25th February, 2010 - Posted by Christine Perrin - 2 Comments
Il Postino is an Italian film that takes on the subject of poetry in everyday lives. The film takes place on a small fishing village island. Pablo Neruda, the Chilean poet, has been exiled from his country because of political upheaval. He is allowed to live on this island during the period of his exile. » Read More
25th January, 2010 - Posted by Christine Perrin - No Comments
The names Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson are familiar to most of us. Whitman eulogized Lincoln in several poems (notably “O Captain, My Captain,” and “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d”). This past week I spent 4 days with students at The Geneva School (Orlando, Florida) who were new to me (but not new » Read More
11th December, 2009 - Posted by Christine Perrin - 2 Comments
This week I had a new experience. As part of a poetry festival that was happening at Covenant Christian Academy, I was asked to recite a poem I had written to this group of people that I know well–including close friends, my children, colleagues, parents of my children’s friends, friends of my children, students » Read More
23rd November, 2009 - Posted by Christine Perrin - No Comments
This week at Covenant Christian Academy we engaged in a poetry liturgy as preparation for Thanksgiving. Here is how we did it. I choose 7 poems for 7t.h grade literature class, we spent 3 hours (not all at once) talking about these poems, responding to them, delighting in them, learning something about their context. Then » Read More
2nd November, 2009 - Posted by Christine Perrin - No Comments
In a class, in which I participated as a student this week, we were asked to describe an experience of beauty. Some of the most engaging description and discussion ensued. A doctor explained the beauty of an open human chest in the operating room, and the desire to touch it. Another person described her depression » Read More
21st October, 2009 - Posted by Christine Perrin - 1 Comment
The catbird is mewling from the clematis vines that bridge our neighbor’s yard to ours, twining the trellis. All such cries remind me of Zoë’s absence and of the lament that my body is always making as I adjust to reality: she is building her life in another place, a life that is thickly-vined into » Read More
12th October, 2009 - Posted by Christine Perrin - 2 Comments
A bird came down the walk: He did not know I saw; He bit an angle-worm in halves And ate the fellow, raw. And then he drank a dew From a convenient grass, And then hopped sidewise to the wall To let a beetle pass. He glanced with rapid eyes That hurried all abroad,– They looked like frightened beads, I thought; He stirred his velvet head Like » Read More
6th July, 2009 - Posted by Christine Perrin - No Comments
I am glad to be teaching the Art of Poetry as an online course this fall. See the page entitled “Online Course” for more details. Read More
6th July, 2009 - Posted by Christine Perrin - No Comments
I spent time in San Antonio Texas one week ago at the Society for Classical Learning Conference. I was blocks away from the Alamo and one afternoon I walked through the former Mission-turned-military post. I was struck by an exhibit which included William Travis’ schoolboy book of poems (which he had proudly inscribed with his » Read More
4th March, 2009 - Posted by Christine Perrin - 1 Comment
One of my favorite thinkers is Simone Weil who was a French Philosopher. Much of her philosophy reads like poetry. She wrote many interesting things, here is one pithy quote. “The intelligent man who is proud of his intelligence is like a condemned man who is proud of his large cell.” (Human Personality) I am continually » Read More
Welcome! The Art of Poetry is structured with three basic chunks: elements of poetry, tradition of poetry, application of poetry. In each chapter there is a small anthology, a learning to read closely section, and activities that range from writing exercise suggestions to other related activities that attempt to nail the encounter with the poem to daily life.
The book comes with a Teacher's Edition that helps to answer the questions about each poem.
I wrote Art of Poetry to give students and teachers access to poetry which belongs to all of us as human beings, which operates the way we all think and live, which we need to live well. My goal was to teach the skill of reading closely and to represent the familiarity and strangeness of this process.