Carry a Poem
16 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by TheLostBook from Edinburgh, Scotland United Kingdom on Thursday, February 25, 2010
The Carry a Poem book features Scots from all walks of life talking about the poems they carry with them, and why they mean so much.Back cover blurb:
People carry poems. In their heads, close to their hearts. They prop them on their desks, stick them on their walls, tuck them in their wallets, listen to them on their ipods.
Poems that mean something to them. Perhaps a poem helped them through a bad time. Perhaps a poem helps them to make sense of the world they live in. Perhaps a poem keeps them on track, reminds them of their dreams. Perhaps a poem just makes them laugh.
For whatever reason, they are carrying poems. Read their stories and the poems they carry. Then start looking for yours. And tell us about it at:
carrypoem.wordpress.com
There's also a Carry a Poem animation, which shows what happens when poetry escapes into the city!
Journal Entry 2 by TheLostBook from Edinburgh, Scotland United Kingdom on Thursday, February 25, 2010
We're going to start a bookring with this book. PM at any time to join (shipping info: 64pp, ~100g/4oz, 5mm thick).
Bookring now complete
1. Nell-Lu, UK (Int)
2. katrinat, UK (EU)
3. lucy-lemon, UK (EU)
4. house-elfdobby, UK (Int)
5. Simson-Shilitoe, France (EU)
6. Jujuks, Portugal (EU)
7. KiwiinEngland, Ireland (Int)
8. lils74, Nepal (Int)
9. debnance, USA (USA)
10. Megi53, USA (Int)
11. wildflower37, USA (Int)
12. Minerva101, Canada (Int)
13. Brookler, Canada (Int)
14. Bloedengel, Belgium (Int)
15. Smurphie, UK (Int)
Back to TheLostBook in Edinburgh
Please could you all do five things:
1. Make a quick journal entry when you receive the book.
2. Read and send on within four weeks - or make a journal entry to let us know how you're getting on if you need longer.
3. Make a journal entry when you've finished.
4. Use the cheapest method of shipping available.
5. Add a quotation from the poem you carry. When the book gets back here, it will be carrying even more poetry than when it started.
Bookring now complete
1. Nell-Lu, UK (Int)
2. katrinat, UK (EU)
3. lucy-lemon, UK (EU)
4. house-elfdobby, UK (Int)
5. Simson-Shilitoe, France (EU)
6. Jujuks, Portugal (EU)
7. KiwiinEngland, Ireland (Int)
8. lils74, Nepal (Int)
9. debnance, USA (USA)
10. Megi53, USA (Int)
11. wildflower37, USA (Int)
12. Minerva101, Canada (Int)
13. Brookler, Canada (Int)
14. Bloedengel, Belgium (Int)
15. Smurphie, UK (Int)
Back to TheLostBook in Edinburgh
Please could you all do five things:
1. Make a quick journal entry when you receive the book.
2. Read and send on within four weeks - or make a journal entry to let us know how you're getting on if you need longer.
3. Make a journal entry when you've finished.
4. Use the cheapest method of shipping available.
5. Add a quotation from the poem you carry. When the book gets back here, it will be carrying even more poetry than when it started.
Journal Entry 3 by TheLostBook at By mail / post / courier, By Mail/Post/Courier -- Controlled Releases on Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Released 14 yrs ago (4/13/2010 UTC) at By mail / post / courier, By Mail/Post/Courier -- Controlled Releases
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
This bookring is starting. We've enclosed a pack of blank Carry a Poem pocketcards so that everyone who participates can add their own poem to the package. It'd be great if you'd mention which poem you've picked in your JE, and tell us how you carry it (in your head, written in your diary, stuck to your fridge...).
I enjoyed this little book. The illustrations are fun, the poem selection is interesting and introduced me to some new poems, and people's stories about how and why they carry poems are fascinating.
I've been carrying a poem by Alden Nowlan since early February. It's one my Mum chose and I carry it in my heart as well as having it written on a card in my purse. The poem is "This is what I wanted to sign off with" and I've added a quotation to one of the Carry a Poem pocketcards so that it can travel with this book.
