November 1, 2011

New In November!

I wish all of you the best as we enter the month of November (Sheesh, where has 2011 gone?). Anyway, on this first day of a new month I'm kind of excited, for myself and for my literary blog, ProSe, to announce that I'm going to be starting two projects that I hope will be of interest to some of you. I have been thinking about both of these projects for a while, and have finally decided to roll them out.

Amherst College Archives
The first project I am introducing is going to be a weekly posting entitled the Dickinson Project, where I plan to feature a selected poem from among the nearly 1,800 poems that Emily Dickinson wrote, and then offer some thoughts and commentary associated with that poem. I also want to place Emily Dickinson and her poetry in the context of her time, and bring in some of the other arts and literature of her contemporaries. Emily Dickinson's poetry has always been very important to me, and I hope to be able to successfully share my love and enthusiasm for her poetry with all of you through this weekly feature.

The second writing project is also poetry-related, and will feature a weekly posting of one of Shakespeare's sonnets. I am going to start with Sonnet No. 1 and then, week-by-week, move through all 154 of them. Again, I hope to provide some interesting thoughts and/or commentary and related information in these postings. I am really looking forward to this project too, as I have yet to read each and every one of Shakespeare's sonnets. In fact, I'll wager that I've probably only read 25-30% of them, so this is going to be a wonderful new learning experience for me too.

I am hoping that both of these weekly features become somewhat of a signature item for ProSe over the next three or four years. Personally, I think it will be a great way for me to intellectually challenge myself and learn more about both of these literary giants, and be able to do something with my blog other than simply reviewing the books I happen to be reading. I am under no pretensions that I am doing anything remotely original with either of these projects, as I am quite sure that there are plenty of bloggers out there who've posted about Dickinson's poetry and Shakespeare's sonnets. That's okay! I really am doing this solely for my own gratification, and I am hoping that some of the rest of you may get some enjoyment from it too.

So, what do you think? Would you like the opportunity to learn more about the poetry of Dickinson and Shakespeare on a weekly basis here on ProSe? I hope so, because here it comes!

15 comments:

  1. I think this sounds great, Chris!! I ADORE Emily Dickinson. I've read many of her poems and own a volume of (some) of them. I'd love to hear your thoughts, and maybe some background on some of them. I might be reading a Dickinson biography at some point.

    A few of us are holding a (very casual) Transcendentalist Event later this month. Some people will be reading Dickinson. You're welcome to join in of course, and share your thoughts. :-)

    Shakespeare? He makes me laugh -- I adore his poems. I read all 154 sonnets in order earlier this year. It was a great project. I look forward to your thoughts. ;-D

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  2. Jillian, thanks for your terrific endorsement! And I actually do kind of owe you an "atta-girl" for inspiring me to do the Shakespeare sonnets. I remember how much you enjoyed reading them and decided I really needed to read each one of them too. I'm so glad to know that you'll be keeping an eye on both of these projects of mine. ;-) I will definitely plan on visiting with all of you 'Transcendentalists' too. Thanks for the tip! Cheers! Chris

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  3. I think this is a great idea! I'm always like 'oh, I don't really like poetry', but actually what I think I usually mean is that I don't understand it... So I always like hearing other people's thoughts on it, and I really love Emily Dickinson (I love Shakespeare too, but I've only really read his plays). So basically, yes. Exciting!

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  4. This is exciting news! After horrible experiences with poetry in both high school and college, I have started to read it again... slowly and with no great intellectual insight, just personal enjoyment. I'll look forward to your posts.

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  5. This sounds great! I am familiar with lots of the sonnets but not that familiar with Emily Dickinson's poetry, so I'll look forward to your posts :)

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  6. This sounds great - looking forward to it! More poetry for me to <3

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  7. I love this project of yours, Chris! I know I'll be looking forward to reading your thoughts on Shakespeare's sonnets. I've only ever read a hand full of them as part of our college curriculum. As for Dickinson....I think this one's goign to be new to me. I recall only studying one poem of hers, and I never really got into her at the time. I should like to see how I feel about her now. :D

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  8. Laura, JoAnn, Sam, Kate, and Risa--

    Awesome, Ladies! I'm so glad to hear from all of you that this sounds like something you'd be interested in too. You guys definitely set the bar pretty high for me too, I'm going to have to do my homework each week to make this fun and informative for all of us. I'm really looking forward to getting started.

    Thanks for stopping by and rooting me on! Cheers! Chris

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  9. Sounds like a great idea. I am sadly lacking in knowledge of poetry so it will be interesting to stop in and read your posts.

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  10. I love these new projects! I want to learn more about Dickinson but I have to be honest, I'm a little more excited for the Shakespeare stuff. Can't wait!

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  11. I'm looking forward to your Emily D. poetry weekly posting. Not so much the Shakespeare sonnets, though. If I remember correctly, I attempted to read them all back in high school when I received a complete 'unabridged' Shakespeare tome as a Christmas gift. Sadly, nothing stuck in the cracks and crannies of my dusty memory cupboard. At least with Emily, everything will be fresh and new and unknown.

    Thank you for taking the time to expose me (and others) to the joys of poetry.

    Jon

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  12. Very interested in your Emily Dickenson project, but it's the Shakespeare project that's the most exciting for me. I want to read Shakespeare's complete works, and possibly (slim chance) I might be finished with the plays by the end of the year. The poetry though, that's next year's task so I'll be following you with great interest. I struggle with Shakespeare, so I'll be glad to read your thoughts, I think they'll be most helpful :)

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  13. Your new projects sound wonderful. I look forward to reading your weekly posts. Emily Dickinson is truly an amazing poet.

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  14. These are wonderful projects. Dailylit.com has all of Dickinson's poems online in 447 installments. Maybe I will read one a day for a year or so.

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  15. I love your new projects! I look forward to following your journey. I have a few projects percolating for next year and would definitely like to find a way to include Shakespeare's sonnets. I've read three of his plays this year (though I didn't post on any of them) and it was my first experience with him since high school. I don't know why I avoided him for so long - turns out, I love Shakespeare!

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