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 . For teachers seeking a quick solution, see 10 Great Poems for Teaching in High School Classrooms. Introduction to Poetry Illuminating yet mysterious, exciting yet elegant: classical poetry never goes out of...
‘The White Man’s Burden’ by Rudyard Kipling: Poem, Background, and Analysis The Society March 4, 2021 Culture, Education, Essays, Poetry 60 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 ...
Essay: On Yeats’ ‘Second Coming’ and the Power of Poetry The Society September 11, 2019 Beauty, Culture, Education, Essays, Poetry 45 Comments by T.M. Moore I had just finished teaching one of the adult classes at our church on the meaning of Christmas, using John Milton’s Ode on the Morning of Christ’s Nativity as my text. We examined many...
Some Truncated Quatrains by Bruce Wren The Society May 29, 2019 Culture, Education, Humor, Poetry, Poetry Forms 12 Comments A truncated quatrain is a form I have invented in an attempt to find some appropriate English form similar—for its brevity and single-mindedness in theme—to the Japanese haiku. They consist in four lines...
A Line of Shakespeare Poetry Contest The Society May 8, 2019 Culture, Education, From the Society, Humor, Poetry, Poetry Contests, Shakespeare 148 Comments Winners announced here! Write a short poem that begins with one line from any Shakespeare play or poem. The poem should be two to four lines in length. Post it in the comments section below under your...
Poem in Your Pocket Day 2019 Poems (Rhyming!) The Society April 4, 2019 Culture, Education, From the Society, Poetry 25 Comments April 18, 2019 is Poem in Your Pocket Day, part of National Poetry Month. On this day, people are encouraged to carry a poem in their pockets and share it with others. This day is primarily used by teachers...
Poetry Lesson Plan: British Romantic Period (including Lecture Notes) The Society March 18, 2019 Beauty, Culture, Education, Poetry 6 Comments Note: Teaching classical poetry rather than other forms of poetry or modern literature makes a difference. Inherent in classical poetry is a respect for tradition, for order, for discipline, and for the...
Who Killed Poetry? A Critique of Modernism and Post-Modernism (Part I) The Society March 3, 2019 Beauty, Culture, Education, Essays, Poetry 68 Comments by Edward C. "Ted" Hayes A Prefatory Poem (or a Gaggle of Goosefeathers) Some will judge this essai the exact thing it’s not – Distilled, unvarnished, contemned tommyrot For asserting mod...
Announcing the 2019 Poetry Competition Winners The Society February 1, 2019 Education, From the Society, Poetry, Poetry Contests 13 Comments Thank you to everyone who participated! We have had more quality submissions this year than in any past year and it has been a privilege to read and judge them. Congratulations to the winners! First Place...
‘In Memory of Romeo and Juliet’ by Victor Tyne The Society January 17, 2019 Beauty, Culture, Education, High School Submissions, Poetry 7 Comments These twain ephem’ral lives were fraught with woes When they, a boy and girl in morn of life, Defied their due inheritance as foes And chased a star-crossed love as man and wife. Belovéd by...
A Beginner’s Guide to Sapphic Verse (with Audio) The Society November 27, 2018 Education, Essays, Poetry, Poetry Forms, Readings, Sapphic Verse 37 Comments by James A. Tweedie My interest in Sapphic verse arose from a discussion thread on an SCP post some months ago. I researched the subject and decided to try my hand at it. Recently, I submitted my poem to...
Rediscovering Homer’s ‘Odyssey’ The Society October 24, 2018 Beauty, Culture, Education, Epic, Essays, Homer, Poetry 27 Comments by Evan Mantyk Where is Homer? The epic poems of the famous Greek bard were the cornerstone of education for young Socrates, Alexander the Great, Roman emperors, William Shakespeare, and every serious...
The Society of Classical Poets 2019 Poetry Competition The Society September 1, 2018 Education, From the Society, High School Submissions, Poetry, Poetry Contests 3 Comments “Let glorious acts more glorious acts inspire, And catch from breast to breast the noble fire!" —The Iliad, Homer, Book V, Pope translation First Prize: $1,000 Submission...
How to Write a Kyrielle The Society June 26, 2018 Education, Poetry, Poetry Forms 7 Comments by Dusty Grein Like many of the old French refrain forms, the kyrielle originated in the 15th century with the traveling troubadours. It is a rhymed form, written in either 2 line couplets, or 4 line...
10 Favorite Shakespeare Sonnets The Society May 24, 2018 Beauty, Culture, Education, Essays, Poetry, Shakespeare 16 Comments By James A. Tweedie Call me a snob but I am generally attracted to what is commonly referred to as “great art” or the “masterpieces.” Over the years I have looked at famous paintings and I have looked...
‘The Composition Teacher Addresses His Class’ by Joseph S. Salemi The Society May 6, 2018 Culture, Education, Poetry 13 Comments When naming things, you have to use a noun; A verb shows action or a state of being. An adjective describes—that is, marks down The qualities of objects that you’re seeing. An adverb tells...
Pastoral Poetry: Arcadia Through the Ages The Society April 29, 2018 Beauty, Culture, Education, Essays, Poetry 6 Comments by James Green “Come live with me and be my Love, And we will all the pleasures prove That hills and valleys, dale and field, And all the craggy mountains yield.” —Christopher...
Rhyming Poems for Poem in Your Pocket Day The Society April 22, 2018 Beauty, Culture, Education, From the Society, Poetry 5 Comments April 26 is Poem in Your Pocket Day, part of National Poetry Month. On this day, people are encouraged to carry a poem in their pockets and share it with others. Below are recommended rhyming poems for this...
