, another eight syllable rhyming couplet, and a final six syllable line. Some list the rhyme scheme as aabaab, ccdccd, etc. Others suggest the rhyme scheme is aabccb, ddeffe etc. Choose the one that works for you!

You can read more about this form at Poetry Magnum Opus and The Poets Garret.

So, there's your challenge for the week. I hope you'll join me in writing a rime couée. Please share a link to your poem or the poem itself in the comments.

Poetry Friday Post Two - Crown Sonnet Concluded

Welcome back! If you haven't been following the crown or have come here directly from the Poetry Friday roundup, do jump over to Laura Purdie Salas's blog where this crown started and then follow the bread crumbs through the blogosphere to each sonnet in the crown. If you do that, you'll end up right back here.

The sixth sonnet in the crown was written by Tanita Davis. She left me with a bit of magic and alchemy to wrestle with. And remember, since this is the last sonnet in the crown, I also needed to end with Laura's first line. Here is the final sonnet in the crown.

A weapons grade plutonium ring by Los Alamos National Laboratory 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Plutonium_ring.jpg

Our mettle tested, move from lead to gold

primordial, decaying and man-made

the final row includes the hard-to-hold

radioactive elements arrayed

Most form inside a nuclear playground 

where subatomic particles collide 

synthetics known for scientists renowned

forever by their names identified

A few were given form before the Earth

from ancient supernova residue,

Uranium, Plutonium give birth 

to energy and bombs--I wish we knew  

Pandora’s box we hold now, God forbid.

The world escapes when we unhinge the lid.

**Time out for a bit of science - If you've been following the news, you'll recognize that this last sonnet is about the now complete 7th period of the table. The four new elements “discovered” were, in fact, synthesized in a lab. Actually, all the elements from 95 to 118 are synthetic. Once formed they very quickly decay into simpler elements.

I hope you'll take some time to go back and read once more the contributions of each poet. Here is where you'll find the posts by each participant in the crown, in the order they were written.

• Laura Purdie Salas
• Me!
• Sara Lewis Holmes
• Kelly Fineman
• Liz Garton Scanlon
• Tanita Davis
• Me! (this post)

Finally, and at the prodding of my sisters, I am sharing the full crown here.

The Poetic Table of Elements

I.

The world escapes when we unhinge the lid

that traps all elements inside a chart

When science won't stay tethered to the grid,

our only hope is knowledge tamed by heart

One proton—One electron orbits round

a simple element: first row, first place

When hydrogen ignites, we are unbound

from earth--a rocket blazes into space

But what results? What comes from being first

Solutions for our planet's fragile life? 

A cancer beat? Malignancy reversed?  

Or data, fused and used, a sharp-edged knife?

Each element, an elegant, sharp key

Will science break us down or set us free?

II.

Will science break us down or set us free?

What bonds secure us here in time and space?

What kryptonite of mind and heart will be,

the downfall of the species and our race?

But all’s not lost if we exploit the chart

manipulating valencies to make

new cures, bold applications, works of art,

in mankind’s quest to keep the world awake

So row by row assembled pure and raw

our lives, our earth composed of bits that spark

organic forms, the very breath we draw

all wrought from heat, from cold, from light and dark

Row 2 gives form to charcoal, diamonds, steel

what other treasures will the chart reveal?

III.

What other treasures will the chart reveal,

in double-lettered gilded boxes, fine

as Portia faced? AR has sex appeal,

I think, and choose my fate by noble shine.

A lilac glow when placed in voltage fields!

A barrier, so wine may age sans air!

Unseen, from dust, our Constitution, shields!

Argon, you worthy prince! you mighty heir—

You cheat. Hypoxic in the blood, you dope

to win; and ew! you asphyxiate, too—

a “kinder” end to fowl. “Inactive”? NOPE.

Those who search for matter (dark) target you.

Still, even the unstable can excite

A science lover, choosing in the night.

IV.

A science lover, choosing in the night

to ponder periodic elements

that cross the bounds of fields of study might

do well to mine fourth row intelligence.

The first row with transition metals, it

is last with elements completely stable.

Though some are poisonous — like arsenic —

radioactivity is down the table.

These minerals derived from the earth’s core,

compose the human body. With their aid,

one can work jewelry, craft circuit boards,

make stainless steel and artificial legs.

So much depends on calcium—like bone—

It’s odd to think it’s metal, and not stone.

V.

It’s odd to think it’s metal, and not stone

that we bite down on, gnash and grind at night.

Fine silver mixed with tin, its pauper clone,

alloyed with other charms to fend off blight. 

The way these chemicals transist, set in --

you’d never know they weren’t a part of us.

Perhaps they are as native as our sins

the framework for our aches, the messy truss.

Rubidium -- are we made up of you?

And cadmium and antimony too?

Unstable ores that blow the earth askew 

so there’s no fault, no consequence undue.

But what if we own up, apologize:

Don’t blame the elements for our demise.

VI.

Don't blame the elements for our demise.

What doesn't kill us - staid in chemist's hands,

Transformed through science into health's allies -

Will strengthen, if the cure we can withstand.

We scientists approaching this sixth row

Both toxic radon and earth magnets find.

Radiant metals, some with half-life glow

Can manufacture health for humankind.

The intellect, that bright quick silver streak

Of those who sought the elements to tame

Theory to fact, persistence scales the peak

Of ignorance, lends wings to wisdom's flame

so heirs of strength, persist in courage bold

our mettle tested, move from lead to gold.

