The Hollow Men (1925) by T.S. Eliot Mistah Kurtz-he dead A penny for the Old Guy I We are the hollow men We are the stuffed men Leaning together Headpiece filled with straw. Alas! Our dried voices, when We whisper together Are quiet and …
Read MoreFavorite World War I poems
These three poems are from soldiers fighting in World War I, expressing their feelings of the horror of war, and their disillusionment when faced with the reality that contrasted with their patriotic propaganda. The first poet, Edward Thomas, wrote this poem shortly before being sent …
Read MoreDylan Thomas’ powerful reading of his poem, “Do not go gentle into that good night”
Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Though wise men at their end know dark is right, Because their words had forked no lightning they Do …
Read MoreInteresting article about the influence of poetry in historical Korea
Excerpt from the article: The Korean Herald Have Koreans Forgotten Their Poetic Sensibility? by Kim Seong-kon In medieval Korea, poetry was often a medium of correspondence among learned men. People addressed each other in poetry and conveyed messages metaphorically in terse four or five-line poems …
Read MoreIn honor of Halloween, Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven”
Just as Christmas wouldn’t be complete without Auld Lang Syne, Halloween wouldn’t be complete without The Raven (despite the poem being set in December). Stéphane Mallarmé’s bilingual English-French version with illustrations Charles Baudelaire’s French translation Juan Antonio Pérez Bonalde’s Spanish translation Francesco Contaldi’s Italian translation …
Read MoreSpringing Legs (Tan Tui or 彈腿)
Tan Tui (Springing Legs or Snapping Legs) is a basic kung fu form (a choreographed shadowboxing sequence). It is a very good conditioning exercise, good for cardiovascular health, balance, rhythm, coordinated movement, stretching and strengthening the muscles, and developing long punches and kicks. It can …
Read MoreThe story behind the poem on the Statue of Liberty
New York Times: How a Sonnet Made a Statue the ‘Mother of Exiles’ The New Colossus Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame, With conquering limbs astride from land to land; Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand A mighty woman with a …
Read MoreThe joy of translating
Translating poetry is a special pleasure, both for its challenge and its beauty. It is impossible to take a poem in one language a duplicate it in another, even in closely related languages. The more different the languages are, the more hopeless that effort becomes. …
Read More(a leaf falls) loneliness – E.E. Cummings
l(a le af fa ll s) one l iness This is one of E.E. Cummings’ poems influenced by the imagist movement that paints a visual image with the words of the poem. The movement in turn was partially influenced by Japanese haiku that attempts to …
Read MoreReading Chinese poetry
The anthology below is a good one for learning about Chinese poetry for English speakers that don’t want to study the Chinese itself. It has the original Chinese written in calligraphy to show their visual beauty, a word-for-word literal translation, and a figurative English translation. …
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