As global warming threatens the existence of our traditional New England white winters, we have all the more reason to celebrate our regional literary tributes to the season. In three ninety minute classes, we will explore how six classic New England poets use snow as a subject in five wonderful lyrics about winter. The poems to be discussed are Emily Dickinson’s “It Sifts from Leaden Sieves” and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s “Snow-Flakes” (class one); Edna St. Vincent Millay’s “The Snow Storm” and Robert Frost’s “Desert Places” (class two); and Wallace Stevens’s “The Snow Man” and Maxine Kumin’s “Cross-Country Skiing” (class three). Attendants are encouraged to read these poems in advance, but no prior exposure is required. This class will be interactive, so you will be encouraged to participate as the spirit moves you.
Separate registration is required for each class. Patrons are not required to attend every class; they may sign up for only the session(s) that interest them. Please sign up for the second class below!
Cyrus Cook will lead all three sessions of this program. Mr. Cook taught secondary school English for forty-three years in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Connecticut--his last thirty at Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford.