Some great poetry...and now onto Tolstoy

Thanks to everyone who helped out with and attended our poetry night. We all had a really, really great time! Shelley and Katie--your presentations were terrific! I think we all learned quite a big about poetry and about Cummings and Yeats that we didn't know before. I thought it was really fascinating--from the balloon man to the "heart's deep core" to "anyone's any was all to her." Love it! Thanks so much for opening up those poems to us. And Katie, the posterboard with illustrations?! Talk about amazing, girl! Plus, we all know it was a good night if tears were shed by more than our usuals. :) So thanks everyone for helping us have such a nice time.






And can I even say enough about the crepes? Although I didn't try the clear winner of the night, peanut butter and chocolate, I thought they were the perfect treat. Let's definitely have them again sometime.


Now onto November...


I hope all of you have had a chance to get started on Anna Karenina. It is a bear, but I think many of us are finding it more enjoyable and entertaining than we'd anticipated it being. It's no Twilight, but it's not one of those classics you trudge through and have to really be committed to reading. Plenty of late nights spent reading are going on already.


If you haven't gotten started yet, there's still time--particularly if you want to read an abridged version or listen to the audio book, as many of us are. Our book club meeting for Anna Karenina is scheduled for Nov. 6th at Amie Dunford's home. It's not very far away. There's a chance of pushing it back a bit if we need to, but let's try to have it done by the 6th if we can.


There's also some talk of having a movie night sometime after the meeting to watch one of the many film adaptations of the novel. That will also be something fun to look forward to.


Please let me know if you have any questions. Happy reading!

Poem Selections for Yeats

The Lake Isle of Innisfree

I WILL arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made:
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the mourning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight's all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet's wings.

I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart's core.


When You Are Old

WHEN you are old and gray and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;

How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;

And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face among a crowd of stars.

Poem Selections for cummings

anyone lived in a pretty how town
e.e. cummings

anyone lived in a pretty how town
(with up so floating many bells down)
spring summer autumn winter
he sang his didn't he danced his did

Women and men(both little and small)
cared for anyone not at all
they sowed their isn't they reaped their same
sun moon stars rain

children guessed(but only a few
and down they forgot as up they grew
autumn winter spring summer)
that noone loved him more by more

when by now and tree by leaf
she laughed his joy she cried his grief
bird by snow and stir by still
anyone's any was all to her

someones married their everyones
laughed their cryings and did their dance
(sleep wake hope and then)they
said their nevers they slept their dream

stars rain sun moon
(and only the snow can begin to explain
how children are apt to forget to remember
with up so floating many bells down)

one day anyone died i guess
(and noone stooped to kiss his face)
busy folk buried them side by side
little by little and was by was

all by all and deep by deep
and more by more they dream their sleep
noone and anyone earth by april
wish by spirit and if by yes.

Women and men(both dong and ding)
summer autumn winter spring
reaped their sowing and went their came
sun moon stars rain


in just-
e e cummings

in Just-
spring when the world is mud-
luscious the little
lame balloonman

whistles far and wee

and eddieandbill come
running from marbles and
piracies and it's
spring

when the world is puddle-wonderful

the queer
old balloonman whistles
far and wee
and bettyandisbel come dancing

from hop-scotch and jump-rope and

it's
spring
and
the

goat-footed

balloonMan whistles
far
and
wee

(More excellent cummings poems can be found at http://www.theotherpages.org/poems/cumming1.html)

Book Schedule For the Next Six Months

October meeting--Two 20th century poets: e e cummings (America) and W. B. Yeats (Great Britain)

Thu, Oct. 9th at 7pm
Katie Hobbs's home

injust--Spring and anyone lived in a pretty how town by cummings
Discussion led by Shelley Graham

The Lake Isle of Innisfree and When You are Old by W. B. Yeats
Discussion led by Katie Hobbs

(Please feel free to bring any additional poems you'd like to share by these or other poets)


November meeting--Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

Thu, Nov. 6th at 7pm
Amie Dunford's house
Discussion led by Amie. You may choose to read an abridged or unabridged version, but you'll need to get cracking ASAP either way. The unabridged is about 800-900 pages and many abridged ones are still 400+! (This is why we're doing a simpler poetry month in October.)


No December meeting


January meeting--A Midwife's Tale by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

Thu, Jan. 8th at 7pm
No discussant or location yet. Volunteers? Suggestions?


February meeting--Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

Thu, Feb. 5th at 7pm
Location TBA (any volunteers?)
Discussion led by Amy Harris.


March meeting--Villette by Charlotte Bronte

Thu, Mar. 5th at 7pm
Margaret Morrison's house
Discussion led by Margaret. This book is Bronte's most autobiographical (moreso that Jane Eyre!). Should be good.

Our August Meeting--Breaking Dawn

Thanks to everyone who came and participated in our meeting for Breaking Dawn. It was sure a lot of fun--it's was great to hear everyone's opinions on how they liked the book. And thank goodness Nov. 21st is not too far away!

Thanks to Shauna for having us in our home and providing treats like the wonderful AB- and O+ beverages. Very nice. And to Lorene for putting together the fun and challenging quiz. Molly, your hidden obsession is now revealed! Also thanks to Lorene for the lovely red velvet wedding cake (did no one get a picture of that?!) and everyone else who helped provide refreshments. And thanks also to Amy H. and Nancy for these pictures. Enjoy!

What a beautiful and intelligent group of women!

Two of the night's littlest Breaking Dawn participants

OK, this picture is pretty funny. I don't know what it is I'm so emphatically telling Amy about, but she looks pretty interested and Johanna looks like she's not sure I'm a trustworthy source. This must have been during our discussion about Sarah Palin. (Yay for Palin power!)

Breaking Dawn

Hey everyone, after a long and busy and hot summer, I'm feeling about ready to get some cooler weather, read some good books, and chat endlessly with you about them and everything else under the sun. This month we'll be discussing (what else?) Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer. Did all of you hear that the Twilight movie's release date was moved up to Nov. 21st, Harry Potter VI's old release date? Whoo hoo!

Here's the information for this month's meeting:

When: Thursday, Sep. 4th @ 7pm

Where: Shauna Vess's house

1071 Glen Lane

Bishop

706-769-6322

What to bring: Lots of fun, delicious food for the group to enjoy, preferably that will go along with our lovely vampire/werewolf theme.

This will be a lot of fun--we want everyone to come! There are a lot of new people in the ward. Please feel free to come out, get to know us, and have a good time. We always have fun. And it's certainly not requisite that you've read and finished the book to be able to come. If there's someone new you'd like to invite who didn't get the email, please let them know. See you Thursday!

A very old Book Club meeting

Unfortunately, the pictures I have of Book Club events are very few and far between, but here's some pictures from a Book Club circa April 2005. I think we were discussing Killer Angels in Margaret Morrison's home. Addy Cagle (one of our members who now lives in Idaho) had made two cakes because we were saying goodbye to another member, Amber Rockwood, who moved to Marietta. Wow, how many of us have moved since then (and moved back again, in Sherry's case)!

Last Year's Twilight Party

Here are a few pictures from last year's Twilight series Book Club meeting. That was by far and away our biggest turnout for a meeting, like 25 women plus a few random babies, and we had a BLAST! Nancy Peterson let us invade her house and we had a great time debating the various merits of Edward versus Jacob. And Amie and Katie's respective "Edward" and "Jacob" shirts were just lovely.