I have katrinat's address so will post this out today.
I've been carrying a poem by Alden Nowlan since early February. It's one my Mum chose and I carry it in my heart as well as having it written on a card in my purse. The poem is "This is what I wanted to sign off with" and I've added a quotation to one of the Carry a Poem pocketcards so that it can travel with this book.
I have katrinat's address so will post this out today.
This arrived today, look forward to reading through it and discovering some new poetry
What a great little book, there are a few poems which I'll be jotting down, I loved the stories more than the poems in many cases, it was greta to see why a poem was so important to someone. This book also reminded me that I love poetry but so rarely read it. Will be trying to make more of an effort in the future.
I added the whole (all two lines of it) of the Ezra Pound poem 'In a Station of the Metro' a poem which was jotted into my quotation pad when I first discovered it at uni, its since been jotted in countless places, stuck on to pin boards, used in cards that I have made etc.
I added the whole (all two lines of it) of the Ezra Pound poem 'In a Station of the Metro' a poem which was jotted into my quotation pad when I first discovered it at uni, its since been jotted in countless places, stuck on to pin boards, used in cards that I have made etc.
This arrived on Friday, but I've only just remembered to make a JE for it. I've had a quick flick through, but will be reading it properly this week. I love the poems that katrinat and Nell-Lu have chosen - In a Station of the Metro would probably have been my first choice too! I'll have to go and hunt through my diaries for something more obscure...
This was here when I got back from work today, thanks lucy-lemon - it looks great, and I just love the idea of the little cards! I see my favourite carry-along poem is in the book already, Warning by Jenny Joseph, so I'll choose another favourite to write on my card. Will pm Simson-Shillitoe straight away so I've got the address when I'm ready to send this one on. Can't wait to start it!
What a great little book, I really enjoyed all the poems inside it, some I'd not heard of, and the stories behind them. Loved the previous readers choices too ... my first choice, a poem that is always in my head, in my bag and pinned around the house is actually in the book - Warning by Jenny Joseph .... when I am an old lady I shall wear purple ... love it! Makes me feel rebellious! I've chosen another of my favourites to go on the card instead, Do Not Stand At My Grave and Weep (Anon or possibly not depending where you read). This poem has comforted me many times throught my life, and still does. I like to think of my mum and dad and absent friends being the soft stars that shine at night or the gentle autumn rain. Make me feel that they are still around.
Thanks for the opportunity to join this bookring. The book is packaged up now and ready to send on to the next person (got their address so it will go on Thursday).
Thanks for the opportunity to join this bookring. The book is packaged up now and ready to send on to the next person (got their address so it will go on Thursday).
Popped this in the post this afternoon, air mail, to Simson-Shilitoe. Thanks for organising this, it was fun!
Journal Entry 11 by Simson-Shilitoe at Neewiller-près-Lauterbourg, Alsace France on Monday, June 7, 2010
The book has arrived safely in the afternoon. At the moment I am reading "The Hound of the Baskervilles" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, a bookring started by "lucy-lemon". I hope to start with "Carry a poem" this week, reading it step-by-step.
Thank you "house-elfdobby" for posting and the nice picture-postcard from Kegworth.
Thank you "The Lost Book" for sharing.
Thank you "house-elfdobby" for posting and the nice picture-postcard from Kegworth.
Thank you "The Lost Book" for sharing.
Journal Entry 12 by Simson-Shilitoe at Neewiller-près-Lauterbourg, Alsace France on Thursday, June 24, 2010
I enjoyed this little book. But language and dialect was sometimes difficult to understand. And here is a poem written by Heinz Erhardt a famous German Comedian of the 1950s and 1960s.In nur vier Zeilen etwas zu sagen
erscheint zwar leicht doch ist es schwer,
man braucht ja nur mal nachzuschlagen,
die meisten Dichter brauchten mehr ....
Translated in English language it should be:
To say something in only four lines
seems to be easy but is difficult.
Have a look at literature
most of the poets need more lines ....
Will post this book to Portugal on Saturday (26.06.2010). Happy reading!
