TresSugar

Watch Caroline Kennedy Share a Woman's Journey Through Poems

Annie Scudder — Wed, 04 May 2011 11:23:24 PDT

At the behest of her mother, Jackie, Caroline Kennedy would have to memorize poems for Mother's Day, Christmas, birthdays, and other special occasions. Far from making her resent poetry, the tradition gave her a deep-seated love for it and inspired her just-published collection of poems reflecting on womanhood, She Walks in Beauty: A Woman's Journey Through Poems. She came on The Late Show with David Letterman last night to share stories of her mother, read a selection, and talk about how the book came together. Watch it now. If you enjoy it, you might want to pick up a copy as a Mother's Day gift!

5 Ways to Inspire Your Children to Write Poetry

Heather Maddan — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 04:00:46 PST

In an age of technology where some children learn to type before they print, prose could be a pastime. But, Disney Junior is getting tots enthused about the written word with A Poem Is.... The minute-long snippets will include the work of classic and contemporary poets read by celebrities and paired with animation. The vignettes will air between full-length shows beginning on Feb. 14. We asked the executive producer of the series, Brian Hohlfeld, for some tips on getting kids to pen their own work.

©Disney

Sneak Preview! Katie Holmes Reads Poetry For Disney

Heather Maddan — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 09:51:23 PST

Katie Holmes is teaching her daughter, Suri Cruise, and other children to appreciate the written word. The actress and mom lent her voice to Disney Junior's new show, A Poem Is.... The minute-long snippets will include the work of classic and contemporary poets read by celebrities and paired with animation. The vignettes will air in between full-length shows beginning on Feb. 14. Mom of two Jennifer Garner has also signed onto the project. Disney gave us the exclusive sneak peek of Holmes reading "Mice" by Rose Fyleman. Check it out!

U R Virtuous: Victorian Poets Used Texting Abbreviations

TresSugar — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 12:30:30 PDT

For anyone who thinks texting lingo is ruining the English language, maybe it's time to consider shorthand is really nothing new.

People have been shortening words into abbreviations and acronyms for centuries (IOU, an acronym for "I owe you," was coined in 1618), and Victorian poets, those beacons of propriety, were writing abbreviated poetry 150 years ago.

Instead of calling it the death of the English language, though, they called it emblematic poetry and valued it as a clever form of posy. The British Library is preparing an exhibit devoted to the English language of the last 1,500 years. One piece will be an emblematic poem from 1867 called "An Essay to Miss Catherine Jay."

Here are a few choice lines.

To U, sweet K T J (Katie J, I presume?)
I wrote 2 U B 4
He says he loves U 2 X S.
U R virtuous and Y's
Now fare you well dear K T J.
In X L N C U X L

X L N C U X L? I don't know either!

Where the Sidewalk Bends? Shel Silverstein's Dark Side

TresSugar — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 14:00:00 PDT

Am I the last person to learn that prolific children's poet Shel Silverstein had another life as a writer of decidedly adult content? Feels like it! Besides writing Johnny Cash's hit song "A Boy Named Sue," he started his career at Playboy, where he continued to contribute until his death.

To me, his poems were the epitome of childhood simplicity and playfulness. So, I was surprised to read one of his lesser-known poems, "The Perfect High." With Silverstein's trademark couplets beating like nursery rhymes, the tale of Gimmesome Roy searching for the perfect high reads like a twisted parody of his children's poems. Here's my favorite part of the poem:

"What's happening, Fats?" says Roy with joy, "I've come to state my biz.
I hear you're hip to the perfect trip. Please tell me what it is.
For you can see," says Roy to he, "that I'm about to die,
So for my last ride, Fats, how can I achieve the perfect high?"

"Well, dog my cats!" says Baba Fats. "here's one more burnt-out soul,
Who's looking for some alchemist to turn his trip to gold.
But you won't find it in no dealer's stash, or on no druggist's shelf.
Son, if you would seek the perfect high - find it in yourself."

Did you know about Shel's, um, versatility? Are you surprised?

