Penny J. Johnson's Blog, page 3
July 3, 2021
Books of the Month: June 6-July 3
Morning Poems by Robert Bly: Five Stars I dog-eared so many of these poems while reading this book. Many are made more relevant because of my stage of life and the regionalism that Bly and I share as Minnesotans. I also appreciate the daily dedication it took for Bly to […]
June 30, 2021
Memoriter
Join me each Wednesday for this virtual reading experience as I read a selection from Redefined: A Year of Poetry. By the end of the year, I will have read 52 of the 366 poems contained in this collection. I encourage you to subscribe to this blog in order to […]
June 23, 2021
Mellifluous
Join me each Wednesday for this virtual reading experience as I read a selection from Redefined: A Year of Poetry. By the end of the year, I will have read 52 of the 366 poems contained in this collection. I encourage you to subscribe to this blog in order to […]
June 21, 2021
Future Posts
In the interest of preserving personal and writing priorities, my blog will consist of my Wednesday post–Redefined: A Virtual Reading Experience–that features my video presentation of a poetic reading from my most recent release, Redefined: A Year of Poetry. I also plan to post my Books of the Month blog […]
June 16, 2021
June 13, 2021
Posts Postponed
Due to unforeseen circumstances, I am postponing my posts for the week of June 14. I am hoping to resume regular posting on June 21. Until then: Keep writing. Keep reading. Keep believing.
June 11, 2021
Practicing Poetic Themes: Biblical Proportions
Like Walt Whitman, I find inspiration for writing poetry when reading scripture. As I have been reading about Whitman, this poem I wrote in college and published in a series poem within The Last Time We Were Children kept coming to mind. I think, by the words of scripture that […]
June 10, 2021
Poetic Form: Leaning on Many Leaves
When Walt Whitman self-published the original twelve poems the world has come to know as Leaves of Grass in 1855, it was not well-received. Perhaps if Ralph Waldo Emerson, a like-minded Transcendentalist, had not deemed it “the most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom that America has now contributed,” Whitman, […]
June 8, 2021
Poem of the Week: Walt Whitman’s “O Captain, My Captain”
When attending concerts, I admire the musicians when they must play their signature pieces. These are the songs everyone knows by heart. These are the ones we sing along with at our loudest volume and quite often off-key. Many a musician grows to loathe having written these songs. They must […]
June 7, 2021
Poet of the Week: Walt Whitman
When I began my research about Walt Whitman, I did not expect one of the first articles I read would be one from Investor’s Business Daily. Yet this article–and other more familiar sources–revealed why Walt Whitman is one of America’s most unique poets. Along with Emily Dickinson, he is considered […]
