Tonight is a Super Blue Moon.
When I first heard about it, I wondered how it could be a Blue Moon since today’s date is just the 19th. How could this be the second full moon in the month?
When I first heard about it, I wondered how it could be a Blue Moon since today’s date is just the 19th. How could this be the second full moon in the month?
| It turns out that a Blue Moon is also the third full moon in a season in which there are four full moons – hence, tonight’s “Blue Moon.” Tonight’s full moon is also known as the Sturgeon Moon, a name given by Native Americans because sturgeon was most readily caught in the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain at this time of summer. Sooo…did Emily Dickinson ever write about a Super Blue Moon. Well, not that I know of. She never used the word “super” in any of her poems, and though she used the word “blue” in 32 poems, the word “blue” appears in just two poems with “moon” – and never together (i.e. “blue moon”). And just FYI: She never used the word “sturgeon.” Perhaps my favorite poem by Dickinson about the moon is “The Moon was but a chin of gold” – and coincidentally, that is one of the two “moon” poems that also uses the word “blue.” If you get a chance, go out tonight to see the Super Blue Moon! The next Super Blue Moon will not come until January of 2037. |  |
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Yesterday, in tribute of the Super Blue Moon, I checked how often Dickinson used the word “super” (never), “blue” (32 times) and “moon” (23 times), and I posted one of the two poems that includes both the words “blue” and “moon,” “The moon was but a chin of gold.” The other is “I watched the Moon around the house.”
I also mentioned that yesterday’s lunar event was also known as the Sturgeon Moon (and, of course, Dickinson never used the word “sturgeon” in any of her poems), and then @redenigma (on Counter Social) told me “it's the Barley moon, as well.”
When I explored that, I found this: ““The Next Full Moon is a Supermoon, a Blue Moon; the Sturgeon Moon; the Red, Corn, Green Corn, Barley, Herb, Grain, or Dog Moon.”
Sooo…let’s take a look at all of those words in Dickinson’s poetry:
“Red” was used in 31 different poems. “Corn” is in 8 poems, “green” is used in 15 poems, and the word “barley” is never used. “Herb” is used in one poem, “grain” is used in three poems, and “dog” appears in eight.
None of those poems (i.e., the ones that use “red,” “corn,” “green,” “herb,” “grain,” and “dog”) include the word moon.
Yesterday, in tribute of the Super Blue Moon, I checked how often Dickinson used the word “super” (never), “blue” (32 times) and “moon” (23 times), and I posted one of the two poems that includes both the words “blue” and “moon,” “The moon was but a chin of gold.” The other is “I watched the Moon around the house.”
I also mentioned that yesterday’s lunar event was also known as the Sturgeon Moon (and, of course, Dickinson never used the word “sturgeon” in any of her poems), and then @redenigma (on Counter Social) told me “it's the Barley moon, as well.”
When I explored that, I found this: ““The Next Full Moon is a Supermoon, a Blue Moon; the Sturgeon Moon; the Red, Corn, Green Corn, Barley, Herb, Grain, or Dog Moon.”
Sooo…let’s take a look at all of those words in Dickinson’s poetry:
“Red” was used in 31 different poems. “Corn” is in 8 poems, “green” is used in 15 poems, and the word “barley” is never used. “Herb” is used in one poem, “grain” is used in three poems, and “dog” appears in eight.
None of those poems (i.e., the ones that use “red,” “corn,” “green,” “herb,” “grain,” and “dog”) include the word moon.
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