Whittier's Poetry

I've been looking forward for weeks to unpacking this gem on January 1. Several years ago, I saw this in an antique store. The price had dropped from $25 to a mere $2.50, and it was so charming, I handed over the cash. 

John Greenleaf Whittier had no sentimental value to me, but I'm a sucker for anything old, especially books. This particular volume from 1910 was not only in its original box, it even had the tissue paper from over a hundred years ago still intact! As I had nowhere to put it at the time, I tucked it away and forgot about it.

Last year, we moved to a home that had a perfect room to be made into a library. I experienced great joy in re-discovering this sweet book and finding the ideal spot to display it on a bookcase. When I had time about a month ago, I decided to investigate the content of the book, and saw that it is organized into daily readings of Whittier's poetry, verses and stanzas selected for each day of the year.

Poetry was a tremendous part of Charlotte Mason's teaching and personal leisure. The Cloud of Witness, her gift to graduates of her teaching college, is made up entirely of poetry, verse, and Scripture. A homeschooler cannot follow the methods of Miss Mason and leave out poetry, but I believe it is daunting for some who are interested in Charlotte's methods.

Daily reading in The Cloud has exercised my poetry "muscle," and I'm learning that anyone can appreciate poetry. I don't claim to understand or even enjoy every bit of what I read, but all literature is like that; we take the parts we like, and feed on them. From Day to Day and The Cloud are both designed in a way that makes reading poetry simple, providing small morsels for the mind and heart to digest slowly.

I'm not sure what it is about Whittier, but I seem destined to rescue forgotten copies of his work. Upon dusting off From Day to Day, I remembered another volume on the shelf, one also purchased for a minimal amount at an antique store. The attractive, regal cover caught my eye, and I thought, why not?

This book has been in my possession for at least ten years, with little regard to Whittier or his poetry. The cover is completely unattached to the rest of the book, and overall it is in poor condition. I like to imagine that the previous owner, a man named George Abel (scrawled on the front blank page), found delight and comfort in Whittier's work.

It seems that by God's design, I have an affinity for the works of Whittier. Why I happen to come across old copies of his works, I have no idea, but I'm intrigued enough to start a collection and begin reading them and learning more about him. John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-92) was born and lived most of his life in Massachusetts. He was a sickly Quaker, an abolitionist who worked to put himself through school, and whose poetry wasn't appreciated by the likes of Nathaniel Hawthorne. I find it particularly interesting that this volume of Early Poems was published while Whittier was still living.

Something that may be obvious to others but that I'm just now discovering is that these careworn books aren't just for show; there is deep pleasure in opening them up and slowly taking in their contents. I have inherited many old volumes that sit on shelves, their insides having not been examined for over half century (maybe much longer). What joy I am finding in these treasures, which to most of the world are junk! 

In asking God to renew my heart and mind, I notice that He is using books, stories, poetry, and history as a part of this restoration. As I expose my children to good literature, my Father is immersing me in these fine things, too. When I ask Him to help me think on what is "true...noble...right...pure...lovely...admirable...excellent and praiseworthy" (Philippians 4:8), feeding my mind with worthwhile writings is key to renewal. A steady diet of God's Word and beneficial works are what I crave, and I believe Whittier is a part of that.