Jeffery, thanks for the collaboration opportunity! I hope it is only the beginning of a lot of exciting teamwork!
I am a Shanghainese at heart although I have lived outside it for more years than inside. Call me silly if I say I reminisce about 毛毛雨—to some, it is such a nuisance but to me, it is poetic (even a bit romantic). But 黄梅 天? Ew, I don't miss it!
I live in the great Pacific Northwest of the United States, rain and rainy seasons are something I (have to?) learn to appreciate and live with. Add a few words (like moss, and snowmelt), Bishop might as well be describing a rainy season scene in our evergreen state of Washington! :)
Thank you, Maureen! I've woken up to the sound of the morning prayer at the Blue Mosque in fabulous Istanbul. No sign of rain on a lovely morning. But rainfall patterns like the one you mention in UAE seem to be changing, don't they?
In southern Idaho, we’ve had rain into June this year, which is nice, but could make for a lively fire season come fall. Late spring/early summer rains mean more “fuel” to dry and burn in August and September. I think I like rain poems better than fire science.
A rain buffet, I love it. I'll add my dish: growing up in California, there is no "rainy" season, per se, there are years of no rain, and then the occasional drenching that keeps us all from shriveling up and blowing away. There is a "fire season" however.
Its only part of a longer poem comparing love of the ‘old country’ to the new. When I discovered rural England I also discovered “The love of field and coppice,
Of green and shaded lanes.
Of ordered woods and gardens
Is running in your veins,
Strong love of grey-blue distance
Brown streams and soft dim skies” about which McKellar said,” I know but cannot share it, / My love is otherwise.”
The rainy season of sub-Saharan Africa is something I remember with ambivalence. It was so desperately needed to grow the crops, yet it brought with it dramatically increased cases of malaria and a smothering humidity hard on all those with breathing issues.
Ah, rain. The Devon rain especially. I can't help smiling when I hear people grumbling about the rain here. Devon is wet, and maybe do a bit of holiday climate research...
That was a lovely soggy (in the best sense) post, full of the feel of rain. I used to love the afternoons in Malaysia and Singapore when the heat would build all day and then, beautifully predictably, the rain would sluice down at about 4pm.
Thank you, June. Yes, the Devon rain! I always imagine that the Ted Hughes poem was written about the part of the county I grew up in, where he and Plath lived for a while. And later, living in a seaside resort in the country, I'd hear endless grumbles about the weather, just as you say.
I was reading Birthday Letters quite recently, thinking about Hughes and the trail of emotional disaster he left behind him. I didn’t realise there is a memorial stone to him on Dartmoor. It’s pretty remote, apparently close to the source of the Taw. I’d love to see it, but I’m no hiker! I have a book he wrote with Michael Morpurgo ‘All Around the Year’, signed by both of them. It’s one of my treasured book possessions.
Jeffrey, this is just wonderful. So wide-ranging. Your sense of place, selections of poetry, and of course your own extraordinary writing combine to make this essay one that I will savor many times when you are on vacation and I’m suffering through Jeffrey Streeter drought.
How I wish I’d kept up with my Chinese and Japanese language studies from college. I miss those days so much. Thank you for sharing your collaborations with Yi Xue.
A refreshing essay with evocative poetic references. The translation of García Márquez is impeccable; Gabo’s apparent simplicity is one of his strengths, and before you realise it, you’re already captivated... It’s curious how we associate weather and climate with moods and our overall outlook on life. That’s why I believe climate change will affect us mentally as well, and I hope not in a catastrophic way. In this thirsty Mediterranean, rain has stopped being an inconvenience and become a blessing. Every summer becomes more terrifying, more suffocating. If we mix these sensations but once again with the desired rain, I recall one of my favourite stories, "Rain" by another great traveller, Somerset Maugham, where nature and emotions intertwine masterfully.
Thank you, Rafa. Yes, we'll change along with the climate, I guess. Curiously, the UK had a record amount of rain for 18 months beginning in October 2022, which came after a very dry summer that year. Perhaps extremes are becoming more common. Thank you for reminding me of Somerset Maugham, such a fine writer, who somehow doesn't get a lot of attention.
After a particularly brutal hot season, the rainy season in Cambodia, is quite welcomed. So far it has been sporadic, but when it does unleash, it's often angry with lots of wind. But I love its cleansing effect and how everything is green again.
‘It rained all afternoon in a single tone.’ (One Hundred Years of Solitude / Macondo) (Apologies, can’t work out how to use italics here)
This reminds me of the beautiful book The Songs of Trees: Stories from Nature’s Great Connectors by David G. Haskell.