This book arrived a while ago but as I've only arrived home yesterday I haven't had a chance to read it yet. I'll start on it as soon as possible. Thanks for sending it!
This was a very cute book and I enjoyed reading it. I'm no good at understanding what the writer meant to write when he wrote the poems but I find my own meaning in them and that's what I love about poetry.
I've been carrying a poem written by Edmund Vance Cooke since a while back when my best friend sent it to me when I was feeling down.
I'll send the book out this week.
I've been carrying a poem written by Edmund Vance Cooke since a while back when my best friend sent it to me when I was feeling down.
I'll send the book out this week.
On it's way to Ireland.
Wow, less than two days to get from Portugal to Ireland - that's outstanding. Thanks for sending this on Jujuks, and to TheLostBook for starting the ring.
I liked the size and dynamic illustrations of this book, it really made poetry look exciting. Most of the poems I really enjoyed, including the computers christmas card and "in the beginning was the word".
I'm adding a bit of "The Raven" by Poe - as soon as I hear the words of this poem I can feel the chill in the air and the atmosphere of tension.
I'm adding a bit of "The Raven" by Poe - as soon as I hear the words of this poem I can feel the chill in the air and the atmosphere of tension.
Journal Entry 19 by kiwiinengland at Manchester, Greater Manchester United Kingdom on Thursday, September 9, 2010
Released 13 yrs ago (9/10/2010 UTC) at Manchester, Greater Manchester United Kingdom
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
This is being posted to the next on the list, surface mail via Royal post.
Journal Entry 20 by lils74 at Kathmandu, Bagmati (incl. Kathmandu Valley) Nepal on Tuesday, September 21, 2010
This came in the post today--and I've already read half of it, though I want to read many of the poems of again already; I love poetry and this is such a wonderful read. I'm especially enjoying the stories behind the choice of poems, and I look forward to reading through all the JEs as well, and adding one of my own! More later.
Journal Entry 21 by lils74 at Kathmandu, Bagmati (incl. Kathmandu Valley) Nepal on Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Mailed this out day before yesterday, so it's on its way again! The poem I added was a short one by Edna St Vincent Millay--I wanted to include one of her longer ones (Sonnet XXX) but didn't have the room!
Thanks again for including me in this ring; I enjoyed the book a lot and got some new poems copied into my personal poetry journal!
Thanks again for including me in this ring; I enjoyed the book a lot and got some new poems copied into my personal poetry journal!
It was so amazing to see a package sitting on my kitchen table with a postmark from NEPAL! Delightful.
Ah. And inside...Carry a Poem! Delightful.
Now I'll read the book and choose a favorite (what to choose? what to choose??) to put on my card.
More later....
Ah. And inside...Carry a Poem! Delightful.
Now I'll read the book and choose a favorite (what to choose? what to choose??) to put on my card.
More later....
Reading in the book, I came across one I love and had considered adding to the cards..."Sunlight on the Garden"....
I hate to let this book go. I liked it very much. Here are a few poems I loved and plan to add to my Favorite Poems list: "The Place Where We Are Right" by Yehuda Amichai; "Prayer" by Carol Ann Duffy; "The Computer's First Christmas Card" by Edwin Morgan; and "Where Go the Boats" by Robert Louis Stevenson.
I'll be mailing this off to Virginia on Friday. I skipped the next BCer for now as I never heard from her.
I'll be mailing this off to Virginia on Friday. I skipped the next BCer for now as I never heard from her.
How wonderful! The envelope covered with little green trees, the confetti-like cover image (it has much more contrast IRL than in the representation here), the blue-splotched little notecards in plastic pages for readers' own favorites ... I'm looking forward to indulging in this experience as soon as the Thanksgiving festivities wind down.
My chosen poem will probably be "Lovers of the Poor" by Gwendolyn Brooks.
My chosen poem will probably be "Lovers of the Poor" by Gwendolyn Brooks.
I especially enjoyed the idea behind this and its design by Emily Isles.
My favorite poems here were "The Ice-Cream Man" by Michael Longley, "The Puddock" by John M. Caie, and "Prayer" by Carol Ann Duffy.
