When you find a favorite writer who also wrote poems, it’s like a light bulb moment! This is what happened earlier this week when I saw a quote by EB White from a letter he had written to a despondent person. It was on social media. And in these times, I thought it was very apropos to share.
You can read the whole letter here, on the marginalian website.
Hope is the thing to hold onto in difficult times, and until all people are gone, it exists. At least, that is what I take from White’s quote.
EB White, if you remember, is the author of three children’s books that are beloved still. My favorite, Charlotte’s Web (1952), followed Stuart Little (1945), and later in the early 1970s, Trumpet of the Swan.
A graduate of Cornell University, White wrote essays for The New Yorker and Harper’s Magazine, among other publications throughout his life. He has a large volume of work, of which it seems his poetry is the least well-received. But there are some gems.
Again, apropos to the times, rather the season now, he wrote this piece on Winter trees:
Trees of Winter
Oh, they are lovely trees that wait
In the still hall of winter
Silent and good where the Good Planter
Fixed the root, wove the branch delicate.
Friendly the birches in the thin light
By the frost sanctified,
And here, too, silent by their side
I stand in the woods, listening, upright…
You can read the rest here.
Throughout his life, EB White was known as an essayist, a humorist, a novelist, and a letter writer. He won numerous honors for his honest, thoughtful, and eloquent work. Among the honors bestowed on him were a special Pulitzer Prize (1978) for the entire body of his work, a Presidential Medal of Freedom (1963), the National Medal for Literature (1971), and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award (1970). In 1953, White won a Newbery Honor for Charlotte’s Web.
And for those who have done any writing in academia, White is known for editing The Elements of Style, a required book in many college programs. His Cornell professor, William Strunk Jr., had written the initial copy of the book in 1918. White’s revisions were well received.
This seems like an Ode to EB White, although I’m just amazed at his prolific volume of work and wanted to share more about the man who wrote a beloved children’s story about a spider and a pig. Charlotte’s Web will be a forever-favorite book of mine, and I’m anxious to read more of White’s letters, prose, verse, and poetry.
Linda Mitchell has the roundup this week. Please visit her blog at A Word Edgewise. https://awordedgewiselindamitchell.blogspot.com/ Thanks for hosting, Linda!
I’ll take this chance to wish you all a very Merry Christmas, as I’ll be traveling next week and might not be able to post. My wish is for Peace on Earth, Health, and Happiness for you all.
Carol
The Apples in My Orchard 
Wow, Carol! That’s an incredible spider web photo. Thank you for sharing so much info about EB White. I must confess I didn’t know much about him beyond the classic favorite Charlotte’s Web (one of the best endings in a children’s book in my opinion). Appreciate you sharing what you know.
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I was today years old when I learned that the White of ‘Strunk and White,’ is E.B. White. Huh! The more you know…
Thank you for sharing White’s ‘Trees of Winter.’ It’s beautiful and delicate and true.
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Thank you for this. I love this celebration of E.B. White, especially the “Trees of Winter”. I hope your travels go well. Merry Christmas.
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Your photo of the frosty path is gorgeous. I love the line from E. B. White “by the frost sanctified” and wrote it in my notebook. I have long felt that Charlotte’s Web was my favorite read aloud ever. I read it every year when I taught third grade, and I never got through without crying. Thanks for sharing.
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Thanks so much for this rich post about E.B. White. What a genius he was!! I’m also a fan of his children’s books, essays and letters — but admit I haven’t read much of his poetry, so your including “Trees of Winter” is such a treat. Gorgeous! And what beautiful photos you’ve included here — the spider web is amazing and that blue sky one is breathtaking.
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Happy Holidays, Carol! The E.B. White poem goes so well with your beautiful photograph.
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That bit on the weekly Marginalian caught my eye and imagination, too!
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It is a delight to have your knowledge expanded. Carol, your post regarding EB White has landed like light through a window. To now think of White as a practioner of poetry is an insight that reaffirms my enjoyment of the author’s work. A poet’s heart is revealed.
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I adore E.B. White. Thanks for highlighting him this week!
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The web photo is amazing, Carol, a perfect beginning to your post with so many of E.B. White’s treasures. I don’t remember the poem, but it is lovely, as everything he does is. I give the Strunk & White book to graduates still, a spectacular book about writing! And, on a social media site, I recently read that White’s granddaughter (his executor) has put a stop to ICE using “Charlotte’s Web” as their group name. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas, too!
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Thank you so much, Carol, for sharing these much-needed-for-me-at-the-moment uplifting and hopeful words from E. B. White. I share your admiration for him but have never read hos poetry. I loved the one you shared and will be rereading! Thank you for an inspiring post and have a lovely holiday!!!
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