Rebecca's Reading Room

S3 E11: Autumn Fires by Robert Louis Stevenson With “Autumn Fires,” Stevenson takes his readers on a journey through the changing season, utilizing descriptive language and evocative imagery to capture their imagination. The poem’s brevity allows for a focused exploration of the transient nature of life and the beauty found within it. AUTUMN FIRES by Robert Louis Stevenson In the other gardens And...

S3 E10: Will You Come by Edward Thomas 1878 – 1917 Will you come? Will you come? Will you ride So late At my side? O, will you come? Will you come? Will you come? If the night Has a moon, Full and bright? O, will you come? Would you come? Would you come If the noon Gave light, Not the moon? Beautiful, would you come? Would you have come? Would you have come Without scorning, Had it been Still morn...

S3 E9: In An Autumn Garden In an autumn garden, I find solace and rejuvenation. It is a place where I can reconnect with nature and find respite from the busyness of life. As I walk, I am reminded of the impermanence of the season. Autumn awakens the senses and invigorates the soul. It is a time to slow down, to appreciate the simple pleasures of life, and to find solace in the beauty of nature. A...

S3 E8 The Italian Chapel on Lamb Holm Island, Orkney The idea of sacred spaces has been with us since ancient days. Throughout the centuries, we have built temples to reach the heavens, made pilgrimages to seek knowledge, lived in the forests to connect with the earth.     Even now, we create personal areas for meditation and reflection, a way to reaffirm our thoughts and feelings, to experience p...

S3 E7: Remember by Christina Georgina Rossetti Remember me when I am gone away, Gone far away into the silent land; When you can no more hold me by the hand, Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay. Remember me when no more day by day You tell me of our future that you plann'd: Only remember me; you understand It will be late to counsel then or pray. Yet if you should forget me for a while And...

S3 E6: The Day is Done by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow The day is done, and the darkness       Falls from the wings of Night, As a feather is wafted downward       From an eagle in his flight. I see the lights of the village       Gleam through the rain and the mist, And a feeling of sadness comes o'er me       That my soul cannot resist: A feeling of sadness and longing,       That is not akin...

S3 E5: Answer July by Emily Dickinson Answer July— Where is the Bee— Where is the Blush— Where is the Hay? Ah, said July— Where is the Seed— Where is the Bud— Where is the May— Answer Thee—Me— Nay—said the May— Show me the Snow— Show me the Bells— Show me the Jay! Quibbled the Jay— Where be the Maize— Where be the Haze— Where be the Bur? Here—said the Year— This poem is in the public domain.  Reci...

S3 E4: Growing Pains The Autobiography of Emily Carr Episode 1 Prologue Forward by Ira Dilworth Welcome to my Reading Room, Thank you for listening in.  I am your host Rebecca Budd and I look forward to sharing this moment with you. Emily Carr (1871-1945) Emily was a Canadian artist and writer inspired by the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Born in 1871, she was one of the first...

S3 E3: Celebrating World Poetry Day with Carrie Williams Clifford March 21, 2023 marks the celebration of World Poetry Day. This day was established by UNESCO in 1999 to promote the reading, writing, and teaching of poetry worldwide. The celebration aims to recognize the unique ability of poetry to capture the creative spirit of the human mind and to promote cultural exchange and understanding. On...

S3 E2: Spring Morning by Marion Strobel O day—if I could cup my hands and drink of you, And make this shining wonder be A part of me! O day! O day! You lift and sway your colors on the sky Till I am crushed with beauty. Why is there More of reeling sunlit air Than I can breathe? Why is there sound In silence? Why is a singing wound About each hour? And perfume when there is no flower? O day! O Day...

S3 E1 Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost Robert Frost’s “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” is one of his most famous and beloved poems. Written in 1922, it is a short, four-stanza poem that paints a vivid picture of a traveler who stops to admire the beauty of a snowy evening in the wooded area.  The poem is filled with imagery and symbolism, and its themes of death and...

S2 E20: Is There A Santa Claus? December 24th Christmas Eve has arrived. With the last-minute shopping completed, we ready our hearts for this special evening anticipated since the beginning of December.  All the plans have been made, the gifts have been wrapped and the baking completed. All of December has been in anticipation of Christmas Day.  And yet, as I look back, it was Chri...

