Three Epiphanic Poems (and a Short Note) by Joseph S. Salemi The Society October 14, 2023 Beauty, Education, Essays, Poetry 23 Comments . Epiphany It stays in your memory like a pealing bell, A smallish thing, an unimportant fact— The mute suggestion of a random act. What do I speak of? Listen, I shall tell: A kindness from someone you...
‘Limericks on Good English Prose’ by Joseph S. Salemi (with Note on Fictive Mimesis) The Society September 17, 2023 Education, Essays, Humor, Limerick, Poetry 23 Comments . Cantankerous Limericks on Good English Prose I love a complexly wrought sentence With phrases and colons that went thence __To make concise points __With their well-dovetailed joints And gave one no cause...
Thoughts on Education Outside the Box: Poems by Anna J. Arredondo The Society September 14, 2023 Beauty, Culture, Education, Humor, Poetry 22 Comments . . Freedom high school algebra class; May 12, 1993 . A breeze blows in; it wisps my hair, And flutters papers in the air; It carries, with the scent of rose, A dream---and takes one as it goes. . Upon its...
‘On Professionally Hesitant Poets’ and Other Poetry Exercises by Joseph S. Salemi The Society September 3, 2023 Beauty, Education, Poetry, Satire 17 Comments . On Professionally Hesitant Poets O, for a Muse of fire, that would ascend The brightest heaven of invention! —Shakespeare, Henry V Old Vergil guided Dante to the place Where uncommitted, opportunist...
The 2023 SCP International High School Poetry Competition The Society September 1, 2023 Education, High School Submissions, Poetry, Poetry Contests . But the great Master said, “I see No best in kind, but in degree; I gave a various gift to each, To charm, to strengthen, and to teach.” —Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “The Singers” First...
Appreciating Shakespeare Video & Intro to Hollow Crown’s Richard II Production The Society August 19, 2023 Education, Essays, Poetry, Shakespeare, Video 8 Comments . . . . . Appreciating Shakespeare by Evan Mantyk Why do people think Shakespeare is so great? Why do they keep returning to his plays 400 years later? And for other classical literature, even thousands...
Two Classic Christopher Columbus Poems and a Columbus Biography with PDF The Society May 2, 2023 Children's, Culture, Education, Poetry 9 Comments . Columbus by Joaquin Miller (1837-1913) Behind him lay the gray Azores , Behind the Gates of Hercules; Before him not the ghost of shores, Before him only shoreless seas. The good mate said: “Now must we...
Two Cinquains by Tiree MacGregor The Society April 21, 2023 Beauty, Blank Verse, Education, Poetry 6 Comments . A Novice Speaks to a Guardian Tell me, Oh honoured one, The secret of the Way, Of how to live, to reach the place Of light! . The Guardian’s Reply Kid, train And work hard; doubt The self; gain all you...
‘Acceptance’ and Other Poetry by Russel Winick The Society April 13, 2023 Culture, Education, Love Poems, Poetry, Satire 24 Comments . Acceptance Relationships are courses in which You should not enroll, If changing other people is your Pre-existing goal. . . When One Overrides Twenty-Six It started in first grade as I recall. Our son...
A Poem on Critical Race Theory in Schools: ‘Johnny Came A-Guilty’ by Thomas Adams The Society April 11, 2023 Culture, Education, Poetry 12 Comments . Johnny Came A-Guilty Johnny came a-guilty Home one day from school, Where he’d learnt a-sadly How he was a tool For oppressing other children With different coloured skin, And how he’d never expiate This...
Three Poems for National Poetry Month, by Roy E. Peterson The Society April 2, 2023 Beauty, Children's, Culture, Education, Poetry 16 Comments . The Mystery of Poetry The mystery of poetry __is found between the lines. The poet sends the signals while __the sentence shows the signs. Alliterative artifices __alert the adept minds. The power of each...
‘Jägermeister’ and Other Poetry by Gregory Ross The Society March 29, 2023 Culture, Education, Love Poems, Poetry, Rondeau 6 Comments f Jägermeister "Like arrows in the hands of a warrior __are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man __whose quiver is full of them." ---Psalm 127 My quiver’s full, as David said, With children...
Don Quixote Text with PDF: Adapted for Students The Society March 24, 2023 Culture, Education, Humor, Poetry 3 Comments . The following is an excerpt of Don Quixote by Miguel Cervantes, encompassing most of Chapters 1 through 8, including Don Quixote getting his start, acquiring his squire Sancho Panza, and going on the...
