100 Day Project No. Two: A Famous Poem Read

Week Two
Monday, September 18th – Sunday, September 24th

William Wordsworth (April 7th, 1770 -  April 23rd, 1850)
William Wordsworth
(April 7th, 1770 – April 23rd, 1850)

William Wordsworth is credited with pioneering, along with his friend, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, the English Romantic era in literature. Together, Wordsworth and Coleridge published the Lyrical Ballads (which included Coleridge’s famous poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner) in 1798.

The so-called Lucy poems are really quite beautiful. There are five of them, and they are all written in a rather simple, unadorned style … but truly authentic and powerful. They are about a young girl that died at a young age (there is quite a bit of speculation among scholars concerning who Lucy actually was or if she was an invention of the poet’s imagination as a literary device; I don’t think it really matters).

At any rate, here I read one of them below. If you get a chance, download them all here, and read them yourself. You won’t be disappointed!

So, without further ado, I present She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways.

SHE DWELT AMONG THE UNTRODDEN WAYS

She dwelt among the untrodden ways
Beside the springs of Dove,
A Maid whom there were none to praise
And very few to love:

A violet by a mossy stone
Half hidden from the eye!
—Fair as a star, when only one
Is shining in the sky.

She lived unknown, and few could know
When Lucy ceased to be;
But she is in her grave, and, oh,
The difference to me!


The 100 Day Project

The 100 Day Project

The 100 Day Project is a creativity excavation. It’s about unearthing dormant or unrealized creativity by committing to a daily practice everyday for 100 days.
Creativity is a skill. The more we practice, the more skilled we become. Practice takes time. Practice takes commitment. Practice is a radical act in this speeded up world. Through practice, we develop a creative habit. Through habit, we reconnect with and know ourselves again as a creative being.

I started this 100 Day Project (my second one) on September 11th. Each week, I will write at least five hundred words of my novel. These words don’t necessarily have to be a polished product, but should, at least, be coherent and grammatically sound. I’ll also post two poems a week. These poems will be a bit more polished than first drafts. Most of the material will come from poetry that I wrote in my first 100 day project. In addition to writing the poems, I’m also going to read them, so that you may hear how they sound in my head. I’ve been told I have a pleasant voice, so I’m sure you won’t be disappointed. Lastly, I’ll create one blog post where I read a famous poem written by a real poet! I will also include a little history and fun facts about the poet.

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