A famous definition of poetry as “a little word machine” has been quite extensively and approvingly quoted in the last few decades. There are various versions of the expression. William Carlos Williams spoke of “a small (or large) machine made of words.” Typing the phrase into Google gave me 530,000,000 hits. A short-lived poetry magazine in…
The Untold Story of Love and Loss Behind the Beautiful Poems of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s popularity among average Americans of his day is something contemporary poets dream about. An international celebrity, he dispensed pre-signed autographs to the many fans who visited his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, hoping to meet the author of “Paul Revere’s Ride” and “The Song of Hiawatha.” His work is famous for his placid…
Taking Poetry to Heart Is a Lifetime Gift
In the spring of 2014, I served as prompter for a local homeschool poetry fest in Asheville, North Carolina. From pre-K students to high school seniors, students marched onto stage and recited verse to an audience composed of family and friends. The little ones trebled out nursery rhymes, middle-schoolers delivered impressive reams of rhymes—Shel Silverstein’s…
What Good Is Poetry? Wordsworth’s Lament in ‘The World Is Too Much with Us
One way or another, people must make sense of the world, but how they come to that understanding begs the question of what it means to understand something. Does understanding hang on things like structure or significance or something else altogether? Poetry is one way to come to an understanding of things on several levels….
The Healing Potential of Poetry
Poetry offers a unique outlet for our creativity. It can let us bring expression to beautiful memories, or share something on a more essential level. Magdalena Montagne knows the value of poetry through her own experience as a frequent writer and published author with a degree in literature. Now she’s trying to help the elderly,…
Literary Standards: Are They Real?
There’s long been a debate on whether art should be valued simply because I (or you) like it via a totally subjective stance. Recently, I was privileged to be invited to be one of the two final judges of the 100 Days of Dante poetry competition run by the Calvin Center for Faith & Writing…
Liberty Tree: A Look at Thomas Paine’s Song Celebrating the Beauty of American Freedom
April 15, 2022
admin
American EssenceAmerican RevolutionArts & CultureArts & TraditionBrightHistoryLIBERTYLiberty treepoetrysongThomas Paine
0 Comment
In a chariot of light from the regions of day, The Goddess of Liberty came; Ten thousand celestials directed the way And hither conducted the dame. A fair budding branch from the gardens above, Where millions with millions agree, She brought in her hand as a pledge of her love, And the plant she named…
How a Tough Texas Lawman Took Down the Notorious Criminal Couple Bonnie and Clyde
Frank Hamer was once asked how he felt about the 52 gunfights he was alleged to have participated in throughout his 45 years as a Texas lawman—and the 30 dead men these violent clashes accounted for. “The men I have shot down have all been criminals in the act of committing a crime or resisting…
Why This State of the Union I’m Reading ‘Babi Yar’
Commentary I was going to write about President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address, but it was too tedious to inspire a response and devoid of even one semi-interesting idea. What could I write? Even the references to the Ukraine war were more confused than enlightening, such as the mind-boggling gaffe, “Putin may circle Kyiv…
What Good Is Poetry? Shakespeare’s ‘Winter’ and the Hard Joys of the Season
The world bound up in the snow and ice of winter is as fascinating as it is forbidding. Hoary mountains, blinding blizzards, snowy deserts, solid waters, fluid fires of the aurora borealis, and air that stings to breathe all give the distinct impression that men ought not keep company with such inhospitable presences. But how…
US News
RSS Error: A feed could not be found at `https://www.theepochtimes.com/c-us/feed`; the status code is `200` and content-type is `text/html; charset=utf-8`