I will not now, being plain, nor ever,
Though fancy or siren’s call rebeckon
With familial fame and longings old,
Myself deploy such oratic urgings
As risk your patience and noble esteem,
Hard won these many years by clear-eyed Truth,
Who cleaves my heart more humbly than deserved
And lodging there, has cleansed all artifice,
Washed my wayward wit and stirred eloquence
Unrefined though no less potent to stir
With upright purpose all discerning hearts.
Todd Anderson (Stuff of the Rind, Sand and Sail, The Reluctant Prophet) writes the newsletter Mirth to share a behind-the-scenes look at his writing process as well as to offer readers the first fruits of his poetry and reflections. He grew up in the forests of small-town Ontario, contending against nature in all its beauty and harshness. His training as a literary scholar of Latin and English literature inflects his love of poignant turns of phrase, but it is the influence of his family and their myriad adventures together that infuses his story-telling and poetry with its substance and power. Todd lives and writes in Ottawa with his wife and six children. If you are interested in supporting Todd’s work, please follow the links below to donate or buy his books.
Todd Edward Anderson 