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World Poetry Day: 28 of poetry's most powerful lines ever written

World Poetry Day: 28 of poetry's most powerful lines ever written
The rhythm of the tongue brings wordless music into the air; it is in poetry that the human essence is refined to such ritualistic purity. It's in the steady beats, the sonorous rise-and-fall of speech; for a moment it appears as if all the mysteries of the world have unlocked themselves to our private view. It's these works which are celebrated on World Poetry Day, falling on 21 March, in which UNESCO recognises the moving spirit of poetry and its transformative effect on culture. In honour of these celebrations, here stands a small collection of singular lines, stanzas, and notions possessing of a power which springs the most moving of thoughts and feelings off of the page and into the humming imagination of its readers. Because I could not stop for Death, / He kindly stopped for me; / The carriage held but just ourselves / And Immortality 'Because I could not stop for Death', Emily Dickinson This is the way the world ends / not with a bang but a whimper 'The Hollow Men', T.S Eliot Related:  ETATS-UNIS

A Four-Ring Family Circus - Books A Great American Novelist. Hector Udall by Brady Udall (Norton, $26.95) Brady Udall has a thing for great opening lines. His debut novel, 2001's The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint, began with one of the greatest first sentences of all time: "If I could tell you only one thing about my life, it would be this: When I was seven years old, the mailman ran over my head." The Lonely Polygamist, his sophomore novel published last month, has an intriguing first line—"To put it as simply as possible: This is the story of a polygamist who has an affair"—but it doesn't get really good until the second sentence: "But there is much more to it than that, of course; the life of any polygamist, even when not complicated by lies and secrets and infidelity, is anything but simple." You can tell a lot about Udall's two novels from those openings: Edgar Mint was a kindhearted comic novel, peppered throughout with surprising bursts of humor. Polygamist explores the problems of multiple marriage: and

Poetry in EFL classes Today I would like to talk about poetry. Could it be useful in an EFL class? As usual, I try to imagine some activities that involve the use of different digital tools. What's poetry? At the following link you can find some great definitions (I made the above word cloud from some of these definitions using Tagul): Why study poetry in an ESL classroom? Click to enlarge my diagram Some links about the different kinds of poetry Different types of poetry: What about writing a poem? Watch the video Where to begin? Click to enlarge my map Some more tips Some useful figures of speech: find rhymes: Let's practise! Magnetic Poetry is a funny tool to write poems. You could also make a poetry magazine where you could collect all your poems!

Loneliness may be a greater public health hazard than obesity — and experts say it has hit epidemic levels in the US Francesca Woodman « Les choses du réel ne me font pas peur, seulement celles qui sont au fond de moi. » Francesca Woodman. Pour approcher de cette légende de la photographie qu’est devenue Francesca Woodman, il faut certes se plonger dans l’univers oppressant de ses photographies, mais aussi se souvenir des mots de Alejandra Pizarnik et de Sylvia Plath, autres suicidées de la vie, aspirées par le néant. D’ailleurs ses images sont réputées pour être celles d’une « Sylvia Plath de la photographie ». Son inquiétante précocité, sa beauté fuyante, son impudeur et sa pudeur extrême à la fois, montrant son corps nu et le dérobant sans cesse, sa fin tragique surtout, ont tissé cette légende. Maintenant encore elle demeure une énigme un peu effrayante par sa maturité anormale à son âge, son besoin d‘introspection et d’effacement. Ses photographies sont bien plus que de simples images, elles sont un parcours initiatique vers ses profondeurs. Combien de temps pourrai-je être un mur, protégeant du vent ? Bibliographie

Emily Dickinson Archive Happiness by Steve Cutts | Satire Short Film It’s hard to consistently make work independently as an animator, and the rare creators who are able to ascend to this peak outside the byzantine realm of grants and government sponsorship are lionized names: Don Hertzfeldt, Bill Plympton, David Firth, CGPGrey. The rub, as always, is money, and on one side are YouTube creators that can produce frequently and monetize off ad revenue, and on the other side established artistic icons who have succeeded in cultivating an audience willing to pay them directly. It’s been a while since a new member has joined these ranks, but I wonder if Steve Cutts, a UK animator/illustrator is set up to do so. Not that it appears he is really trying. It is purposeful irony on my part to discuss economics at the outset of this review, considering the consistent anti-capitalist themes in Cutts’ art dating back all the way to his breakthrough work, 2011’s In the Fall.

Robert Lowell | Poetry Foundation Robert Lowell is best known for his volume Life Studies, but his true greatness as an American poet lies in the astonishing variety of his work. In the 1940s he wrote intricate and tightly patterned poems that incorporated traditional meter and rhyme; in the late 1950s when he published Life Studies, he began to write startlingly original personal or "confessional" poetry in much looser forms and meters; in the 1960s he wrote increasingly public poetry; and finally in the 1970s he created poems that incorporated and extended elements of all the earlier poetry. Meanwhile he also produced a volume of translations he called "imitations" and wrote or translated several plays. Lowell had a profound interest in history and politics; in his poetry he juxtaposed self and history in ways that illuminated both. His art and his life were inseparably intertwined, and he believed firmly in the identity of self and language. Lowell crammed much activity into the next few years.

