Classroom Technology

Not exactly a poem, but I love it.

One of my favorite poems I would like to share :)
performed at a To Write Love on Her Arms event.

September 14, 1972 Reading in San Francisco. Splendid!

Jeff Bethke’s spoken word poem is mega viral… Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus…

Robert Hass, a great poet, served as Poet Laureate of the United States from 1995 to 1997. He lives in California with his wife, poet Brenda Hillman, and teaches at the University of California, Berkeley. Here he reads his poem Time and Materials.

James Joyce’s Poems Get a Musical Facelift

In 1907, shortly after publishing a book of love poetry titled Chamber Music, Irish writer James Joyce penned a letter to his brother Stanislaus: “Some of the verses are pretty enough to be put to music. I hope someone will do so, someone that knows old English music such as I like.” A century later, a group of independent electronic, folk and rock musicians have done just that.

All 36 verses from Joyce’s book of poetry have been put to music by artists such as Peter Buck from R.E.M. and Lee Ranaldo from Sonic Youth. Click the following link to listen to some of Joyce’s stanzas put to music:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91757715

You can hear the full story from NPR below…

The poet Emily Dickinson suffered from severe anxiety. In her series of poems, “Part 1, Life, XCVIII,” she writes: “While I was fearing it came, But came with less of the fear, Because that fearing it so long, Had almost made it dear.”

The lyrics from her poem are used as the basis for a rock song about anxiety. It’s called “Fearing,” by the band, The Amygdaloids

Pablo Neruda is one of my preferred poets. No poet has more passionately and thoroughly spoken for his people than Neruda. “Canto General,” his 15-part book comprising over 200 poems tracing the history of Latin America practically unified a country.

Deborah Ager, born in 1971, co-founded the poetry magazine known as 32 Poems in 2003. Her manuscript, Midnight Voices, was published by Cherry Grove Collections. She’s one of my preferred young American poets.

Summer Nights, by Deborah Ager

Lamoni, Iowa

The factory siren tells workers time to go home
tells them the evening has begun.
When living with the tall man

whom I didn’t love, I would wander
the streets, dreaming of Italy.
Trekking the handful of avenues

with him, he would say look there
between pink cobblestones,
there’s manure like mortar.

The sweet smell of it Wednesday nights,
the night before auction,
when the misery of cows greets me

heading home through town.
Lake quiets, tired of my lies.
When will I tell truths again?

The siren. My love is home.
Nights, we stay in and X the days.