The card I wrote on contains the "old old old" stanza from Brooks' "Lovers of the Poor". Poems (and books; fiction or nonfiction) about well-worn houses always appeal to me: "Tavern" by Edna St. Vincent Millay and "An Old Woman of the Roads" by Padraic Colum are other verses I might well carry with me in the near future.
Editing to say that I reread the journal entries above mine and ::oops:: I forgot to say where I carry "Lovers of the Poor". It's in my desk at work. And by the way, thanks for translating your poem, Simson-Shilitoe.
wildflower37 was skipped due to not receiving PMs, so I am adding her back into the lineup at debnance's request. Thank you for mailing to Canada, wildflower!
My favorite poems here were "The Ice-Cream Man" by Michael Longley, "The Puddock" by John M. Caie, and "Prayer" by Carol Ann Duffy.
The card I wrote on contains the "old old old" stanza from Brooks' "Lovers of the Poor". Poems (and books; fiction or nonfiction) about well-worn houses always appeal to me: "Tavern" by Edna St. Vincent Millay and "An Old Woman of the Roads" by Padraic Colum are other verses I might well carry with me in the near future.
Editing to say that I reread the journal entries above mine and ::oops:: I forgot to say where I carry "Lovers of the Poor". It's in my desk at work. And by the way, thanks for translating your poem, Simson-Shilitoe.
wildflower37 was skipped due to not receiving PMs, so I am adding her back into the lineup at debnance's request. Thank you for mailing to Canada, wildflower!
Mailed to New Jersey.
Thank you for getting me back in the book ring for this book - I am sorry I missed PMs earlier in the ring. I am especially glad now that I have received this book. It looks so inviting, and the JEs are great and personal...I already know which poem (excerpt) I will add as I have a poem poster near my desk at work. More on that later. Thank you!
I love the idea of this book and enjoyed the vignettes and poems. It was lovely to read so many Scottish names and references - it helps broaden my American view of poetry. I am so delighted to have received this!
There are several poems I have posted at my desk at work and a new one I have just started carrying around.
One of my favorites, which is too long for the enclosed cards, is "Ordinary Day" by Barbara Crooker. I am adding the link here in case you are interested. http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php?date=2004/09/09
But i have decided to add my newest "carry around" poem with me. It is an excerpt from T S Eliot's Four Quartets: East Croker. These words are very comforting to me right now as I struggle with loss and illness in my family, especially at this dark time around the Winter Solstice.
"I said to my soul, be still, and wait without hope
For hope would be to hope for the wrong thing; wait without love,
For love would be love of the wrong thing; yet there is faith
But the faith and the love and the hope are all in the waiting.
Wait without thought, for you are not ready for thought:
So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing."
Will contact next BCer today.
There are several poems I have posted at my desk at work and a new one I have just started carrying around.
One of my favorites, which is too long for the enclosed cards, is "Ordinary Day" by Barbara Crooker. I am adding the link here in case you are interested. http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php?date=2004/09/09
But i have decided to add my newest "carry around" poem with me. It is an excerpt from T S Eliot's Four Quartets: East Croker. These words are very comforting to me right now as I struggle with loss and illness in my family, especially at this dark time around the Winter Solstice.
"I said to my soul, be still, and wait without hope
For hope would be to hope for the wrong thing; wait without love,
For love would be love of the wrong thing; yet there is faith
But the faith and the love and the hope are all in the waiting.
Wait without thought, for you are not ready for thought:
So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing."
Will contact next BCer today.
Journal Entry 30 by wildflower37 at -- BookRing, -- By post or by hand/ in person -- USA on Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Released 13 yrs ago (12/28/2010 UTC) at -- BookRing, -- By post or by hand/ in person -- USA
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
Mailed today. Enjoy!
This book arrived safely during the week sometime while I was out of town. It`s neat to look at all the poems the participants have included so far. I will PM the next participant and get this book moving along again in the next week. Thanks :)
EEEEEEEEEK!!!!!! I almost had a fit when when I discovered this skinny little book lurking amongst a bunch of papers on my desk! I could have sworn that I had mailed it :( Obviously not.....
