My Life in Poems

sonnet I wrote my very first poem for a school assignment in the third grade. I remember the exhilaration I felt when the words came to me and I realized, “I can do this.” I wrote many poems for my teacher, Mrs. Blank, that year. I don’t remember them, but I remember...

Beloved English Poet – Alfred, Lord Tennyson

alfred August 6th is the birthday of Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809-1892), who was the Poet Laureate of Great Britain for more than 40 years during the reign of Queen Victoria. One of Britain’s most beloved poets, he was made a baron in 1883 and thus added “Lord” to his...

Echoes of Emma Lazarus

emma July 22nd is the birthday of American poet Emma Lazarus (1849-1887). She was the fourth of seven children in a Sephardic Jewish family whose New York roots went back to the colonial period. She was related to Benjamin Cardozo, Associate Justice of the Supreme...

Get Caught Reading

Editorial Apparently May is “Get Caught Reading Month.” Who knew? I am currently reading, and enthralled by, the book: The Sistine Secrets – Michelangelo’s Forbidden Messages in the Heart of the Vatican, by Rabbi Benjamin Blech and Roy Doliner. The book was published...

My Mother Understood

mother For my 10th birthday my grandmother gave me a book entitled, My Poetry Book- An Anthology of Modern Verse for Boys and Girls edited by Huffard, Carlisle, and Ferris. That book (which I still own) became a cherished companion for many years. In some ways I feel...