Rebecca's Reading Room

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...

S2 E6: #WarAndPeace2022 February 15, Update Photography and Reading by Rebecca Budd Music by Christian Anderson “Big Passion” #EpidemicSound https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/3KZaoOvogC/ Reading Taken from Penguin Classics: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, Translated by Anthony Briggs Part 1 Chapter 25 p 114

S2 E5: Celebrating Love with Elizabeth Barrett Browning How Do I Love Thee, Sonnet 43 by Elizabeth Barrett Browning How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.  I love thee to the depth and breadth and height  My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight  For the ends of being and ideal grace.  I love thee to the level of every day’s  Most quiet need, by sun and candle-ligh...

S2 E4: 2022 is the year of Leo Tolstoy. #WarAndPeace2022 Readalong I am involved in a global community reading War and Peace, which began on January 5, 2022 and will end on the stroke of midnight December 31, 2022. Chapter 1 welcomes us into the drawing room of the elegant Anna Pavlovna Scherer, maid of honour and confidante of the Empress Maria Fyodorovna. It is an evening in July 1805. There are...

S2 E3: Welcoming 2022 with Love Song by Rainer Maria Rilke Photography and Poetry Recitation by Rebecca Budd Music by David Celeste “The Bloom of Her Skin” #EpidemicSound Love Song by Rainer Maria Rilke (Public Domain) How can I keep my soul in me, so that it doesn't touch your soul? How can I raise it high enough, past you, to other things? I would like to shelter it, among remote lost objects, i...

S2 E2: Welcoming 2022 With Poetry  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Happy New Year! I love beginnings, a fresh start, a new adventure and promises of open roads and opportunities. Energy, anticipation, and hope are all wrapped up in “firsts.” Oh, the rush of adrenaline as we race into the future. I am thankful that we begin each new year in the winter season. I seek the winter walks where I meet wi...

S2 E1: Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening By Robert Frost Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village though; He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow. My little horse must think it queer To stop without a farmhouse near Between the woods and frozen lake The darkest evening of the year. He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if there is some...

S1 E3: Asking for Roses by Robert Frost Robert Frost once wrote, “ In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.” These words are a profound testament to his courage for living. As we enter 2022, may we be reminded of the beauty that comes when we read a poem,  Asking for Roses by Robert Frost A house that lacks, seemingly, mistress and master,    ...

S1 E2 Welcome to my Reading Room. Thank you for joining me to recite ”In the Bleak Midwinter by Christina Rossetti. Several years ago, the Queen ended one of her Christmas speeches wit’s this poem.  From my house to yours, Merry Christmas and all the very best of the special season to you and yours. In the Bleak Midwinter Poetry by Christina Rossetti Music Composed by Gustav Holst In the blea...

Welcome to Rebecca’s Reading Room.

S1 E1: Welcome to the Launch of Rebecca’s Reading Room. Welcome to my reading room, a virtual space that has been set aside for reading and reflection. It is a place where stories and poetry are given voice. Over the years, I have found reading rooms come in many forms, from a city library to a park bench, a seat on a public transit, a stool in a coffee shop, to a cozy corner of home. Whenever I h...