At the Feet of Mr. Wilbur, Who Helps Me Journal

I mentioned my intention of studying this book of Richard Wilbur's poems.

I'm thoroughly enjoying the experience. For the first time in my life I'm studying literature I love, only for the pleasure of the study. I don't have to teach anyone, make a quiz, study sheet, or test. The pressure is removed, and I can relish the sheer excitement of deciphering his words. I'm annotating the book, and it will be a mess by the time I'm done.

 

It's difficult to pick any favorites. Wilbur forces me to research, to hunt up information on the sack of ancient Palmyra, for instance, or unearth some hardly-read lines from a poet named Thomas Beddoes. Otherwise, I won't understand what he's saying. The breadth of Wilbur's knowledge is thrilling, and I sit at his feet learning, a student again after 30 years. 

Excerpt from Beddoes' work, a short dirge upon Sibylla's death.
I had to add it beneath Wilbur's poem.

I've begun reading Tolkien's The Silmarillion again, and I painted a bookmark just for this book. I think I'll do that for all my books, as I read them.

locations from the map in the front of the book

I liked this photo of some containers with dried herbs in them, so I tried painting it. I wish I could do a sloppier, more vague painting style -- kind of a swoosh and dab effect. 

for the Autumn Journal

After I finished, I spilled a little of Adam's red ink on it, so it became a bright rose, front and center.

It's November in the Autumn Journal. I'm painting more pumpkins.

One down. Two to go.

I've enjoyed the Autumn Journal so much, Adam made me a Winter Journal.

stiff felt cover

pocket with blotting paper

Christmasy colors

I'll embroider a snowflake on the outside, as I did a gold leaf on the Autumn Journal.

I've thought of a name for this journal, which comes from a portion of a Richard Wilbur poem.

 

Lastly, I put my blog poems (find them all in the tab bar above, under poetry/short stories) into a small Adam Book also:

front of the book

back of the book

This would be so much silliness to most people, but Adam and I both love books and the written word. We were both literature majors, and both study God's word too. It all ties together. In our world, book-loving is an inexpensive habit, but so rewarding. 
Oh - Mr. Wilbur! Allow me to give you a few little tidbits of his, just lines that show his delightfully creative mind:

Speaking of abusive, vocal atheists, he says they "hurled terrible taunts at the vault, ripped down Jesus' banns and widowed the world."
(Ah! What a thought!)

Speaking of an angry sailor in a storm, he "hove an empty quart into the stomach of a wave."

And from a longer poem that is still sinking in, a description of the sea: "From powdery Palmyre, the tireless wind, braided by waves but cradling to this shore ...."

These are tiny, passing images and snippets of ideas that he sprinkles in his poems. The meatier things I'm still chewing on.