S2 E19 We Will Remember Them On November 11th, Canada observes Remembrance Day.   On this day, we will remember the members of our armed forces who have died in the line of duty. Across Canada, there will be a moment of silence at the 11th hour.  In the year 1918, WWI hostilities formally ended “at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.” I am wearing a red poppy, which is...

S2 E18: The Raven By Edgar Allan Poe Happy Halloween! On the days of October 31 and November 1, we celebrate traditions that have come to us through the centuries.  The ancients who commemorated the Celtic Festival of Samhain would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts, marking the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter or “darker-half” of the year. All Saints Day ori...

S2 E17: Annunciation By Helen Hoyt From “Poems of Life and Death” LIFE, The great Life, Came unto me: He of old ages, The eternal,  The owner of all, Came, and his word was for me, Calling my name: And the radiance of his presence shone about me. With leaping heart I heard his voice  And the entering of his steps over my threshold: Heard, and was not troubled; Because it was known to me...

S2 E16: Sonnet 73 That time of year thou mayst in me behold  Welcome to September, the month that leads into the brilliant autumn colours and the warmth of Harvest and Thanksgiving. September has a mellow poignancy that reminds us of the passing of years. Sonnet 73 by William Shakespeare brings forth natural metaphors to signify the coming of old age. We move ever forward in our timeline and...

S2 E15 Speak Chuckaboo, Slang of the Victorian and Steam Eras, by Teagan Ríordáin Geneviene Welcome to my Reading Room! Let’s talk about book! Speak Chuckaboo, Slang of the Victorian and Steam Eras, by Teagan Ríordáin Geneviene arrived at my doorstep a few days ago.   I knew that my sister, Sarah, would be very interested in this book and waited impatiently for our meeting on the Saturda...

S2 E14 Go Give the World by Otto Leland Bohanan I do not crave to have thee mine alone, dear    Keeping thy charms within my jealous sight; Go, give the world the blessing of thy beauty,    That other hearts may share of my delight! I do not ask, thy love should be mine only    While others falter through the dreary night; Go, kiss the tears from some w...

S2 E13: Seeking For Happiness By Ella Wheeler Wilcox     Seeking for happiness we must go slowly;          The road leads not down avenues of haste;     But often gently winds through by ways lowly,          Whose hidden pleasures are serene and chaste   &nbsp...

S2 E12: The Spring Has Many Silences by Laura Riding Jackson The spring has many sounds: Roller skates grind the pavement to noisy dust. Birds chop the still air into small melodies. The wind forgets to be the weather for a time And whispers old advice for summer. The sea stretches itself And gently creaks and cracks its bones…. The spring has many silences: Buds are mysteriously unbound With a di...

S2 E11:  Here in the Time of Winter Morn by William Moore, Thank you for joining me in reciting the poetry of William H.A. Moore.  A poet and a journalist, his poetry collection was called Dusk Songs Here in the time of the Winter morn, Love, I see the Sunlit leaves of changing hue Burn clear against a sky of tender blue, Here in the time of the Winter morn, Love. Here in the time of the...

S2 E10: Lucian B. Watkins was an African American poet anthologized in The Book of American Negro Poetry . Born in 1878 (some say 1879), in Chesterfield, Virginia he was the author of Voices of Solitude (Donahue & Company, 1903). He worked as a teacher and served in World War I. Lucian Watkins’ passion for poetry was illustrated in a letter dated August 13, 1919 sent to W. E. B. Du Bois which...

S2 E9: “In April” by Rainer Maria Rilke Welcome April with the reading of poetry. April is National Poetry Month! Spring, with its renewed energy after a Winter’s rest, awakens our hearts to the words of poetic inspiration. Poetry is one of the oldest creative endeavors – an art form that has the benefit of diversity. Haiku, sonnet, spoken word, epic, limerick, ode and so much more. Each generatio...

S2 E8:The Lake Isle of Innisfree BY WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree, And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made; Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee, And live alone in the bee-loud glade. And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow, Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings; There mid...

S2 E7: “Not What” by Mary Jo Malo Welcome to Poetry in the Evening.  I am on a nature walk along the Vancouver Seawall with a poem by Mary Jo Malo.   Please join me in reciting “Not What” by poet, Mary Jo Malo. Not What” by Mary Jo Malo Who spoke into being lily, sparrow, redwood tree and galaxies? Who lavishes light upon our eyes and deepens shadow for rest at night? Who cries out wisdo...