Guest Author - Linda Sue Grimes

Geoffrey Chaucer demonstrated the ability to live in the world but not be of it. Born into an at-that-time unrecognized middle class, the poet traveled widely and experienced the world from a number of viewpoints that proved useful to his poetic art—especially notable in the rich characterization of the pilgrims in The Canterbury Tales.

Chaucer (ca. 1343-1400) was born to a financially successful wine-merchant and spent his early years in the wine-merchandizing section of London known as the London Vintry, where he interacted with the lower classes. Because of the quality of education his father’s wealth would have afforded him, he must have been able to absorb the atmosphere without becoming part of it.

From his middle class roots and lower class associations, he was sent in his early teens to serve as a page at the court of Lionel of Antwerp, son of Edward III, the reigning king. The rest of his life the poet was to spend in the company of royalty in various capacities, from serving as an envoy to France and Italy to soldiering in France where he was captured by the French during one of Edward’s skirmishes on the continent.

Despite the many occupations that kept him busy running errands for the court, Chaucer was able to forge a substantial literary career. Of course, his most famous work is The Canterbury Tales, with Troilus and Criseide, his longest poem, a close second. According to E. Talbot Donaldson and Alfred David, “Even if he had never written the Canterbury Tales, Troilus would have secured Chaucer a place among the great English poets.”

After six hundred years, Geoffrey Chaucer is still gathering fans. Societies devoted to fostering his works and those of his era are constantly springing up. One such society is The New Chaucer Society, which offers a wide variety of online sources, including a commentary on the question: Why is Chaucer still read? The answer to that question would be as varied as the individuals asked, but scholar Robert Meyer-Lee has offered a useful and thorough answer in his award winning essay, "The Allure of the Phantom Popet."

Another useful site is Harvard University’s Geoffrey Chaucer site for their core program in English, which includes a link to lessons to Teach Yourself to Read Chaucer's Middle English.

We know much more about Chaucer than we do about Homer, but still his biographers have had to piece together many remnants of information mostly from official records to provide something resembling a complete picture of Geoffrey Chaucer. Nevertheless, the Chaucer enthusiast is greeted with a rich variety of sources for study.
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Books by Linda Sue Grimes:

Singing in the Silence: Poems of Faith
In 1978, I began studying the teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda. I still study those teachings and strive to practice what I learn. I think of my writing as an extension and reinforcement of my spiritual studies. I am especially happy when the poems focus on my spiritual journey, as those in this volume do. I want to take sadness and turn it into joy, and I want to take anger and turn it into acceptance. But mostly, I want to acknowledge the beauty and mystery of God's presence in creation.


Jiggery Jee's Eden Valley Stories
Hello, my name is Jiggery-Jee. I live in Eden Valley. Eden Valley is located in the very center of the Land of the Imagination. Surrounding Eden Valley are such places as Tulip Grove, Carrot Valley, Bunnyville, Faultner Grove, and Flower Town. We have many residents in Eden Valley who came to the Valley from the surrounding places. They come here because Eden Valley is peaceful. All of the residents of Eden Valley work and play and live in an atmosphere of harmony. The weather is always perfect; the sun shines when we need sun, and the rain rains when we need rain. However, I must warn you that although things really are peaceful and harmonious in Eden Valley, sometimes they do not start out that way; we often have to work to make life peaceful and harmonious.
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