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A review by mat_tobin
The Shortest Day by Susan Cooper
5.0
Composed around the same time that Cooper was writing/publishing [b:The Dark Is Rising|210329|The Dark Is Rising|Susan Cooper|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1349051230l/210329._SY75_.jpg|1530651], The Shortest Day owes much to the research and mythologies associated with the winter solstice which plays a part in both poem and novel. It reminds us of the great cycle of life, the pagan origins of the Christmas ritual and rebirth and of our deep connection with the landscape.
Far lighter than the Dark is Rising, this poem is more a celebration of light and the continuation of life. It is a poem, Cooper tells us in the back, to be read aloud and shared during the winter solstice. Just as she had written the poem for Langstaff’s American Christmas Revels (which fused the medieval and modern) so Ellis's incredible illustrations do the same bringing to light the cycle of New Years and our constant desire to fight the darkness with light.
Far lighter than the Dark is Rising, this poem is more a celebration of light and the continuation of life. It is a poem, Cooper tells us in the back, to be read aloud and shared during the winter solstice. Just as she had written the poem for Langstaff’s American Christmas Revels (which fused the medieval and modern) so Ellis's incredible illustrations do the same bringing to light the cycle of New Years and our constant desire to fight the darkness with light.