More Final Thoughts

Completed my Henry Vaughan read-through yesterday. When I set out on the Penguin Collected Poems I expected it would take me around six months. If I'd known I'd be locked-in to the volume for a full year-and-a-half I suspect I might have given the project a pass. As it is, it felt a year too long. The classic poems that make it to the anthologies were excellent, but I knew them already. And there was a lot of stuff that felt distinctly routine. I don't mind a dose or two of Christian theology, but after a time I got to thinking that HV's view of the world was crushingly narrow.

So now I'm chary, to say the least, with regard to taking on another Collected. But at the same time I do feel that I should take on something meaty on the poetic front, just to enjoy soaking in something different. The solution looks to be a reading of The Prelude in the parallel texts version swinging between the 1805 and 1850 versions. That should keep me going whilst we're in Maison KL with the edition being handily on the shelves.