Poetry Project - Pulitzer Prize Winners

I am doing well. I read most of another poetry collection! I will hopefully post the other half next Wednesday. The poems are from New Hampshire by Robert Frost. The collection won the Pulitzer in 1922. I was drawn to this collection because Nova Scotia is a lot like New Hampshire geography-wise and I thought I could easily relate to the poems. I was right!

'Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening'

Thoughts: Living in a place where snow is the norm I really liked this poem. I can picture the snow falling and having one of those moments where you just stop to watch. It is the darkest night of the year so that means the first day of winter. In those early days, at least for me, winter is still pretty. Then it drags on and people get depressed.

'The Grindstone'

Thoughts: Who knew someone could write an entire poem about something as simple as a grindstone. It harkens back to the olden days when things were simpler. There is a lot to say about the effort behind the times. Nowadays it wouldn't be as much fun to write a whole poem about the minor conveniences because they are so easy that there is not much to say about them.

'Fragmentary Blue'

Thoughts: A poem about the colour blue. What a wonderful idea! I have been a bit obsessed with the sky lately, since joining Instagram, and it has given me a new appreciation for a poem exactly of this nature. It is too short a poem to say much about it.

'Dust of Snow'

Thoughts: Another poem about snow that I can relate to entirely. It is a nice simple poem. I like it. It is again too short to say much about.

'The Runaway'

Thoughts: This is the poem about a young horse left out alone in the snow. It is amazing how Frost can take something that doesn't sound very interesting and make it interesting.

'For Once, Then, Something'

Thoughts: Another pretty poem. I like how it sort of builds up to end on a note that I enjoyed. This one is set during the nicer seasons and ends by saying: 'Truth? A pebble of quartz? For once, then, something'. You will have to read the whole poem to find out how it leads to that.

'To Earthward'

Thoughts: For starters, I really like the title of this poem. And then you read it, and you find you really like the beginning of the poem, and then you find yourself caught up in it and then you read it a couple more times. And then? You write a really horrible sentence about it, but believe you probably get the general idea across.

'A Brook in the City'

Thoughts: This poem makes me think of my hometown. I was there just recently and there were many things that I knew that had changed. There were ponds that were filled in, lakes that had new dams, etc. I knew they were there, but progress had changed things. In this poem it is a brook that has a city built up and eventually is filled in. The poem asks the question, though, whether it is still there hiding and keeping the city awake.

'Evening in a Sugar Orchard'

Thoughts: This is an example of why I liked this poem:

The sparks made no attempt to be the moon.
They were content to figure in the trees
As Leo, Orion, and the Pleiades.
And that was what the boughs were full of soon.

Need I say more?

'Misgiving'

Thoughts: I always find that Robert Frost captures the things we deal with everyday in a really nice way. I haven't read anything by him in years, but this has been a nice reminder. I think everyone has 'misgivings' and this poem captures that process very well.

'On a Tree Fallen Across a Road'

Thoughts: This poem is about exactly what it says. It is another example of something so simple that Frost turns into a pretty poem that is enjoyable to read. I have always loved trees and anything to do with them and was always fond of the fact that he talks about trees often in his poetry.

'The Need of Being Versed in Country Things'

Thoughts: I really liked this part of the poem:

Their murmur more like the sigh we sigh
From too much dwelling on what has been.

Isn't that a pretty way to capture something we are all guilty of at one time or another?

'I Will Sing You One-O'

Thoughts: This is the first poem I wasn't enamoured with. It isn't terrible and does have some good lines, but there are better poems in the collection.

'Fire and Ice'

Thoughts: This debate is going on still. I like his take on it. It should be called 'Fire or Ice'...

'To E.T.'

Thoughts: This poem is different from the others in the sense that instead of being about nature it is a letter of sorts to someone that died during WWI.

Don't forget that Mr. Linky is at Leslie's Blog this month. You can find it here. At that link you can also see some suggestions for what to read. There is still a week left! For those that are looking to plan ahead I will be hosting 'Classic poetry' next month.