10 Greatest Shakespeare Sonnets: An Immortal Series The Society April 8, 2018 Beauty, Best Poems, Culture, Education, Essays, Poetry, Shakespeare 9 Comments By David B. Gosselin William Shakespeare (baptized April 26, 1564 - died April 23, 1616) is arguably the greatest writer in any language. His poetry is not only one of the most exalted examples of what an...
Thirty-one Sonnets: Renaissance to New Millennial The Society March 3, 2018 Culture, Education, Essays, Poetry, Poetry Forms 7 Comments by Lew Icarus Bede "A sonnet is a coin: its face reveals The soul—its converse, to what Power 'tis due: Whether for tribute to the august appeals Of Life, or dower in Love's high retinue, It serve; or,...
Essay: Unmerited Neglect: A Look at Three Longfellow Poems The Society February 5, 2018 Beauty, Culture, Education, Essays, Poetry 5 Comments By Carter Davis Johnson In a period where American literature was considered peripheral and amateur, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) helped create a national literature to challenge European...
Translation of the Iliad’s Beginning by J. Simon Harris The Society January 21, 2018 Culture, Education, Epic, Homer, Poetry, Translation 7 Comments Homer’s Iliad I.1-47. Translation in the epic hexameter, the meter of the Greek. Sing of the wrath, my goddess, of Peleus’ son Achilles, doomed and destructive, which gave the Achaeans numberless...
Ten of the Best Poems by Robert Frost (that you’ve probably never read) The Society November 24, 2017 Beauty, Best Poems, Culture, Education, Essays, Poetry 18 Comments by Dusty Grein The Man The American poet Robert Frost was born on March 26, 1874, in San Francisco, CA. He spent his first 40 years mostly unknown, and it wasn’t until after returning to the United...
How to Write an Alexandroid The Society August 5, 2017 Alexandroid, Education, Poetry, Poetry Forms 14 Comments By C.B. Anderson Anyone writing formal poetry today has to be grateful for the arsenal of fixed forms—most of them bequeathed to us from masters of the past—that is available to lend structure to poetic...
‘What’s a Filibuster?’ by David Margolis The Society July 6, 2017 Culture, Education, Humor, Poetry 4 Comments It could be a horse thief, or maybe a rustler, A card shark, a pimp, or a sleazy-eyed hustler. A finish on wood that can add to its luster Or moisture on metal that causes some ruster. A Crème...
‘The Equitree’ by Ron L. Hodges The Society June 30, 2017 Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Education, Poetry 3 Comments Three children stood below a tree That sprouted fruit abundantly; They sought to seize the luscious fruit, These hungry children in pursuit. One child could reach the middle height, One the...
An Alternative Ending to Romeo and Juliet Part II by Reid McGrath The Society June 2, 2017 Culture, Education, Humor, Poetry, Short Stories 6 Comments Click here to read Part I. Montague (That afternoon, on the outskirts of Verona, at a Club, getting in an afternoon’s worth of pheasant shooting, having needed to get out of town and “think about...
New Publication: ‘How to Write Classical Poetry’ Released by the Society of Classical Poets The Society May 31, 2017 Education, From the Society, Poetry, Poetry Forms 7 Comments We are pleased to announce the release of a new publication from The Society of Classical Poets titled How to Write Classical Poetry, which features a guide to common poetry forms, brief essays on the...
‘Heaven Smiles for Falun Gong’ and Other Poetry by Connie Phillips The Society May 13, 2017 Culture, Education, Human Rights in China, Poetry 4 Comments Heaven Smiles for Falun Gong O you who stand so strong through wind and rain, So like those statues lasting through the years, Impervious to time’s assaults and pain, Unfazed by human doubts and...
A Timeline of English Poetry Part I: The Song of Amergin, Caedmon’s Hymn, Bede’s Death Song, Deor’s Lament The Society April 21, 2017 Culture, Education, Essays, Poetry 16 Comments By Sandeep Kumar Mishra and Evan Mantyk English poetry has a rich history dating back at least 1,400 years. Looking at poetry today, it is easy to get trapped into thinking that the flurry of poetic movements...
An Alternative Ending to Romeo and Juliet by Reid McGrath The Society April 13, 2017 Culture, Education, Poetry 7 Comments If Romeo Had Received the Letter Part I Romeo (in the catacomb, lying down beside Juliet) The friar’s note said: “Romeo she will wake.” Thus here I am now with my life at stake. You’ll...
How to Write a Rhupunt (with Example) The Society March 23, 2017 Education, Poetry, Poetry Forms, Rhupunt 9 Comments By Elizabeth Spencer Spragins Poetry has been an integral component of Welsh culture for centuries. Indeed, the Welsh word “bardd” (poet) has been traced back to 100 B.C. Depending on their skills,...
Remaking Education From the Poetry Up The Society March 15, 2017 Deconstructing Communism, Education, Essays, Poetry 8 Comments By Evan Mantyk Last year, the College Board released a significantly redesigned Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). The SAT is used by millions of student applicants each year to gain admission to U.S. colleges...
‘Education: To Be Continued…’ and Other Poetry by C.B. Anderson The Society February 17, 2017 Culture, Education, Poetry 3 Comments Education: To Be Continued ... There is no lack of opportunity For education in this spendthrift age, And boys who wish to earn a decent wage Must show the general community That they have...