VII.

Our mettle tested, move from lead to gold

primordial, decaying and man-made

the final row includes the hard-to-hold

radioactive elements arrayed

Most form inside a nuclear playground 

where subatomic particles collide 

synthetics known for scientists renowned

forever by their names identified

A few were given form before the Earth

from ancient supernova residue,

Uranium, Plutonium give birth 

to energy and bombs--I wish we knew  

Pandora’s box we hold now, God forbid.

The world escapes when we unhinge the lid.

I can't begin to tell you how much fun this year of writing has been, and capping it off with a crown has been such a treat. Perhaps most exciting is that even though the year has ended, we've all signed on to continue this crazy adventure. Thank you, my sisters, for one of the best birthday gifts ever.

I do hope you'll take some time today to check out all the wonderful poetic things being shared and collected by Tabatha Yeatts at The Opposite of Indifference. Happy poetry Friday friends!

Poetry Friday Post 1 - Crown Sonnet Second Poem

My poetry sisters and I are wrapping up our year of writing with a crown sonnet. This particular project holds a special place in my heart because the very first sonnet I ever wrote was because I was invited to participate in the first crown project with this group. All these years later, I'm still energized, excited, humbled, and honored to work with these women. I'll also admit to being just a bit giddy over the topic of the crown. I never imagined my sisters would choose the periodic table!

The first sonnet in the crown was written by Laura Purdie Salas. She kicked things off beautifully and left me a terrific final line to begin with. Without further ado, here is the second sonnet in the crown.

Rough Diamond by USGS Employee

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ARough_diamond.jpg

Will science break us down or set us free?
What bonds secure us here in time and space?
What kryptonite of mind and heart will be,
the downfall of the species and our race?

But all’s not lost if we exploit the chart
manipulating valencies to make
new cures, bold applications, works of art,
in mankind’s quest to keep the world awake

So row by row assembled pure and raw
our lives, our earth composed of bits that spark
organic forms, the very breath we draw
all wrought from heat, from cold, from light and dark

Row 2 gives form to charcoal, diamonds, steel
what other treasures will the chart reveal?

Sara Lewis Holmes took over from here. I hope you'll head to her blog next to see where this goes!

I'll not conclude my Poetry Friday contribution yet, as you'll circle back around to me when this thing comes to a conclusion. I hope to see you back here soon!

Monday Poetry Stretch - Iroha Mojigusari

Iroha mojigusari is a Japanese form of an abecedarian poem. Here's how it is defined in A Poet's Glossary by Edward Hirsch.

The Japanese iroha mojigusari (literally “character chain”) is a specialized version of the abecedarian.The first letter of the alphabet kicks off the first line and the second letter of the alphabet concludes it. The third letter starts the second line and the fourth letter finishes it. This continues until all the letters of the alphabet have been used in order.

While working on this I found that finding words ending in specific letters to be difficult. Try wordHippo for help with this. Under select option choose "words ending with" and search for the letter you need. You'll find it brings up a helpful list of words.

So, there's your challenge for the week. I hope you'll join me in writing an iroha mojigusari. Please share a link to your poem or the poem itself in the comments.

Poetry Friday - Fra Giovanni's Letter To a Friend

Fra Giovanni Giocondo was a priest, scholar, architect, and teacher. You can read more about this renaissance man at the Catholic Encyclopedia. This letter was written to his friend, Countess Allagia Aldobrandeschi, on Christmas Eve, 1513.

Letter Written by Fra Giovanni

I salute you. I am your friend, and my love for you goes deep. There is nothing I can give you which you have not. But there is much, very much, that, while I cannot give it, you can take. No heaven can come to us unless our hearts find rest in it today. Take heaven! No peace lies in the future which is not hidden in this present little instant. Take peace! The gloom of the world is but a shadow. Behind it, yet within our reach, is joy. There is radiance and glory in darkness, could we but see. And to see, we have only to look. I beseech you to look!

Life is so generous a giver. But we, judging its gifts by their covering, cast them away as ugly or heavy or hard. Remove the covering, and you will find beneath it a living splendor, woven of love by wisdom, with power. Welcome it, grasp it, and you touch the angel’s hand that brings it to you. Everything we call a trial, a sorrow or a duty, believe me, that angel’s hand is there. The gift is there and the wonder of an overshadowing presence. Your joys, too, be not content with them as joys. They, too, conceal diviner gifts.

Life is so full of meaning and purpose, so full of beauty beneath its covering, that you will find earth but cloaks your heaven. Courage then to claim it; that is all! But courage you have, and the knowledge that we are pilgrims together, wending through unknown country home.

And so, at this time, I greet you, not quite as the world sends greetings, but with profound esteem and with the prayer that for you, now and forever, the day breaks and shadows flee away.

This is the version of the letter I've been acquainted with for some time. Bartleby has a similar version of the letter with this interesting note.

The British Museum stated in 1970 that it had “proved impossible” to identify Fra Giovanni, the purported author of this letter. This was published, probably in the 1930s, “with Christmas Greetings” from Greville MacDonald, son of novelist George MacDonald, and Mary MacDonald.

You can find an excerpt of this letter in a beautiful print in the form of an illuminated manuscript at Prose and Letters.

I do hope you'll take some time this weekend to check out all the wonderful poetic things being shared and collected by Mary Lee at A Year of Reading. Happy new year to all and happy poetry Friday friends!