Anyways, I popped it in the mail today expresspost to Brookler so she should have it no later than Wednesday.
Sorry to have held up this ring, I didn`t mean to, but I did enjoy the lovely poems.
Anyways, I popped it in the mail today expresspost to Brookler so she should have it no later than Wednesday.
Sorry to have held up this ring, I didn`t mean to, but I did enjoy the lovely poems.
Journal Entry 33 by Brookler at Powell River, British Columbia Canada on Saturday, February 26, 2011
This little book arrived just as I am moving. I'll tuck it away, to be unpacked, read, and added to sometime in the next few weeks.
What a wonderful little book! I really enjoyed reading all the poems and why they were chosen by all the diverse participants, both Bookcrossers and original.
I included my favourite lines from "Something Told the Wild Geese" by Rachel L. Field. I so love to hear the haunting cries and see the long vees of migrating geese, heading south in the fall and north in the spring. Wherever I am, whatever I'm doing, their distinctive calls send me rushing outside and casting all about for a glimpse of the hundreds of dots in their distinctive formation high above. I stand transfixed until they disappear from sight, filled with beauty and joy at such a primitive, unchanging sign of the coming season. And I always find those lines of poetry repeating in my head and my heart.
I would very much like to get my own copy of this book. Is it available somewhere? I think it would be very valuable in a high school English class, as a marvelous introduction for young people to poetry and how it can touch your life.
I included my favourite lines from "Something Told the Wild Geese" by Rachel L. Field. I so love to hear the haunting cries and see the long vees of migrating geese, heading south in the fall and north in the spring. Wherever I am, whatever I'm doing, their distinctive calls send me rushing outside and casting all about for a glimpse of the hundreds of dots in their distinctive formation high above. I stand transfixed until they disappear from sight, filled with beauty and joy at such a primitive, unchanging sign of the coming season. And I always find those lines of poetry repeating in my head and my heart.
I would very much like to get my own copy of this book. Is it available somewhere? I think it would be very valuable in a high school English class, as a marvelous introduction for young people to poetry and how it can touch your life.
Sent off to Bloedengel in Belgium. Enjoy!
looks very exciting !
Gronlivstil asked to be skipped, so I asked Smurphies details.
This will travel again soon !
This will travel again soon !
Released 13 yrs ago (4/19/2011 UTC) at Turnhout, Antwerpen / Anvers Belgium
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
So nice to read all these poems and stories. There are quite a lot of them always travelling with me in my head,but I wrote down the one that's usually in my wallet / on my blackboard / everywhere ...
Arrived this morning.
Away to dig out my poem and add it and then have a good read of the book
And thanks for the stamps Blodengal :o) My Brownies will appreciate them.
Away to dig out my poem and add it and then have a good read of the book
And thanks for the stamps Blodengal :o) My Brownies will appreciate them.
Loved this book of poetry and the stories behind them.
The Poem I have added is A Cup of Tea
Not sure who wrote it but it just describes Tea and LIfe Perfectly.
This book will be heading home in the next couple of days. Once I get to the Post Office.
The Poem I have added is A Cup of Tea
Not sure who wrote it but it just describes Tea and LIfe Perfectly.
This book will be heading home in the next couple of days. Once I get to the Post Office.
Heading back home at the end of the ring.
Hope you like the wee gifts I put in which I themed to my poem :o)
Hope you like the wee gifts I put in which I themed to my poem :o)
This arrived back in Edinburgh today.
Thank you, everyone! We've been passing your poetry cards around the studio (and drinking cups of Scottish tea, so special thanks to Smurphie for the unusual tea bags -- flavours such as heather, whisky, and thistle!). It's lovely to see all the poems you've picked. I'm glad so many people from all around the world took part.
The next stop for this book will be the Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust...
Thank you, everyone! We've been passing your poetry cards around the studio (and drinking cups of Scottish tea, so special thanks to Smurphie for the unusual tea bags -- flavours such as heather, whisky, and thistle!). It's lovely to see all the poems you've picked. I'm glad so many people from all around the world took part.
The next stop for this book will be the Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust...
