the magic begins the moment you start being yourself
Another comic verse is the famous, limerick, usually humorous and frequently rude, they follow a pattern, the first, second and fifth lines have the same rhythm and rhyme: AABBA The origin of the word ‘limerick’ is thought to be after the City or County of Limerick in Ireland in the early 1800’s, the form wasContinue reading “Limerick”
It was no accident that the ancient Greeks and Romans used wax tablets for writing: the tablet was made of wood and covered with a layer of wax, writing on the surface was performed with a pointed instrument, a stylus – words we are familiar with today! The entire tablet could be erased by heatingContinue reading “Art of Editing”
Poetry is an art form and in contrast to blank verse, rhymed poems rhyme by definition, Couplet-based poetry contains pairs of rhyming lines. If you’ve ever read Shakespeare or Dr. Seuss, you are familiar with the couplet – two lines of verse that follow one another and are connected by rhythm and rhyme. They makeContinue reading “Rhymed Poetry”
Charles Dickens invented the word ‘boredom’ and William Shakespeare gave us ‘bandit’ and gossip, along with over 1,700 other words that previously didn’t exist in the English vocabulary! So writers have a long history of inventing new words, it happens when we encounter a concept and have no way of expressing it. Poets also lookContinue reading “Creative Wordplay”
On the 11th May 1981, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical “Cats” first premiered in the West End, London, based on the poetry of T. S. Eliot. ‘The Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats’ is a book of comic verse, which describe distinct cat personalities, a real contrast to the seriousness of the rest of his work,Continue reading ““Cats””
On this day, May 4 1953, the American novelist, Ernest Hemingway was awarded Pulitzer Prize for Literature for “The Old Man and The Sea”. He published seven novels, six short story collections, and two non-fiction works. Many of his works are considered classics of American literature. His understated style had a strong influence on 20th-centuryContinue reading “Ernest Miller Hemingway”
On this day, May 3rd 1915, during World War I, Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae a Canadian poet, physician, artist and soldier, wrote the now famous war memorial poem “In Flanders Fields”. It is in commemoration of the 1915 battle of Ypres. For 17 days, McCrae tended those injured in the battle. He wrote the poem afterContinue reading “In Flanders Fields”
Taking place on the first Sunday of May, International Dawn Chorus Day is the worldwide celebration of nature’s greatest symphony. All across the world people rise early to revel in the sweet sound of birdsong. The dawn chorus doesn’t all start at dawn, though, different birds join in at different times, with robins often upContinue reading “International Dawn Chorus Day”
May Day as been celebrated for thousands of years, historically we Celts in Britain believed May 1st to be the most important day of the year, when the festival of Beltane was held. This festival was thought to divide the year between the light and the dark. Symbolic fire was one of the main ritualsContinue reading “Happy May Day”
On this day, April 28, 1789, one of the most famous and remarkable stories in maritime history began, when rebellious mutineer Fletcher Christian and his supporters seized control of the HMS Bounty from its Lieutenant, William Bligh. The Bounty had 44 Royal Navy seamen (including Bligh) and two civilian botanists. Tensions had increased over time,Continue reading “Mutiny on the Bounty”
Let's Write...... 