“...how cruelly he has trampled on my love, betrayed my trust, scorned my prayers and tears, and efforts for his preservation, crushed my hopes, destroyed my youth’s best feelings, and doomed me to a life of hopeless misery, as far as man can do it, it is not enough to say that I no longer love my husband - I HATE him!” I am a huge Brontë fan. While Charlotte, Emily, and Anne often get lumped together, they had fairly distinct voices. Anne especially has been overlooked or …
A Modern Othello: Tracy Chevalier’s New Boy
Reading New Boy, a modern Othello, was disturbing yet enthralling. I felt like I was in a speeding vehicle as it barreled down the road. I wanted to hit the brakes but knew the inevitable crash was coming. Yet, I couldn’t stop reading, even as I knew the ending would be tragic. It left me feeling extremely unsettled, but in a good way. Author Tracy Chevalier set the story in a 1970s schoolyard playground, and that was …
Writer’s Digest PAD Challenge: 4/4
April is National Poetry Month. Writer's Digest is hosting a poem-a-day challenge. You can go to their website each day, get a new prompt, see an example, and post and share your work with other poets. It's really cool. Follow the link below.
Writer's Digest PAD Challenge
Today's prompt: Write a catch up poem. This is not to be confused with a ketchup (or catsup) poem, but hey, write one of those if the poetic spirit moves you! But I'm …
Storytelling and Poetic Devices in Taylor Swift’s “Betty”
Yesterday's post was about storytelling and poetic devices in Taylor Swift's "Ronan." Last night I showed it to Pauline, my eleven-year-old daughter, thinking I could use the lesson for my middle school students and the enrichment class I'm currently teaching. Pauline liked the lesson, but she remarked that other Swift songs told more complete stories. She was thinking of "All Too Well," but there's no way I'm subjecting twelve-year-olds to a ten-minute song, not with their attention spans. …
Storytelling Through Poetry and Song (Taylor Swift’s Ronan)
Perhaps Taylor Swift isn't for everyone, but personally, I am in awe of her poetic ability to write song lyrics that also tell a story. The details she uses are so vivid and specific. I don't write a lot of poetry, but I have been writing flash fiction recently, and many of her songs are like flash pieces. She centers on a moment or two, and conveys an emotional narrative by doing so. How does she do it? A lot of it is skill, talent, and creativity, but there are also some tools she uses, …