“Every falling water drop is a tap against leafy drum skins. Botanical diversity is sonified, calling out under the drummer’s beat. Every species has its rain sound, revealing the varied physicality of leaves of the ceibo tree and the many other species that live on and around its massive form.”
Thank you, Nicola! And thanks for sharing that delightful passage by Haskell. It reminded me that the part of Guayaquil that I lived in and where I experienced my first rainy season was called Los Ceibos and they're wonderful trees. I've just arrived from a sunny and dry Istanbul to a slightly damp and grey London...No surprise there.
Good morning and happy June holiday Jeffery! How refreshing to read your essay about the weather, when for years, one of the writing craft lessons I learned from novelist Elmore Leonard was to never begin with the weather. But you sure proved him wrong with this beautiful and evocative essay. Cheers!
Jeffery, thanks for the collaboration opportunity! I hope it is only the beginning of a lot of exciting teamwork!
I am a Shanghainese at heart although I have lived outside it for more years than inside. Call me silly if I say I reminisce about 毛毛雨—to some, it is such a nuisance but to me, it is poetic (even a bit romantic). But 黄梅 天? Ew, I don't miss it!
I live in the great Pacific Northwest of the United States, rain and rainy seasons are something I (have to?) learn to appreciate and live with. Add a few words (like moss, and snowmelt), Bishop might as well be describing a rainy season scene in our evergreen state of Washington! :)
Safe travels and enjoy your trip!
Thank you, Yi Xue! It was a delight to work with you and learn from you. I also look forward to more collaborations. 🙏
Thank you, Maureen! I've woken up to the sound of the morning prayer at the Blue Mosque in fabulous Istanbul. No sign of rain on a lovely morning. But rainfall patterns like the one you mention in UAE seem to be changing, don't they?
Wonderful that you are in Istanbul, Jeffrey ! Enjoy your travels.
Thank you, Maureen!
In southern Idaho, we’ve had rain into June this year, which is nice, but could make for a lively fire season come fall. Late spring/early summer rains mean more “fuel” to dry and burn in August and September. I think I like rain poems better than fire science.
Thank you, Tara. I'm with you on the rain poems. ☔🌧️
Beautiful. I thought of Bella Akhmadulina "All morning I've had this Rain around me." We have had quite a lot here this year.
Thank you for putting me on to that lovely poem by Bella Akhmadulina!
A rain buffet, I love it. I'll add my dish: growing up in California, there is no "rainy" season, per se, there are years of no rain, and then the occasional drenching that keeps us all from shriveling up and blowing away. There is a "fire season" however.
Thank you, Troy. Rain buffet is nice.
The fire season must be scary. Give me a good drenching over a scorching any day.
Beautiful Jeffrey. You remind me of Dorothea McKellar’s poem: “Core of my heart, my country!
Her pitiless blue sky,
When sick at heart, around us,
We see the cattle die –
But then the grey clouds gather,
And we can bless again
The drumming of an army,
The steady, soaking rain.”
Wishing you happy and inspiring travels.
That's a gorgeous poem, Michelle! Thank you. It's lovely to find new poems about rain and that's one to cherish.
Its only part of a longer poem comparing love of the ‘old country’ to the new. When I discovered rural England I also discovered “The love of field and coppice,
Of green and shaded lanes.
Of ordered woods and gardens
Is running in your veins,
Strong love of grey-blue distance
Brown streams and soft dim skies” about which McKellar said,” I know but cannot share it, / My love is otherwise.”
Beautiful. Thank you for sharing that, too!
The rainy season of sub-Saharan Africa is something I remember with ambivalence. It was so desperately needed to grow the crops, yet it brought with it dramatically increased cases of malaria and a smothering humidity hard on all those with breathing issues.
Thank you, Holly. Yes, we need the rains but they bring their own issues,don't they.
文字的魅力，黄梅天，毛毛雨。想念就别的江南。
Ah, rain. The Devon rain especially. I can't help smiling when I hear people grumbling about the rain here. Devon is wet, and maybe do a bit of holiday climate research...
That was a lovely soggy (in the best sense) post, full of the feel of rain. I used to love the afternoons in Malaysia and Singapore when the heat would build all day and then, beautifully predictably, the rain would sluice down at about 4pm.
Thank you, June. Yes, the Devon rain! I always imagine that the Ted Hughes poem was written about the part of the county I grew up in, where he and Plath lived for a while. And later, living in a seaside resort in the country, I'd hear endless grumbles about the weather, just as you say.