‘Dialogue on a First Grade Science Textbook’: A Poem by Evan Mantyk The Society March 23, 2023 Culture, Education, Poetry, Science 10 Comments . Dialogue on a First Grade Science Textbook Many spiritual traditions throughout history have perceived all things, animate and inanimate, as living. "Usually religions teach people to believe spiritually so...
‘How to Write Contemporary Poetry’ and ‘Brush Up Your Shakespeare’ by Brian Yapko The Society March 21, 2023 Culture, Education, Humor, Pantoum, Poetry, Satire, Shakespeare 35 Comments . How to Write Contemporary Poetry a pantoum in free verse composition keep letters lower case. dump classical tradition then cite the marketplace. keep letters lower case make use of ampersands then cite the...
‘Learnin’ Letters’ and Other Poetry by Norma Pain The Society March 20, 2023 Education, Humor, Poetry 30 Comments . Learnin’ Letters I wanna learn me letters Ma, I wanna learn ta read. If I can learn me letters Ma, We’ll ‘ave the things we need. An’ when I grows ta be a man, I’ll be a proper gent, Discussin’...
Henny and Sal: An Essay by Joseph S. Salemi The Society November 14, 2022 Education, Essays, Poetry 12 Comments . Henny and Sal by Joseph S. Salemi My father, Salvatore J. Salemi, was a noncommissioned officer in G-2 (Military Intelligence) during the Second World War. Although he was 29 years old in 1942, he was...
‘Writing a Poem’ by Sally Cook The Society November 13, 2022 Beauty, Education, Poetry 15 Comments . Writing a Poem Our planet moves, and so do we, By forces that we cannot see. Rhyme, meter always seem to track The rhythm of the planet. Lack Of sense or sensibility Inhibits our ability To see. In every...
‘Poetry 101 Lecture’ by Mary Gardner The Society November 4, 2022 Culture, Education, Humor, Poetry 14 Comments . Poetry 101 Lecture Today we shall discuss why poems have a poor repute (Though if one dislikes poetry, apology is moot). Let’s take four types of poems with their strong points and their...
Verse on Verse: Four Poems by James A. Tweedie The Society October 6, 2022 Beauty, Culture, Education, High School Submissions, Poetry 16 Comments . Serious Poetry Serious poetry, somber and grim; Dashing, descriptive, with narrative flair. Formal and versified; Rhythmic and dignified; Romance and rhetoric; ribald and prim. Taking you places while curled...
The 2022 SCP International High School Poetry Competition The Society September 1, 2022 Education, High School Submissions, Poetry, Poetry Contests . “Yet, do thy worst old Time; despite thy wrong, My love shall in my verse ever live young.” —William Shakespeare, Sonnet XIX First Prize: $200. Publication in the Society's website and The Society of...
How to Write Haiku: What Makes a Good Haiku? The Society June 29, 2022 Education, Essays, Haiku and Senryu, Poetry 45 Comments . How to Write Haiku What Makes a Good Haiku? by Margaret Coats The required 5-7-5 syllable form alone does not make a haiku. A good haiku ⦁ presents an observation of nature, or of human activities in...
University Program to Remove Sonnets as Part of ‘Decolonising the Curriculum’ The Society May 17, 2022 Education, Poetry, Shakespeare 25 Comments . According to The Telegraph, the University of Salford is planning to remove sonnets from its Creative Writing program. The reason? They are "products of white western culture" and the University of Salford...
The Canterbury Tales General Prologue: Translation of Lines 1-18 The Society May 7, 2022 Beauty, Chaucer, Culture, Education, Poetry, Translation 16 Comments . The Canterbury Tales---General Prologue, Lines 1-18 by Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400) Translated by Evan Mantyk When April’s sweetest showers downward shoot, The drought of March is pierced right to the...
‘Crank Out a Few, Please’: Observations on Poetic Composition by Joseph S. Salemi The Society May 3, 2022 Education, Essays, Poetry 22 Comments . Crank Out a Few, Please by Joseph S. Salemi Many years ago, when I was in graduate school, I attended a seminar on Vergil’s Eclogues. These are the lovely bucolic verses that Vergil modeled on the earlier...
The Merchant of Venice Student Edition—PDF and Complete Text The Society April 13, 2022 Education, Humor, Poetry, Shakespeare 12 Comments . The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare Classical Poets Student Edition Adapted by Evan Mantyk to retain the meaning of each line within the original poetic form, including blank and sometimes rhyming...
