It’s Poetry Friday and, in the midst of writing and talking and thinking about my new book baby, I’ve also been thinking about the poems that lead me to love poetry. I spent a lovely afternoon rediscovering my favourite childhood collection, and decided to share a few, and why they appealed to me.
You can find each of these poems, which are in the public domain, online:
The Purple Cow, by Gellet Burgess
Eletelephony (which I am sure I mispronounce in the video) by Laura Elizabeth Richards and
Forgiven, by A. A. Milne
There are so many more wonderful poems in this treasured collection that I would have loved to share, and perhaps will in future. There is something warm and comforting about poems from childhood. It isn’t just the words or the rhythms, it’s the physical sensation of the memories they invoke.
What poems do you remember loving as a child that have stayed with you?
And, speaking of warm and comforting, there are choc chip cookies on offer at Jama’s blog, where she’s hosting the the Poetry Friday roundup, with find links to loads more poetry goodies.
My introduction to poetry was through my mother with CJ Dennis and AA Milne.
CJ Dennis I loved The Triantiwontigongolope and Hist.
From AA milne it was Halfway down the stairs and so many others I can’t list them all.
Such a treat to listen to you share some favorite childhood poems! I also enjoyed the memory you sparked of hours spent with my siblings pouring over Encyclopedia Britannica and World Book Encyclopedia. I especially enjoyed the introduction to “Forgiven” and love the voice of the narrator! Poor Nanny must have gotten quite a scolding!
Thank you Molly. Encyclopedias provided so much fun, didn’t they?
Oh that brings back some memories, Sally. Especially especially the beetle! Loved it, too! (I confess, growing up on a dairy>beef farm, I didn’t share your fascination for the purple cow! That was too much of a stretch for me.?) Yet I did love the silliness of the Eletelephony. Such fun!
Glad to take you down memory lane, Kat. Thanks for dropping in.
We too had a Compton’s Encyclopedia set that my brother and I both made our way through, but it didn’t have a poetry volume! I knew all the ones you chose as a child and had PLENTY of A.A. Milne to shape me as a poet. Aren’t we impressionable when we’re little? Thanks for a fun post!
Encyclopedias were just magical, weren’t they? And Milne’s work just pure joy.
I don’t really remember any poems from childhood. As a teen, I copied out and pondered song lyrics as poetry. That’s about it!
Laura that’s really interesting that a fine poet like yourself doesn’t have those childhood experiences. How wonderful that your inner poet came out anyway!
The childhood favorite poem that immediately comes to mind (along with that Purple Cow!) is Who Has Seen the Wind? by Christina Rossetti. What a fun blast from the past!
Oh yes Mary Lee. Another favourite!
I am immediately visited by the words of Dusty Springfield’s song, Going Back –
‘I think I’m goin’ back
To the things I learned so well in my youth…’
Thank you for taking us on this journey. I recall these poems too. Great choices. I am encouraged to do a bit of rummaging in the next week, so thankyou Sally for sparking my curiosity.
Thanks Alan. And now I’m singing with you. I am interested to see the results of your rummaging.
Ooh, good question. I loved fairy tales to start and then in high school the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám And anything Yeatts.
Yes! Both of those were in my highschool list, too. I was thinking I might do high school poems in a future post.
Hi, Sally. It’s so much fun to see you with your special book. Robert Louis Stevenson’s A Child’s Garden of Verses is the book I remember sitting with and poring over. “The Swing” is still a really important poem for me today. “Eletelephony” — yes!! What’s not to like?
Laura I also loved the Child’s Garden of Verses and tracked down a copy a few years ago. But half of my poetry books are in my office at my day job, and I haven’t been there for six weeks, so am missing it.
Loved hearing you read these, Sally. Childhood poems are especially comforting these days. I remember loving the second poem and reading it to myself over and over. The wordplay was amazing to me. The Milne poem is new to me; I can see why it appealed to you. The childlike POV is spot on. The poem that has stayed with me since childhood is “My Shadow” by RL Stevenson. It was probably the first poem I loved enough to memorize. 🙂
Ooh Jama. My Shadow is another I love – and was one I marked but missed the final cut for the video. Maybe next week!
I have always loved the first two poems, but the third was new to me and so much fun to read. Milne really knew children.
Thanks Janice. A few people have said they loved Milne but hadn’t heard that particular poem before. Interesting – I wonder where it was published, other than in my collection.
Sally, these are delightful poems that my little granddaughters would love hearing. Thanks for sharing and keep those videos coming.
Thank you Carol – and thanks for always being so supportive!
I loved hearing you read your fave childhood poems! As for my first memory of poetry being shared with me was when my 4th grade teacher brought in a brand new book to share with us. It was A Light In the attic. Wow, did I love hearing my teacher read those poems! I fell in love with poetry in 1982!
Thanks Amy. And what a wonderful collection to fall in love with too!
Wonderful ‘hearing’ you, Sally, & I grew up with the first two poems, too, had some Childcraft, though I don’t remember the poetry one. The Milne poem is new to me & I love others by him. What fun! I know “Purple Cow” because my grandmother read it & I have a ceramic one she gave to me long ago. One favorite that I still know & remember is a nursery rhyme that I loved saying aloud & then teaching to my own children too: “Moses Supposes His Toeses are Roses” – Thanks for the post of good memories!
Thanks Linda. I’m jealous that you own a purple cow! And the Moses rhyme is one I didn’t come across in my childhood so I’m off to find it now.
I’ve been looking through old anthologies too. I don’t actually think my parents gave me much poetry, but I gave my kids a lot and those are the ones I savor with a good dose of nostalgia.
Liz I’m sad you didn’t have it in your childhood, but how wonderful that you gave it to your own children.
Good Morning, Sally!
What an intriguing question. So many poems that I loved as a child….possibly ‘The Owl and the Pussycat’ is my favorite. I was SUCH a sensitive child. Adults were always trying to humor me and get me to “live a little.” Ha ha! They just didn’t know I was waiting for all the glories of poetry. But, I found them. I’m off to think on your question. It’s a wonderful question for all ages.
Thanks Linda. I loved The Owl and the pussycat too. And when I read it I can hear my mother’s voice reading it too.