Open Windows Podcast

Today’s program considers the end of the calendar year and some of its significances.  Today, December 1, is the first day of winter in the meteorological calendar. This is the month of the winter solstice; it’s the time of Advent and Christmas in the Christian calendar, Hannukah in the Jewish calendar, and Yule for pagans.  It’s the time when daylight is short and the end of the calendar year, we believe, promises the return of light. So today I’d like to read some poems that consider the idea of light returning to the world. The coming of light, of course, means that there is also darkness that must be conquered or dispelled. That tension between darkness and light is what gives the return of light its ultimate power.  I read poems by Emily Dickinson, Dylan Thomas, Wendell Berry, and Latvian poet Inara Cedrins. I end with one of my own poems that considers the tension between light and dark as well.