Today would have been Alan Alexander Milne's 136th birthday. Better known as A. A. Milne and best known for his children's character the affable Winnie-the-Pooh, or Pooh for short, Milne was actually an accomplished writer of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, as well as plays and newspaper reports. He served in the British military in both World Wars.
Pooh made his first appearance in print in 1924 in the poem "Teddy Bear" in Punch magazine. This poem and many other poems for children were first published in book form later that same year in the collection pictured above, When We Were Very Young. As many of you may know Pooh was Milne's son's teddy bear and most of his friends - Piglet, Eeyore, Kanga, Roo, Tigger - were also young Christopher Robin Milne's stuffed toys. Pooh's first prose adventures were published in 1926, eponymously. Milne only published two other children's books, one of poetry and one of prose, and he and his son both came to resent the continuing popularity of the stories. Despite this and possibly because the Disney corporation had a stake in the rights to the characters almost from the time of Milne's death, the books and the characters are enduring favorites in England and the United States. When We Were Very Young is still in print and can be had for as little as $3.94, including shipping, online. A first edition, published by Methuen in London in 1924, can fetch hundreds of dollars.
0 Comments
Winner (5 votes/3.4 average)!
New Orleans Haiku Society, inspired by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill: South wind Through the kitchen windows The smell of oil ------------- Gulf canary With oiled wings Phoenix ------------- On the nautical chart A black rose drops Its petals Jack Kerouac, haiku selections (3/3.33): Birds singing In the dark Rainy dawn ------------- The low yellow Moon above the Quiet lamplit house ------------- The taste Of rain Why kneel? A couple of poems from my collection Moments in honor of the first snowfall in New York for the year. Christmas always seems better with a little snow on the ground!
Snowfall Snow passes silently from sky to ground No wind stirs this dark night; The white blanket grows slowly Undisturbed by man or beast Visible only in the streetlights’ glow. Stillness allows every bare branch, Every parked auto, every rooftop, Every blade of grass or evergreen bough To gather a thin veneer of white Subdued at the edges of the light pools, Brilliant in the centers, foretelling An even greater brilliance to come With the rising of the winter Sun. A soft blanket builds, contours Taken by round curves between parts; Branch to branch, one grass blade to another. Gray transforming into white as the light builds Muted contrast of white upper sides With black undersides on trees, Signs, wires, railings, and swings. Softly, silently, the snow falls. Setting up under low stage lights For the brilliant morning scene Under bright sun and clear sky. ~~~~~~ Snow Coming Snow is coming, Do you feel it? Bones creak and ache In the pre-dawn hour. Snow is coming, Do you see it? Sky pink and purple; Clouds cover the rising sun. Snow is coming Do you smell it? Water, dust, and sulfur On the light, cold, breeze. Snow is coming Do you touch it? Soft, small and white Floating down in silence. |
AuthorMe as a critic (be careful! the harshness will be well concealed!) Archives
April 2024
Categories
All
|