I have the complete Dickens on my shelf – paperback & hardcover. The paperbacks are Penguin classics with lots of notes. Some of the hardcovers are the classic Oxford editions. My Nicholas Nickleby is a 2 volume reproduction of the original serialized version that includes the ads etc. Some of the books I have read more than once. I have also sat through various Masterpiece Theatre explorations of the novels, seen movies & musicals of same & have Five of the Christmas books also as mp3s. I have resisted downloading the entire works as ebook.
I’m not sure which Dickens was the first I actually read – probably A Christmas Carol, though it could have been Oliver Twist, or was the Pickwick Papers? There was one of the Pickwick stories in out high school English literature text. The one where they go skating. I was in focused pursuit at one time of getting everything, even the obscure ones, like Master Humphrey’s Clock.
It was the boy hero that captivated me. I didn’t recognize the accuracy of his depiction of the poverty of time though. Recent readings show how unstinting he was with that cultural context. People caught up in journeys, quests in following their dreams & hopes. He was a master plotter who did count on coincidence a bit much, & often fell back on the long lost relative, but who cares.
What still inspires me about him is his ability to create complex, human villains i.e. Mr. Murdstone, Daniel Quilp, Uriah Heep, Bill Sykes. He had a gift for names that rivals Shakespeare’s. His heroes were too good to be real, his women either good little wives, generous relatives or harsh thanks to the men in their lives. His narrative structure was simple, almost formulaic, stories were told in linear movements, with some backstory when needed.
I’ve always like the fact that he was an unabashed sentimentalist and that as a writer he had no compunction in manipulating the readers emotions. When I realized he wrote drafts by hand – let that sink in a little – by hand – I was staggered. Of course he was being usually paid by the word so his books did get rather long. But his shorter works are also stunning: Hard Times is one of his best works.
Day and Night
day never holds me
as fully as the night
in light there is always
a part that doesn’t get revealed
doesn’t get illuminated
turn as fast as I can
part of me is always in shadow
light is not the total lover
always leaves one part untouched
night covers all
nothing gets omitted
over-looked
holds me in toto
comforting tender complete
caressing even where I cannot see
I was submerged and protected
no night burn for me
for being too long naked in its glance
but I do welcome the sun
the energy released in my flesh and bones
by the ignition of my skin
if I had to make choice
between night and day
as to which would be the better lover
I couldn’t say
day brings flowers
night brings stars
both return despite
my placid display of cliches
tender is the night
bright is the day
as one retreats
to make way for the other
I am saddened
I want to hold them both
straddle those slippery moments
when one makes way
gracefully stepping aside
they do not fight
to see who will be next
there is no resentment
that I have taken each
in their own time
that I give myself equally to them
give myself without question
without doubt
so do not make me choice
when I die
will I go into the light
or merely roll over
into the comforting dark
every Tuesday 2019
June – Capturing Fire 2019 – Washington D.C. 
capfireslam.org
August 2-13: getting back to my roots in Cape Breton 
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Hey! Or you can give me $$$ to defray blog fees & buy coffee in Washington at 2019’s capfireslam.org – sweet, eh? paypal.me/TOpoet
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