"The White Page Poems"
by Betty K. Aberlin
on WSKG Radio's OFF THE PAGE
L I V E  Tuesday, November 13th at 1:00 PM
(Rebroadcast at 7:00 PM)

          Many people have taken on the challenge of writing a poem a day. All it takes is talent, discipline and perpetual motivation. The inspiration may continually renew itself through the movement of nature or current events, and in one's striving for love, awareness and spiritual fulfillment.
           The Scottish writer George MacDonald (1824-1905) may not be a major figure in literature today, but he was widely read and appreciated by such people as John Ruskin, C.S. Lewis and Ralph Waldo Emerson and he had an influence on the work of J.R.R. Tolkien. He was a prolific novelist, a popular lecturer and is credited as a groundbreaking author of Christian imaginative fiction. But he was also an individual who suffered from serious physical illness, family crises and - despite the popularity of his work - financial difficulties. In 1880, shortly after the death of two of his children, MacDonald began to write "A Book of Strife in the form of the Diary of an Old Soul."
          The first edition of "Diary of an Old Soul" was self-published with MacDonald's daily poems on the right-hand pages and the opposite pages blank. Readers were invited to respond to his seven-line poems and religious sentiments and fill in the empty space with their own words. It is not known how many people tried to carry out MacDonald's original intentions, but 127 years later a book has appeared that joins hands with the Old Soul. It is called "The White Page Poems" and the author is Betty K. Aberlin of Delaware County. These are the poems from the 16th of May:

          Betty K. Aberlin's poems speak of "the church of George", but her writing also seeks its own spiritual ground and builds on her life experience, as when she writes, "I cannot plan ahead; now is too hard. / Brain cookies baked today in future will / Be broken, eaten, shared when road is dire - ." She also expresses her outlook in the essay "The Blonding of America" on the Fresh Yarn website.
           Just as George MacDonald is still appreciated for his books for young people, Betty K. Aberlin is best known for her appearance over thirty years as Lady Aberlin on the Public Television program "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood"(seen on WSKG-TV each weekday morning at 6:30). She was also a regular on the "Smothers Brothers Show", played off-Broadway in "I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking It On the Road" and toured with the national companies of "West Side Story" and "Guys and Dolls". Her volunteer activity includes work in a pediatric cancer ward and in the chaplain's office of New York's Rikers Island Prison. Ms. Aberlin was also a co-founder and on-air host of public radio station WYEP in Pittsburgh.
           Betty K. Aberlin joins Bill Jaker on OFF THE PAGE to share the words of George MacDonald and her "White Page Poems" and also speak a bit about her years with Fred Rogers. To join in the conversation, call during the live 1:00 PM broadcast to 888/359-9754 or send an e-mail to WSKG.Radio@Gmail.com.

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NEXT TIME: The civilization of Native Americans, both before and after the arrival of Europeans and Africans on this continent, has often been misunderstood, distorted or simply ignored. Charles Van Buskirk of Savona, NY has written about the aboriginal people of what is now New York State in "Those Who Came Before". He visits OFF THE PAGE on November 27th to answer questions, clarify myths and unravel, as best one can, the history of prehistoric times.

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