Sunday, January 7, 2018

A Poem for Every Night of the Year

I can hardly believe it, but I actually finished this doorstop of a poetry collection I started last January!


I was really terrible about keeping up with it daily and often would play catch-up a few weeks at a time. At least once, I had more than a month of poems backlogged! And while I'm glad I did finish the whole thing and I enjoyed a majority of the poems, it definitely was not the ideal reading experience the way I did it. By not sticking to one poem each day, I often found myself reading too hurriedly, impatient to catch-up to the current date. I'm sure I would have understood some of the poems much better if I took the time for multiple readings -- and while I did sometimes re-read, other times I just moved on. I was more likely to re-read poems that really resonated with me, but others that didn't strike me right away or that I had trouble following I didn't always give a second chance to sink in.

The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction and (parts of) Slow Reading in a Hurried Age have inspired me to slow down and savor my reading more. For someone who is a fairly slow reader of novels, it's ironic that I have a tendency to speed through poetry and other shorter works -- the very pieces that generally benefit from more time, attention, and contemplation. But lucky for me, I can try again in 2018 with this lovely new companion collection :)


I know life happens and the likelihood of never falling behind is slim, but I'm going to make sure this volume stays on my nightstand this year. I had gotten into the unfortunate habit of catching up, getting a few days ahead, and then sticking the volume back on the shelf -- where I promptly forgot about it until I was behind again! So in 2018, I'm going to make a sincere effort at a establishing a daily(-ish) poetry habit. I'm not going to beat myself up if I miss a few days, but hopefully I won't get a month behind this time around!

P.S. I wasn't planning on reading through the "Every Night" collection again in 2018, but picked it back up around January 3rd -- I shall have to see if I stick with both or revert to just the new collection -- either way is OK by me :)

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Have you ever tried to keep up with any kind of specified daily reading? Do you have any tips or tricks? I'd love to know!

6 comments:

  1. Those both look like beautiful books! I'm reading Dante's Divine Comedy for the Classics Club right now, one canto a day. I've been doing that since November, and I'm due to finish at the beginning of February. I don't allow myself to pick up my "regular" book until I've read my canto for the day, which is probably the only reason I've been able to keep up with it! :)

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    1. They are beautiful! And that's a great idea! I'm not sure I could really stick with it without making the poems feel like homework, but maybe some sort of a "rule" could work for me -- say, by lunchtime or something like that... I'll have to mull it over :)

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  2. I feel like for me if I got too far behind I would just call it quits. I started a bullet journal this year and I have a daily log for water intake, reading for fun, etc. and that has really helped me stay committed and see what I am doing. I just hope I stick with it. Week one was a success! Also, that cover of the poetry book is GORGEOUS!

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    1. It is definitely motivating to see progress like that! The beginning of establishing a habit is always the hardest -- hopefully it gets easier the more you do it "_

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  3. These books look lovely! I'm terrible at poetry, but maybe really tackling one a day would help me stop and focus and try to understand, instead of rushing through everything like I usually do. :)

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    1. Slowing down and focusing is definitely helpful here! If you don't want to get into poetry, that's OK too, but if you do, a change of approach is definitely useful :)

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I'd love to hear what you think :)