“I am the breath of being,
“I am the splendid impulse
Bliss Carman was a Canadian poet. He was born William Bliss Carman in Fredericton, in the Maritime province of New Brunswick. He published under the name “Bliss Carman,” although the “Bliss” is his mother’s surname.
As with many Canadian poets, nature figures prominently as a theme in his work. In his time, he was arguably Canada’s best known poet, and was dubbed by some the “unofficial poet laureate of Canada.” –bio excerpt, Wikipedia
Bliss Carman is now one of my favorite poets, but I hadn’t heard of him until about a year ago when I ran across the above poem “Earth Voices.” Upon further research, I found it is from one of his books published in 1916. It turned out that these verses I had felt such a connection to were from “April Airs.” This had significance to me because not only is the subject matter close to my heart, April is my birth month. —Fast forward to a few days ago, having just celebrated my birthday on April 12th:
I had been contemplating sharing some of the poetry from April Airs this month here on linen & lavender. I don’t own a copy of it yet, but I did find an on-line version and so began reading other works from this book. Another poem called “Garden Magic” (see bottom of post) resonated with me so much I almost felt it could have been written for me personally. (Typical Aries mentality, I admit!)
In delving further for information about Mr. Carman, I was surprised and delighted to learn that he was born just three days from me on April 15th. I decided then that I would wait until his birthday to publish this post. However, there would be one more little sign that providence was at play…
In finishing this post, I noticed Bliss passed away on June 8th. In light of all the other connections I seemed to have to him and his work, it crossed my mind that maybe June 8th might be significant to me in some way.
I thought: I started writing linen & lavender in June, but what are the odds? Could the inaugural post have happened on the 8th?
I immediately dismissed it as being too much of a long shot. But just for fun and curiosity’s sake, I had to check, of course.
And I’m sure you can guess –That’s right. — June 8th!
It would seem I have some sort of cosmic connection to this talented gentleman. —Maybe just a fellow Aries sending me signs to ensure him publicity?(!) — Whatever the reason, I’m happy to have found him and his inspiring work.
Thanks, Bliss!
Bliss Carman, Canadian Poet (April 15, 1861 – June 8, 1929) Bliss Carman was the great-grandson of United Empire Loyalists who fled to Nova Scotia after the American Revolution, settling in New Brunswick (then part of Nova Scotia). His literary roots run deep with an ancestry that includes a mother who was a descendant of Daniel Bliss of Concord, Massachusetts, the great-grandfather of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Also on his mother’s side, he was a first cousin to another famous Canadian poet, Sir Charles G. D. Roberts. -bio excerpt, Wikipedia
Absolutely beautiful. A very Happy belated Aries Birthday to you!
Thanks Susan! I had a great day with my daughter. Hope you are well. ~LeAnn
thanks so much for reminding me of Bliss Carmen. I, too, am an Aires from New Brunswick who read and loved his poetry many years in school. Beautiful, as if your blog!
dam – Thanks for sharing that. Nice to hear from a fellow Aries and Bliss fan. 🙂
All the best ~LeAnn