Poetic Pitfalls: An Essay by Joseph S. Salemi The Society January 5, 2022 Education, Essays, Poetry 18 Comments . There are a number of ways to go wrong in poetry. Unfortunately, the Poetry Establishment is only willing to admit the existence of a select few of them. The others are either kept under wraps, or disguised...
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: Free PDF The Society November 6, 2021 Culture, Education, Essays, Poetry 7 Comments Following the introduction below is a translated version of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in PDF made free for download for teachers, students, and interested readers by the Society of Classical Poets. It...
‘SAT Tips’: A Poem for Students by Evan Mantyk The Society September 30, 2021 Culture, Education, Poetry 16 Comments . SAT Tips Leave nothing blank, your chances are __As good as one in four; So when the end is not too far __Fill in! to raise your score. Jot notes down on the booklet page __or circle a key word. This helps...
‘In Praise of the Poet’ by James A. Tweedie The Society September 24, 2021 Beauty, Education, Poetry 17 Comments . __Of Helen, Menelaus, war, Achilles, Paris and his treachery, __Of Agamemnon, Troy, and more, I wrote the Iliad and Odyssey. __Of Saracens and Charlemagne, Of Roland and his tragic, fateful day, __Of...
Two Literary Poems by James A. Tweedie The Society September 10, 2021 Beauty, Culture, Education, Humor, Poetry 9 Comments . A Summary of Oedipus the King by Sophocles, and Notes This play, no doubt to Sophocles’ surprise, When first performed took only Second Prize. Summary King Oedipus of Thebes, both good and wise— Or...
What’s Writing Classical Poetry All About? The Society June 4, 2021 Beauty, Culture, Education, Essays, Poetry, Readings 11 Comments Originally published in The Epoch Times by James Sale Very recently, I hosted a live online poetry event for New York’s Society of Classical Poets (SCP). I introduced six American poets, of whom two were...
Comments on the Decline of American Universities The Society June 2, 2021 Culture, Education, Essays, Poetry 4 Comments American historian Victor Davis Hanson and Canadian professor Jordan Peterson recently commented on the decline of American universities. Though they did not specifically mention poetry, the mainstream poetry...
Learning Poetry: A Guide for Students, Teachers, and Homeschoolers The Society May 31, 2021 Education, From the Society, Poetry 2 Comments . Introduction to Poetry Illuminating yet mysterious, exciting yet elegant: classical poetry never goes out of style. From the lyrics in people's favorite songs to Robert Frost's nature-themed poems to Basho's...
‘The White Man’s Burden’ by Rudyard Kipling: Poem, Background, and Analysis The Society March 4, 2021 Culture, Education, Essays, Poetry 59 Comments . A Teaching Tool for High School English Language Arts or Global History Teachers by Evan Mantyk . Background of Kipling and British India Rudyard Kipling The poet, Rudyard Kipling, was born in British India...
The Struggle for the Formalist Tradition: An Essay by Joseph S. Salemi The Society December 13, 2020 Deconstructing Communism, Education, Essays, Poetry 58 Comments Why are many young persons so bad at writing formal poetry? Why do they struggle and labor and twist and turn when trying to compose formal verse? OK, I’ll grant you this: every beginning poet has...
Essay: ‘Moralistic Authenticity’ by Joseph S. Salemi The Society March 3, 2020 Culture, Education, Essays, Poetry 43 Comments A not infrequent problem that a poetry editor must face is a contributor’s intransigence. Sometimes this resistance is on metrical issues or diction, but there are a few poets who dig in their...
Line, Stanza & Form: An Introduction to Poetry The Society February 12, 2020 Beauty, Culture, Education, Essays, Poetry, Poetry Forms 3 Comments by Michael Curtis | excerpted from Occasional Poetry Tradition grows from wisdom, from the accumulated experience of millennia; in poetic practice, our classic tradition grows from the craft of Ages. Change...
Recommended Poetry Contests of 2020 The Society February 8, 2020 Education, From the Society, Poetry Contests 5 Comments Better Than Starbucks Sonnet Contest Accepting Submissions Beginning: October 1, 2020 Deadline: December 1, 2020 Top Prize: $100 Submission Fee: None Better Than Starbucks has confirmed that its...
How NOT to Hate Shakespeare: TED Talk by Rob Crisell The Society October 13, 2019 Culture, Education, Poetry, Shakespeare, Video 2 Comments ...