Midwinter Light: Poems and Reflections for the Long Season

by Marilyn McEntyre

Slow, sit, and savor the beauty and wisdom of winter--around us and within. Award-winning writer Marilyn McEntyre invites us into winter--when stars assume heightened significance and the ambient quiet of snowscapes (or fogscapes or rainscapes) stills us. Winter is quieter than other seasons, sometimes lonelier, and it opens us to pay attention. We may at first feel the ache of diminishment as days grow more silent, but even as melancholy befits winter, this season also bears its own fruit. In the precarious waiting, unknowing, we surrender to natural forces and rhythms; our lives may be changed utterly as we grow deeper, more patient, more attentive to what's outside our doors, in the night sky, or hibernating deep within. Perhaps now is the time to grab that cup of tea, that mug of whatever your warm comfort cheer is, and with each sip engage the wisdom of winter, the poems, the reflections to make the long season richer, warmer. As the author writes, "We live with less when the world grows cold and quiet, but lessening is a we can live with less. We need the silences that allow us to hear small glass chimes. And simple warmth can offer an occasion to be grateful for small things." In poems and life-affirming reflections on freedom, growth, quietude, and keenly felt hope, we learn to live in simple contentment. Without being saccharine, Midwinter Light guides us to seek and find what we need, right where we are--a read for all walks of life that we can turn to again and again when we need to recenter.

Genres: Poetry, Nature, Devotional

208 pages, Hardcover

Published October 8, 2024

Reviews

[Lesa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoughtful meditations and poetry for the winter season. I thoroughly enjoyed the book.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite poetry anthologies are those compiled by poets, with their essays accompanying the selections. This volume for Advent/winter is exquisite, both in its beauty and profound insight.

[Anna McBane · Rating 5 out of 5]

An anthology beautifully woven together by the darkness of winter and the mysterious majesty of the Creator that lies behind it. Truly a balm for my soul amidst my first true winter where everything in and around me felt snow-laden.

[E B · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is more a case of missed expectations than anything. I came in expecting nature writing rooted heavily in the author’s personal experience outside in winter and was instead given a heavily annotated anthology of winter poems. Each essay revolves around the author’s own personal interpretations of these poems, which felt monolithic, a little clinical, and were often stripped their subjects of their wildness. I can imagine someone really liking this book but it’s not for me, and definitely intended to be a few-pages-at-a-time read.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started reading this too late in the season. I think of Midwinter as late January, early February, when it feels like it might never end. But I guess the author was thinking of the hymn "In the bleak Midwinter" and focused more on Advent.
I appreciated the poetry snippet and often her meditations. But most usually read these at the very end of the day when I probably wasn't able to focus enough to appreciate them.
They were mostly OK, but, frankly, I found them helpful for putting me to sleep. Perhaps I will try again next year during Advent and earlier in the day.

[Kate Belt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book could be picked up and enjoyed anytime during the “long season,” such as the end of Daylight Savings Time, the start of winter, or January 1. It fits the Advent season well, too. There are 39 poems from various poets, each followed by a short. often lyrical, beautifully written reflection,

[JoAnn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great little book - poetry and prose for quiet days.

[Leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of these poems were really good. But overall it was not what I had hoped.

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely compilation of poems and accompanying short essays.

[Timothy Hoiland · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Winter makes us see differently. Noticing is rooted in desires so easily satisfied in spring we barely feel them—for color, for movement, for the sound of birds, and things that bloom. On a walk in midwinter, we experience solitude in a different key. We are surrounded by reminders of mortality and loss, by the absence of what is lush and vivid. We are clothed in layers and aware of our bodily needs in new ways. And the quiet, sometimes, is palpable. It is a good time for prayer: the veil between this dimension and the next seems to have thinned.”

A few words on Marilyn McEntyre's new collection of "winter poems" and reflections at timhoiland.com.

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe Marilyn McEntyres's best. Thought provoking meditations on an inspiring collection of the some of the best poetry around.

[Kate Zdenek · Rating 3 out of 5]

A slow paced, quiet book of essays. It was perfect to spend time with on cold winter nights.