Five days of pure delight are in store for you.
| April 28, 2025 
| | |
 | | Hannah Robinson |
Each day this week, the Book Review will present a new essay, game and series of celebrity readings designed to help you memorize a delightful poem: "Recuerdo," by Edna St. Vincent Millay. Here's our master of ceremonies, A.O. Scott, with the details. Dear readers,
Would you read a poem
this week, with us, on your way home
from work, or sitting at your table—
more than that, would you be able
to learn it, all of it, by heart?
Memorizing is an art,
but here we'll treat it like a game—
five games, in fact, no two the same,
spread out across five playful days.
The poem: Edna St. Vincent Millay's
"Recuerdo," about a ferry ride
that went all night, from side to side
of New York Harbor. Eighteen lines
of nimble verse with perfect rhymes
(not like that one). Our initial
Poetry Challenge features special
guests who recite Millay's exquisite
words aloud, who bring her vivid
images to life. As you can, too!
The only thing you need to do
Is click, then clear your mind and throat
and start out on this lovely note:
"We were very tired, we were very merry
We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry." Love this email? Forward to a friend. Want this email? Sign-up here. Have a suggestion for this email? Then send us a note at books@nytimes.com. |
