Patricia Smith The Poet & the Poem audio podcast This is My Story: Getting to Know Patricia Smith From the Catbird Seat blog February 9, 2015 Patricia Smith’s “Words That Force Us to Look” From the Catbird Seat April 22, 2013 Patricia Smith Bookfest bio Patricia Smith: 2009 National Book Festival video Necessary Utterance: Poetry as Cultural Force…
Lesson objective In this primary source lesson students will gain a better understanding of the meaning and tone of “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” by completing a scaffolded close reading of the poem using multiple source types (written text, spoken word, music, photos, illustrations and maps) while developing personal, lasting connections to literature by creating their own related…
Robert Frost poems & poetry books “A Hillside Thaw” c 1930 “A Mood Apart” 1945 “The Runaway” c 1930 “My November Guest“ North of Boston 1914 A Boy’s Will 1915 Mountain Interval 1921 Robert Frost Reads Poem at JFK’s Inauguration January 20, 1961 from America’s Library Frost Inaugural poetry “Dedication” Robert Frost’s Presidential Inaugural Poem typescript with Frost’s…
Above is the first page of Robert Frost’s poem “Dedication” with his handwritten edits. First read the final version of this poem. How does this poem make you feel? Why do you think Frost might have written this poem? Who do you think was the audience for the poem? Include specific examples from the poem in…
Carefully examine a larger image of this photograph. Then consider why the photographer chose to title the photo “The Poem”. Do you think this photo is poetic? Why or why not? How does this photograph make you feel? What do you think about when looking at this image? Make a list of 3 nouns, 3…
Books by Vachel Lindsay Adventures while preaching the gospel of beauty c. 1914 A handy guide for beggars, especially those of the poetic fraternity 1916 The golden book of Springfield 1920 “General William Booth enters into Heaven” lyrics by Vachel Lindsay (video of song performance) Vachel Lindsay historic newspaper coverage through 1922 Vachel Lindsay images Illinois…
Poetry 180 is a project of two-time U.S. Poet Laureate (2002-2003) Billy Collins. The Poetry Foundation describes Mr. Collins, “Dubbed ‘the most popular poet in America’ by Bruce Weber in the New York Times, Billy Collins is famous for conversational, witty poems that welcome readers with humor but often slip into quirky, tender or profound observation…
Review the Official Program Woman Suffrage Procession and read the program forward (page 3). What goals for the procession does the forward set? How do the accomplishments of the highlighted women on pages 3 and 4 seem to support those goals? Closely read the first 11 paragraphs of page 4: Why Women Want to Vote. What is…
Edna St. Vincent Millay Birthday From the Catbird Seat blog March 5, 2013 Literary Birthday Celebration: Edna St. Vincent Millay webcast Publicity, Celebrity, Fashion: Photographing Edna St. Vincent Millay streaming webcast The Voice of Her Generation Library of Congress Information Bulletin January 1999 – Vol 58, No. 1 Edna St. Vincent Millay image set “There are no islands any…
Helen Keller from America’s Library Helen Keller image set “Autumn” poem by Helen Keller, 27 October 1893 An Ode to Autumn by a Writer in the Spring of Her Career Teaching with the Library of Congress October 19, 2017 Hellen Keller correspondence The World I Live in by Helen Keller 1908 The Song of the Stone…
Today in History–September 15–the Library of Congress features writer Robert Penn Warren, who died on this date in 1989. A novelist and poet who won a Pulitzer Prize for his novel All the Kings Men and two Pulitzers for his poetry, Warren was also a teacher, critic. He also served as poetry consultant for the Library from 1944-45 and as…
Curator’s note from the Library of Congress online exhibition: The Dream of Flight On these pages, the English poet and illustrator, William Blake, depicts the personification of “Time” as having wings. On the left page, Time has his traditional scythe and conceals his wings as he creeps stealthily toward the viewer. On the right, Time has…