Poetry, anyone?
From the desk of Sean Lanksbury. PNW & Special Collections Librarian
Today being Valentine’s Day, your thoughts might float off on wings of poesy. You might even wish you had a good line or two of local poetry to quote. Well, the Pacific Northwest has long been renowned for its lyric lineage, from Ella Higginson (whose ‘The Opal Sea’ appears below) through celebrity poets, such as Theodore Roethke and Carolyn Kizer, to our current Washington State Poet Laureate, Kathleen Flenniken.
To help you in your quest, the Washington State Library collects a great amount of Pacific Northwest poetry to whet your bardic blade (okay, I promise to stop alliterating now), whether you wish to glean inspiration or just get lost in the play of words. Perhaps you will even recite one aloud to your loved ones.
To browse away just begin searching in the Washington State Library Catalog by the Poet’s name (last, then first name) or by the subject “Poetry” within the Northwest Collection. In the meantime, enjoy this classic by one of Washington State’s earliest poets.
‘The Opal Sea’
By Ella Higginson