Writely Applied

While we spent a lot of time celebrating Edgar Allan Poe’s 200th birthday in January, we find ourselves in the midst of celebrations of Poe’s contemporaries. As fate would have it February 12th was the 200th birthday for both Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin. Both were men of great ideas and Writely Applied in their words as was Poe.

I always watch with great interest programs related to the life of great men. One show after another has been aired on our late great President Abraham Lincoln. During this great time in our history being lead under our first black president, there is much to celebrate in the accomplishments of this great man alone. I was awe struck at the number of people that gathered to see President Lincoln’s remains during his travel across the America of his time. Over seven million people viewed the President during his funeral ride from Washington to Springfield, Illinois.

But he was one man. Rarely do we get to put into perspective a man in his time. I was reading Lincoln, Darwin, Poe – 3 giants born in 1 month by Peter Bourque and of course I got to thinking about how incredible it is. These men, whose paths perhaps never crossed, lived in an evolving period in history. Even if it was not believed so during the time, we look back and are blown away on what was going on in politics and science…and American literature.

“The true genius shudders at incompleteness - and usually prefers silence to saying something which is not everything it should be.” Edgar Allan Poe (January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849)

“And in the end it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.”
Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865)

“A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life.”
Charles Darwin (February 12, 1809 – April 19, 1882)

*****

For more information on Poe’s contemporaries, visit the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum and The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online.

Missing your copy of the Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe?
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The Lemonade Award it cometh twice in December. Both A Poet’s View and Shakespeare Mom have awarded me the Lemonade Award for which Writely Applied is most grateful, especially since these are her first two awards.

And of course…I accept, however the chain stops here. Sorry, as much as I’m honored and love the link love, the chain stops here as WritelyApplied likes to share the link love in other ways.

From this point forward Writely Applied will recognize the Awards and Awarders and I will share links with my readers, but I cannot pass it on. However, so that you all know that your recognition of WritelyApplied will not sit in the nether region of missing sock land with the chain letters requesting that I send a tea towel or a recipe to a friend, relative or who are you and how did you get my name and address…I have set a place aside so that my blog friends are recognized as blogs that recognized WritelyApplied. You’ll find them here at the WritelyApplied Awards page.

My Pretty Rose Tree
by William Blake

 A flower was offered to me:
Such a flower as May never bore.
But I said “I’ve a Pretty Rose-tree”,
And I passed the sweet flower o’er.

 Then I went to my Pretty Rose-tree:
To tend her by day and by night.
But my Rose turn’d away with jealousy:
And her thorns were my only delight.

Visit LovePoetry.com for more poems of Love!