teaching a poem Any authentic material exposes students to some ‘real English’ and can be very motivating for your students, provided they are supported throughout the task. The other great thing about poems is for students to have the opportunity to see the language work creatively and freely. Poems can be used in many different ways and the more you use them the more uses you’ll find for them. Where can I get the poems from? Finding poems to use is now incredibly easy with the internet. If you make worksheets using the poem be sure to acknowledge the author’s name and the source. How do I choose the right one for my class? The first thing to consider when you’re selecting a poem for your class is the level of language. What activities can I do with a poem? Introduce a topic Poems can be a really nice way into a topic. Ordering the poem When you have chosen a suitable poem for your class, copy it onto a worksheet and cut up the verses. Rhyming words The Pronunciation Poem Learn a verse Record the students

How Schools Can Help Kids Prevent Loneliness Loneliness and social isolation, it’s worth noting, are often used interchangeably, but the concepts are distinct. Loneliness is a feeling that may or may not depend on how many meaningful confidants a person has—some people feel lonely or suffer from chronic loneliness despite not being socially isolated. Still, social isolation is a leading contributor to loneliness. Read: Single people aren’t to blame for the loneliness epidemic. The ideal school curriculum for teaching loneliness prevention, Holt-Lunstad says, would target social isolation as well as the cognitive processes that make people feel lonelier—while, of course, teaching students the health risks associated with loneliness. Holt-Lunstad advocates for a sort of “social education”—similar to efforts by schools to provide, say, sex education and physical education—that would be integrated into existing health-education curricula to teach students how to build and maintain friendships and relationships.

Laura Nyro, genius singer-songwriter – WalkerWords I only properly listened to the songs of Laura Nyro (pronounced ‘Near-oh’, as in Robert De Niro) a couple of months ago, but she already has a special place in my heart. This neglected singer-songwriter genius, who died of cancer, aged 49, in 1997, inspires a deep passion and devotion in those on her wavelength. Nyro was born Laura Nigro in the Bronx, New York. A precocious girl, she taught herself how to play piano and wrote her first song at the age of eight. Writing all her own material, Nyro blazed a trail for female singer-songwriters at a time when they were in short supply (Carole King apart). In her best songs Nyro takes you on a rollercoaster journey of rapture, mystery, heartbreak and bonkers-ness. Laura Nyro wrote songs to hold close to your heart, songs for the darkest days. Save the Country (long version) Film of Laura Nyro performing is scarce, so enjoy her appearance on American TV: Lay that devil down! Stoney End

24 Best Poems to Teach in Middle and High School It can be hard to know which poems will spur your middle and high schoolers into deep, meaningful discussion and which will leave them, ahem, yawning. So we asked experienced teachers to share their favorites—the punch-in-the-gut poems that always get a reaction, even from teens. Here's what they had to say. 1. Snow by David Berman Captures a narrative in miniature with a creative structure. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. What are your favorite poems to teach? How to talk to strangers Julia Rothman What does it take to say a simple hello to a stranger you pass on the street? How might that interaction continue? What are the places in which you are more likely to interact with people you don’t know? Each of the following expeditions provides a structure and a contrivance to help you explore the world of people you don’t know. You can do them alone or with a partner. The guiding principle of these expeditions is respect for others, and every explorer should pay careful attention to their own conduct. Remember the tremendous cultural differences in expectations of eye contact and street behavior. The expeditions are presented in order of increasing challenge — increased complexity, increased emotional risk, increased potential for depth of interaction. 1. You’ll need a notebook for this. Start looking around you. 2. Take a walk in a populous place like a park with paths or along a city sidewalk. Keep a keen awareness of the dynamics of each of these micro-interactions.

Opinion | The Land of Altered Bodies The dream where I’m leglessisn’t a nightmare, and I’m notafraid — there’s light and a riverand everything is exactlyhow I’d hoped. I’m not tetheredto the earth. I’m not tied downby gravity, dragging my legsalong the bank gravel, not searchingfor the softest patch of moss.I’m not even tired, and thoughI’m certain the dreamis an elegy, it sounds exactly likea praise song. In the dreammy legs break free of meand I watch them float away.The coffin in my chestblows open in the wind,and for once I think I knowwhat it’s like to be withoutall our dead and heavy things. I’ve said this all beforeand anyway, you hadalready been picked up,held down, put under,and refashioned;you were alreadydreaming your bodyin some gravity-lesscountry, already callingit a river, Mars. What we leave downin the canyon — the stainof us — red on red,hemoglobin on hematite,the trace of us the one truemap we’ll ever leave.

Le Black Mountain College, il était une fois une utopie culturelle Temps de lecture: 10 min Black Moutain College: Art, Démocratie, Utopie, Joelle Zask Utopie culturelle et structure expérimentale en activité de 1933 à 1957 dans les montagnes de Caroline du Nord aux États-Unis, le Black Mountain College, école d'art et pôle de créativité dans la lignée éminente du Bauhaus allemand, n'avait pas encore fait l'objet d'un livre en France. Des livres de référence sur le sujet existaient bien sûr en éditions américaines, dont la synthèse pionnière, Black Mountain: An Exploration in Community, de Martin Duberman, publié par Dutton en 1972, et The Arts at Black Mountain College de Mary Emma Harris, réimprimé en 2002, après une première édition en 1987, par M.I.T. La publication récente aux P.U.R. de Black Mountain College. Une approche pragmatique du projet artistique Dans ce livre collectif, la pluralité des approches forme un tout complémentaire et harmonieux, à l'image de la pluralité des dimensions impliquées dans l'expérience du Black Mountain College.

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