William Shatner Reads Palin's Tweets - I Mean, Poems

TresSugar — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 09:00:00 PDT

It appears that these writers aren't the only ones who think Sarah Palin is a poet. Conan O'Brien proclaims she is a master of free verse because of her creative use of language. Conan recently invited the one and only William Shatner onto his show to recite her farewell speech, then brought Shatner back on Wednesday to recite her Tweets. With a bongo player and bass player as background, you can almost imagine being in a smoke-filled, Beatnik dive in the '50s . . .

Sarah Palin: Poet?

TresSugar — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 11:00:00 PDT

No matter how you feel about Sarah Palin, you have to admit the woman has an awfully strange way of expressing herself. I've heard her tortured syntax and odd word choices described as a "word salad," but one writer goes further. Palin's speech is likened to a verbal Armageddon because of her unique ability to turn a simple idea into near incomprehensible gobbledygook.

Hart Seely has taken these mangled forms and rakishly proclaimed them found poetry. The simple idea, "small town mayors are on the front lines," once Palinized, sounds like this:

You know,
Small mayors,
Mayors of small towns-
Quote, unquote-
They're on the front lines.

Writing composition masters Strunk and White may not have approved of Palin's use of language ("Omit needless words" was their mantra, after all), but writer Julian Gough facetiously agrees that Sarah Palin is an accidental poet. "A great poet needs to leave open the door between the conscious and unconscious," he says. "Sarah Palin has removed her door from its hinges."

Do you think a politician needs to be articulate, or do you think these folks are just being unfair to Palin?

Oh Snap! After 341 Years, First British Female Poet Laureate

TresSugar — Fri, 01 May 2009 12:00:00 PDT

Poet Carol Ann Duffy talks to the media after being announced as the new poet laureate by Culture Secretary Andy Burnham in Manchester, England. Duffy is the first female (and lesbian and mother) to be given the post since it was created 341 years ago, when John Dryden was the first recipient.

To check out a Carol Ann Duffy poem and links to more of her work,

Words, Wide Night
by Carol Ann Duffy

Somewhere on the other side of this wide night
and the distance between us, I am thinking of you.
The room is turning slowly away from the moon.

This is pleasurable. Or shall I cross that out and say
it is sad? In one of the tenses I singing
an impossible song of desire that you cannot hear.

La lala la. See? I close my eyes and imagine the dark hills I would have to cross
to reach you. For I am in love with you

and this is what it is like or what it is like in words.

Source

A Tale of Two Ginsbergs: Franco and Eisenberg

BuzzSugar — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 12:30:02 PDT

Another Allen Ginsberg movie, you say? Why yes, in fact, in addition to the Ginsberg biopic Howl starring James Franco as the legendary poet (check out some new pics from the set here), now Jesse Eisenberg (of The Squid and the Whale and the upcoming Adventureland) will play Ginsberg in the feature film Kill Your Darlings.

In Howl, the focus is on the obscenity trial launched to censor Ginsberg's long poem "Howl." Kill Your Darlings is not solely about Ginsberg but will tell the story of "the murder that helped spawn the Beat Generation. . . . [Ben] Whishaw will play Lucien Carr, the Columbia U. undergrad who brought together Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac ([Chris] Evans), and William S. Burroughs."

I'll be curious to see how Eisenberg and Franco's portrayals of Ginsberg differ - or match up - in these simultaneous projects. After so much remake and "rebooting" movie news, I can't express how refreshing I find these projects about a real man who genuinely influenced American culture with his art. I say, bring on the Ginsbergs.

Source

Residents of Lesbos, Greece, Want Their Name Back

LibertySugar — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 03:00:50 PDT

Residents of the Greek island of Lesbos have brought a lawsuit against a Greek gay rights group, alleging that the term "lesbian" is an insult to the homeland.

The lawyer representing the three Lesbos plaintiffs says that the group's name - the Homosexual and Lesbian Community of Greece - "causes confusion by using a geographic term" in connection with social action. The island does not want to be associated with the group's "special character."

It seems the islanders have a seriously uphill battle to fight if they are trying to reclaim the term "lesbian" as a geographical moniker. The ancient female poet Sappho, who hailed from Lesbos, lent the name of her hometown island to female-loving females, as much of her poetry celebrated love between women. Considering travel to Lesbos is popular among the world's gay community, it might be in the island's economic interest to embrace its homosexual association.

Source