This Sunday is Father’s Day. No doubt you’ll read many saccharine accounts of fathers and what it means to be a parent and to be parented. But reality is not usually as sweet. Sometimes the people in our lives cannot be summed up with sentimentality. One of my favorite poems is This Be the Verse by Philip Larkin because it views parenting as flawed at best. Of course it is overly cynical. Nevertheless, there is much truth in this jaundiced view of parenting as imperfect and … [Read more...]
Starting again
Why, Hello! This site has been on hiatus for months now. I’ve been uninspired to post and uninspired in general. But I’m hoping to start again, especially as April is Poetry Month. Also, this year marks the ten-year anniversary of Solace in So Many Words. By submitting this photo, Laura Rodley provided the gentle nudge I needed. Thanks! Peace, love, and solace A frequent contributor to this site, Massachusetts poet Laura Rodley, is also … [Read more...]
Mother’s Day poem by Laura Rodley
It’s Mother’s Day weekend. Hope you have sunny weather ahead. How nice to open my email and receive this poem from Laura Rodley, the Massachusetts poet whose work is often featured here and in other places such as the New Verse News (where her poem Pushcart-winning poem Resurrection appeared in 2013). She is also a freelance writer for publications such as Country Folks. I can always count on her to give me something imagistic, evocative and full of feeling. These days … [Read more...]
No fooling. Yes poetry. Yeah Valentine.
I’m not much in the mood for jokes this April Fool’s Day. How about you? Today is also the beginning of National Poetry Month. I hope to share some poems later this month. In the meantime you can check out the Academy of American Poets to see ways you can celebrate poetry. It was back in early February when Massachusetts poet and journalist Laura Rodley sent me some photos. The one that spoke to me then is the one featured below (Tiny Little Houses in Gypsum, Colorado, … [Read more...]
September’s events and poetry
I can’t let the month of September go by without one post. So I’m sharing a photo from Laura Rodley with the hope that it inspires me to stay busy (as a beaver). Thank-you Laura for sending this photo! This month I continued to write and submit and my writers group (The Writers) started up. The Writers is looking for new members. So if you live in the Chicago area and can meet Wednesday mornings, think about applying. Let me know if you have questions. Also in September … [Read more...]
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