Libre Paley's Blog: Libre Paley - Thoughts on Literary Erotica, page 6

Advent 9: the snow

But maybe just maybe if we start getting together and talking With luck, it might even snow for us. Haruki Murakami, After Dark (2004) Todays image: snow Those crystalline flakes, individual entities merging until the landscape is wrapped up like a gift. There appear to be as many uses for the symbol Continue reading Advent 9: the snow

Advent calendar 8: the cracker

For 150 years, Christmas crackers have been a traditional part of Christmas festivities; Tom Smith created the wonderful invention of the Christmas cracker in 1847. the Tom Smith website Todays image: the cracker Christmas crackers are an unavoidable part of the seasonal celebrations in the United Kingdom, and, as far as I am aware, the Continue reading Advent calendar 8: the cracker

Advent calendar 7: the bell

Without their visits, said the Ghost, you cannot hope to shun the path I tread.  Expect the first tomorrow, when the bell tolls one. Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol (1843) Todays image: the bell I could not go through this post without mention of one of the most famous of all Christmas tales. Recalling the Continue reading Advent calendar 7: the bell

Advent calendar 6: the candy cane

With the coffee we served striped candy canes. Well, Betty, I believe Ive told you everything about our Christmas luncheon.From A Thousand Ways to Please a Husband: with Bettinas Best Recipes by Louise Bennett Weaver and Helen Cowles Le Cron first published 1917 Todays image: the candy cane The symbolism here seems straightforward enough, even if the origins are Continue reading Advent calendar 6: the candy cane

Advent calendar 5: the wreath

I shall smile when wreaths of snowBlossom where the rose should grow. Emily Brontë from Fall Leaves, Fall Todays image: the wreath Judging from the above extract, Brontë was another creature welcoming of winter. She sounds content enough to see flowers die away, leaves fall, and for snow to wrap itself around a degenerated nature. Continue reading Advent calendar 5: the wreath

Advent calendar 4: the holly and the ivy

‘The holly and the ivy,When they are both full grown,Of all the trees that are in the wood,The holly bears the crown.’– Traditional carol, words from Sharp’s English Folk-Carols (1911) Today’s image: holly and ivy The symbolism of these plants is evident in their generic name: evergreens of any sort are symbols of hope and spring returning. … Continue reading Advent calendar 4: the holly and the ivy

Advent calendar 3: the book

“In the winter she curls up around a good book and dreams away the cold.”Ben Aranovitch in Broken Homes (2014) Today’s image: the book How I envy the woman in the above quote. I do not seek, necessarily, to wish the cold away, but with work still at full pelt, and the Christmas preparations to … Continue reading Advent calendar 3: the book

Advent calendar 2: the tree in winter

‘The wet dawn inks are doing their blue dissolve.On their blotter of fog the treesSeem a botanical drawing.’– Sylvia Path from Winter Trees Today’s image: The tree Sylvia Plath‘s poem Winter Trees, like others in the collection of the same name, describes a contest between darkness and light. I particularly love that metaphor: ‘On their … Continue reading Advent calendar 2: the tree in winter

Advent calendar 1: the door

“Shut the door not that it lets in the cold but that it lets out the coziness.”Mark Twain Today’s image: behind the first door of my ‘advent calendar’ is… Another door. Doors are symbolic of so many things. It’s 1st December: doorway to winter, here in the northern hemisphere. Closing the door on autumn–my favourite season, and squeezing … Continue reading Advent calendar 1: the door

Book spine poetry and PMs

Have you ever heard of ‘book spine poetry’? It is a form of “found” poetry; that is to say, poems formed of words from other sources, in this case book spines. Simply arrange a set of books, in a stack, so that their titles to create a poem. Of sorts. See some examples here. And … Continue reading Book spine poetry and PMs