3 months + Ruth Padel

I recently discovered the anthology The Poem and the Journey, compiled by British poet Ruth Padel. I've been busy writing my first Watson quarterly report (due today), but wanted to share some interesting quotes from the opening portion of the book.

“Poetry’s effects are inward and personal. It is still what it has always been, a necessary art, enriching what goes on privately inside us through our lives. It fortifies our inwardness. And so it is the ideal thing to hang on to, in our very externally driven world of image and screen, surface and soundbite” (Padel, xi).


“In life, too, poems and journeys go together. Both move. Both take a bit of time and effort. Both let you reflect on other things as you go. Both can upset and surprise you. There may be boring moments; or moments that seem boring at the time though afterwards you realize they were crucial. Both give you new windows on the world, take you out of yourself but let you more deeply into yourself at the same time. They get you to new places”(3).

I've officially survived the first three months of my Watson! Now, off to finish my report.