In Europe for hundreds of years it has been a custom in rural areas to build and light a bonfire on the eve of the Feast of St. John the Baptist (June 24th). Some time ago I wrote and published a poem with the title given to this post, the one copied below. The poem might recall the incineration of “vanities” instigated in Florence by Savonarola in 1497, the source for the title of a best-selling book by Tom Wolfe. But now that the season of forest wildfires has begun, inevitably we think of the millions of acres in Western states ravaged by uncontrollable and life-threatening burn-offs. One more sign of the threat posed by climate change to our environment.
The Bonfire
The Bonfire
The Bonfire
In Europe for hundreds of years it has been a custom in rural areas to build and light a bonfire on the eve of the Feast of St. John the Baptist (June 24th). Some time ago I wrote and published a poem with the title given to this post, the one copied below. The poem might recall the incineration of “vanities” instigated in Florence by Savonarola in 1497, the source for the title of a best-selling book by Tom Wolfe. But now that the season of forest wildfires has begun, inevitably we think of the millions of acres in Western states ravaged by uncontrollable and life-threatening burn-offs. One more sign of the threat posed by climate change to our environment.