April, the month to share and celebrate your favorite poets! They who give life to unique perspectives.
I know, I know, I’m a day late and a dollar short but here we go!
I love finding little pieces of poetry, lyrics, and ballads in my books but.. it wasn’t until I began this post that I found just how difficult it is to find those online. Can you believe it? Something you actually have trouble finding on the internet. So.. in honor of saying farewell to another International Poetry Month, I’ve included here some of the poems I loved(and could recall offhand) from a few wonderful books in fantasy.
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Far over the Misty Mountains cold,
To dungeons deep and caverns old,
We must away, ere break of day,
To seek our pale enchanted gold.
The dwarves of yore made mighty spells,
While hammers fell like ringing bells,
In places deep, where dark things sleep,
In hollow halls beneath the fells.
– J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit
“History often resembles myth, because they are both ultimately of the same stuff.”
J.R.R. Tolkien
When dark creeps in and eats the light,
Bury your fears on Sorry Night.
For in the winter’s blackest hours,
Comes the feasting of the Vours,
No one can see it, the life they stole,
Your body’s here but not your soul…
– Simon Holt, The Devouring
“If you don’t learn how to be scared, you’ll never really learn how to be brave.”
Simon Holt
Enter, stranger, but take heed
Of what awaits the sin of greed,
For those who take, but do not earn,
Must pay most dearly in their turn,
So if you seek beneath our floors
A treasure that was never yours,
Thief, you have been warned, beware
Of finding more than treasure there.
― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
“We do not need magic to transform our world. We carry all the power we need inside ourselves already.”
J.K. Rowling
One is the singer, hidden from sunlight
Two is the seeker, fleeing from shadows
Three is the journey, taken in danger
Four are the riddles, answered in treesong:
Earth, fire, water, air
Spells you OUT!
–Alison Croggon, The Naming
“As every reader knows in his or her heart, there is much more to truth than mere fact.”
Alison Croggon
We dance, we dance.
You hold the thread of my soul.
You spin, you spin.
And you unravel the part from the whole.
We laugh, we laugh.
I’m so far from where I began.
I fall, I fall.
And I forget that I am.
–Maggie Stiefvater, Ballad: A Gathering of Faerie
“This object that we hold in our hands, a book…that tactile pleasure, it’s just not going to go away.”
Maggie Stiefvater
How do you feel about poetry in the average book? Do they add something special or are they just in the way?
I would love to hear any you know of!
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Oh, how fun. I enjoy poetry in fantasy and you have some great reads here. Fun post, Sheri.
I like how many different kinds of writing you can find in fantasy. Lyrics, ballads, riddles, prophecy.. I find it charming.. I’m glad you do too! Thank you!
It’s such a huge genre. I almost think we should give up on the overall “fantasy” genre and go with the subgenres.
I think I’m going to need a detailed chart for the genres and sub-genres.. A map, even.
I’ve always loved poetry, it’s a brief emotional splash and amazing insight into somebody’s internal mental processes and perception. Just like with everything else, there are so many forms of poetry nowadays. Some poems are nothing much and some never leave us, but return to be read again and again until these poems become part of us and we know them by heart and feel deep inside.
I’ve written lots of poetry, too, starting many decades ago. However, my native language is Latvian, and the most of my writing is in Latvian. It’s kind of tricky, to live in an English speaking country, but I use 4 languages at a native level, so I can manage. While one can study languages and get very good at that, nothing compares to the variety and nuances of native language.
The published books reflect such an immense world, it’s good you bringing some of books to blog readers.
Have a great Sunday!
I’m impressed with how many you can recall, these are all great excerpts. I love when an author is so invested in their book they will create in-world poetry! A Memory Called Empire does this a lot actually, as language is such an essential part of that book, and it’s brilliant.
Thank you so much! I completely agree.. they’re a beautiful addition to any kind of story(when done well). And I will definitely be checking that book out.. I’ve never heard of it. Thank you!
‘When done well,’ good addition. 😂 We have all read (and probably written) some bad poetry haven’t we.
I so recommend A Memory Called Empire, its creative and brilliant, particularly if you enjoy linguistics.
You have to be very specific these days. 😆
I know I have plenty of notebooks choking on some bad poetry of my own, we can’t expect that everything Tolkien wrote was a masterpiece.
And I will check it out, thank you! 😊