Book cover designed by Walter Crane for A Masque of Days by Charles Lamb.
Tread gently and stay for a while The crisp summer air beckons Emerald trees tip their branches Swaying leaves give a nod Hear the birdsong in the breeze Sunkissed glades, always serene Look around you, notice the pace It’s tender, slow, in a lazy way
We pursue and embrace chaos The hustle and hassle of our days Sleepless, hopeless, washed away Riding a storm, dropped like debris A wild goose chase; always in a hurry Our souls are tired; we know it all The entire futility, yet we cannot Tread gently and come to a halt
Today, I wrap them up, Tuck them away in a corner The worry and weight I carried I shove them aside Now, I seek to return to words That aspire to be heard
They tore out the letters Wriggling on my lips – These troublesome thoughts They snuck into my space Where the poetry should live With the stories craving to be
I am ready to reclaim my peace Banish the darkness With whatever spell it takes, To let the ink not run dry And creativity to burst forth Like molten sparks from my core.
Book cover designed by Thomas Watson Ball for Gilian, the Dreamer, His Fancy, His Love and Adventure by Neil Munro.
The dried twig that lay still At my doorstep is not dead yet It has sprouted green wings; The cracks in the sidewalk May hide magical abodes For I spied tendrils of a beanstalk.
Burdened by daily chores It takes a moment to see Hope arrives in the strangest ways In a message bottle, Washed ashore Or in a heart, Just weary of being sore.
Poetry inspired by the book cover designed by Thomas Watson Ball for Gilian, the Dreamer, His Fancy, His Love and Adventure by Neil Munro. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1899.
Today is Day 1 of the National (also Global) Poem Writing Month of 2023. This implies challenging oneself to write poems and verses daily for 30 days. So, as I kick off day 1 on my blog, here is the official NaPoWriMo site link and also the prompt inspiration they provide. I am hoping to cover all of these book cover designs during this challenge.
And here’s our own prompt (optional, as always) for the first day of Na/GloPoWriMo. They say you can’t judge a book by its cover, but they never said you can’t try to write a poem based on a book cover — and that’s your challenge for today! Take a look through Public Domain Review’s article on “The Art of Book Covers.”
A fascinating read for those A research-based discourse on why youngsters prefer to be single and the impact it has on our social and economic fabric.
The Age of Single is a fascinating social commentary backed by historical and literary facts. The text is supported by graphs and tables and embellished with relevant images. Author Eitan Lee has encapsulated a vast array of research. Single, as a term, in this book refers to individuals unattached by the legalities of matrimony. A single person may be in a relationship or cohabiting but not married.
The contemporary phenomenon of singledom is not as modern as we may think; Lee traces its origins to the “free love” movement of the 1960s. In the background of the Vietnam war and the rise of capitalism, the Hippie movement was breaking all forms of social impositions. The current times are no less different with a multitude of issues defining our social, economic, and ethical priorities.
The Age of Single aims to understand why youngsters are choosing to be single and what it implies on a psychological and economic level. Is “being single” the epitome of happiness, with its promise of independence and free will? Or, “singlism” and emotional complexities make “singledom” not a fairy tale that we assume it to be? The intricate nuances of the relationship status – Single – are brought out in detail in this book through quotes from social media, books, and research papers.
Lee talks about the role of feminist writers like Virginia Woolfe, Helen Gurley Brown, Judith Butler, and classic novels in stoking the independence streak in women and the definition of gender in our times. This book draws up nuggets of social revolution history to trace how we reached where we are today. It talks about the new gender identities and “new gender politics” in the “relationship terrain.”
And, does this trend of unattached relationships have any long-term consequences? Well, yes, it does as Lee continues to inform. From lowered birth rates and child-rearing to declining physical intimacy, “the age of single” is creating several consequences for the coming generation. “Waiting is the new secret norm.” Time slips away as we wait and the wait may be momentarily fulfilling but not necessarily brimming with happiness.
Lee’s book is a must-read for a range of audiences. From teachers and preachers to the young and their parents. Unless we understand the currents that are shaping the life of our youngsters, we can not have relevant conversations about “undoing gender” and “gender-fluidity”, along with the future of marriage as an institution. “In this new reality, we are facing a new range of relationship problems hardly known to previous generations.” I loved the book for its crisp narrative and meticulous writing. It is a breezy yet meaningful reference book.
Blue Pen Strokes 