I was reading Birthday Letters quite recently, thinking about Hughes and the trail of emotional disaster he left behind him. I didn’t realise there is a memorial stone to him on Dartmoor. It’s pretty remote, apparently close to the source of the Taw. I’d love to see it, but I’m no hiker! I have a book he wrote with Michael Morpurgo ‘All Around the Year’, signed by both of them. It’s one of my treasured book possessions.
Jeffrey, this is just wonderful. So wide-ranging. Your sense of place, selections of poetry, and of course your own extraordinary writing combine to make this essay one that I will savor many times when you are on vacation and I’m suffering through Jeffrey Streeter drought.
How I wish I’d kept up with my Chinese and Japanese language studies from college. I miss those days so much. Thank you for sharing your collaborations with Yi Xue.
Enjoy your holidays.
Thank you so much, Mary! What a lovely comment to wake up to in Istanbul this morning! I'm so very grateful to have you as a reader. 🙏
A refreshing essay with evocative poetic references. The translation of García Márquez is impeccable; Gabo’s apparent simplicity is one of his strengths, and before you realise it, you’re already captivated... It’s curious how we associate weather and climate with moods and our overall outlook on life. That’s why I believe climate change will affect us mentally as well, and I hope not in a catastrophic way. In this thirsty Mediterranean, rain has stopped being an inconvenience and become a blessing. Every summer becomes more terrifying, more suffocating. If we mix these sensations but once again with the desired rain, I recall one of my favourite stories, "Rain" by another great traveller, Somerset Maugham, where nature and emotions intertwine masterfully.
Thank you, Rafa. Yes, we'll change along with the climate, I guess. Curiously, the UK had a record amount of rain for 18 months beginning in October 2022, which came after a very dry summer that year. Perhaps extremes are becoming more common. Thank you for reminding me of Somerset Maugham, such a fine writer, who somehow doesn't get a lot of attention.
Food for thought, Rafa. Could you recommend a publication by Somerset Maugham where “nature and emotions intertwine masterfully”? Thanks, Nicola
My pleasure. Summer is coming, so what about "Rain and Other South Sea Stories"? https://www.amazon.com/-/es/W-Somerset-Maugham/dp/0486445623/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.UxYOJXMc6SbuYRtumJBlsw.-iMRJ5oL6e86g0eJedKCC9bp7VOdfF8V67uYwbWWY8E&qid=1718133300&sr=8-1
By the way, "The Painted Vail" and "The Razor's Edge", although I admire his short stories.
Thank you! Much appreciated. I will enjoy exploring.
✨
After a particularly brutal hot season, the rainy season in Cambodia, is quite welcomed. So far it has been sporadic, but when it does unleash, it's often angry with lots of wind. But I love its cleansing effect and how everything is green again.
Enjoy the rain, Lani! I just hope it doesn't get too extreme.
One of my favourite paintings is Norman Garstin’s depiction of Penzance Promenade - ‘The Rain It Raineth Every Day’. It’s so evocative! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rain_It_Raineth_Every_Day
That's a beautiful painting. Thank you for sharing, James! There's nothing like a wet day by the sea, is there?
‘It rained all afternoon in a single tone.’ (One Hundred Years of Solitude / Macondo) (Apologies, can’t work out how to use italics here)
This reminds me of the beautiful book The Songs of Trees: Stories from Nature’s Great Connectors by David G. Haskell.
“Every falling water drop is a tap against leafy drum skins. Botanical diversity is sonified, calling out under the drummer’s beat. Every species has its rain sound, revealing the varied physicality of leaves of the ceibo tree and the many other species that live on and around its massive form.”
Wishing you an enjoyable holiday, Jeffrey 😊
Thank you, Nicola! And thanks for sharing that delightful passage by Haskell. It reminded me that the part of Guayaquil that I lived in and where I experienced my first rainy season was called Los Ceibos and they're wonderful trees. I've just arrived from a sunny and dry Istanbul to a slightly damp and grey London...No surprise there.
This is such a beautiful ode to rain. You are so lucky to have experienced different types of rain 🌧 💙 one can do.
Thank you, Yuezhong Zheng! Yes, I do feel lucky :)
Good morning and happy June holiday Jeffery! How refreshing to read your essay about the weather, when for years, one of the writing craft lessons I learned from novelist Elmore Leonard was to never begin with the weather. But you sure proved him wrong with this beautiful and evocative essay. Cheers!
Thank you Maureen! I'm glad I hadn't read that book 😊. Being English, talking about the weather is a compulsion for me!