Mirth, n. joy, lightness of mind, from OE myrhðe
Subscribe to my newsletter, Mirth, to receive regular updates about my writing, including sneak-peaks of upcoming releases, new poems, and articles that deliver a behind-the-scenes look at my writing process. Mirth Newsletters are typically divided into one of three categories, corresponding to days of the week (though not all three are guaranteed to appear on any given week). On Mondays, I offer critical reflections on the poetic process with a short essay. Tune in Wednesdays to read one of my new or unpublished poems. Fridays I provide a reading (audio only) of a poem from various historical periods. Below you will find an archive of past newsletters.
“Great Books” and the Cultivation of Critical Thinking
This week, through a question-and-response format, I offer some reflections on “Great Books”, Critical Thinking, and the purpose of university in an effort to dispel what I believe to be some underlying misconceptions about the value of reading and studying various texts (like Shakespeare or Plato) in the context of formation. I hope to offer…
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Art
The sky behind the clouds Was baby blue and the clouds Were peach and stately canvas for the sun And the sun was marching Away from palette and brush And the palette was drying out But the brush was still full of oil And the oil mixed in the bristles And mixed on the canvas But the bristles could not know The magic they delivered…
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Two Rivers
When women came at evening to draw, The foreigner stilled his thirsty camels. Clay jar in hand, Bethuel’s daughter Descended to the spring, as ev’ry virgin Descended, rising rich in water. Had he lingered while she passed, Shouldering her burden back to town, Another might have heard the cry, “I thirst” And felt a golden ring pierce her sweet nose. What lass could know…
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Parting Syntax
This week’s analysis concerns a piece from my Collected Poems in which a scene of Springtime gives rise to reflections on parting. SparrowI know her by her soft wingsWhen she visits in springtime.Now gone among the lilacs at lakeside,My girl is gone from me.On the ridge a hedgerow hides a nest.Soft matins offered thereWhen I…
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Albertos the Great
When you hear them say, Albertos the Great has died, Believe only half their tall tale, for they have lied: Great was my sin, and greater yet the work to mend My smallness. Yet that labour, fault by fault, my friend Some years ago with pains and anguish undertook And carved at last my name with crimson in his book, Which…
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Let May Flower
Let May flower though it turns our heartsToward th’incessant earthIn search of beautyIn search of strivingBecause we too are strivingThough we don’t seeThough we pretend not to seeThe ground with worms writhingA thousand May-born fliesThe ruminations of dappled coastland moorsAbove all the striving whispers of unharnessed windIn search and never finding homeBut on through dry…
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Snips and Snails
The following is a sneak peek at Chapter 1 of Snips and Snails, sequel to my fairy story, Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice. The King’s Decree Above the blooming sky and wide firmament, where thin-bound air runs free and joyful; above the celestial trails, where giants wander, greeting one another as strangers on an afternoon…
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Amicis
“Don’t bother with friends,” Always struck me as poor advice, Which is why no one in their right mind Ever gives it as such, instead reserving Such sentiments for hard times, When the peel of mortality Is pulled back from our frail lives And for a moment we do not wish To see what the…
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For Now
And now the rain comes. We saw grey clouds swiftly charge, Felt as kindred spirits do At leave-taking, When eye follows eye And each lets fall stored sorrows;When Spring melt shocksUnexpecting rivers,Now burdened with too much water,And the crested banks o’erflow. Todd Anderson (Stuff of the Rind, Sand and Sail, The Reluctant Prophet) writes the newsletter Mirth to share a…
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The Fifth Word
What shall we give to the Ocean When it calls out: “I thirst”? Who can slake parched waters? Is your bucket big enough? And at what stream will you supply Living water to satisfy His need? Todd Anderson (Stuff of the Rind, Sand and Sail, The Reluctant Prophet) writes the newsletter Mirth to share a…
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Todd Edward Anderson 