This Transcendentalism theme will be wonderful for me as I greatly enjoy these authors. Although I do have to admit that Snowbound's author, John Greenleaf Whittier, wasn't immediately recognized by me when I read the list of assigned readings for this pod, I remember having read this sometime much earlier in my life. While I always groaned that the length was great, I did always enjoy the images and the memories it revived in me. I've been snowbound once or twice in my life, and have experienced the same sense of euphoria and blissful wonder when viewing the world in a snow-covered blanket. My children and my dog would partake of a good, wintry day clad in boots, mittens and hats, scrambling up the hillside with our plastic sleds.
For me, specifically, both as an adult and as a child, good times in the snow generally meant trekking with the family, including the dog, through the woods of a neighboring park. We lived in the city but it was my father who always taught us to appreciate the beauty of a natural landscape, especially in the snow. He had a job in an office and wore a suit and tie every day. On the weekends in the winter time, he had great fun with us as we went to the nearby parks. When us kids went sledding, there was his "excuse" to go sledding too. I guess he felt like he needed an excuse to have some fun.
This was always one of my favorite poems to teach to the juniors--and I tried to time it in January or February. Of course we read a shortened version. One line in the poem is about the wind coming from the east and the storm being stronger because of that. I always stressed that to my students--watch the direction of the wind when a storm approaches. From the east they are more severe. It's true!
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