If you want to support not just poetry but the freedom to write what you feel, Hymn to Equity, Poems for William Wordsworth, and the entire Romantic Series are dedicated to those ideals.
When I began writing it, I started with Mary Shelley, reading her letters, which infused me with that essence, which cannot be denied. Here we are over two hundred years later, and the ideals that the Romantics espoused are more important than ever.
During Shakespeare's life, there was also much strife. (the vicious campaign against Catholics, wherein so many heads were displayed on London Bridge, some say even family members of Shakespeare, as warning signs to anyone who dared proclaim their faith as not of the English Church). The London Fires, etc. Shakespeare, in response, wrote of such things, but NOT DIRECTLY, veiling his discontent in plays and poetry. We are at such a crux here. With that in mind, I give you, as my gift to anyone who dares, all of the work I have, starting with Hymn to Equity, Poems for William Wordsworth.
Why Wordsworth? Many modern poets and readers hear his name and pooh-pooh him as stuffy and outdated. What could he possibly have to offer contemporary ears? I would argue, A LOT. He was, for his time, and especially in his youth, a radical, often homeless, and without the kindness of others, such as Raisley Calvert, we may never have heard or much less read his work.
Wordsworth, along with Coleridge and Southey, began a quest to create a community they deemed a Pantisocracy, based on equality for all, in terms of property (no one would own any), race, creed, or gender. While they never achieved their goal, the dream, through others who came after them (Shelley, Keats, Lee Hunt, Byron), lived on.
In the 1960’s these precepts were the basis for Hippie communes, the women’s movement, the anti-war movement, civil rights, etc. Today, all of these things are under direct attack, making The Romantic Series and the work of those who lived then not just critical but vital to the health and welfare of society as a whole.
With this in mind, I ask you to give the series a chance. Even as our Indiegogo campaign ends, the work and the effort on my part continue. To all those who have pledged, THANK YOU, and to those who have happened upon this page, please consider subscribing and sharing with like-minded folks. Poetry is important, and it does have value, not just as sentiment in greeting cards, but to change and enlighten hearts.
Love and Light,
Aria
