“The herdsmen wandering by the lonely rills, marks where they lie on the scarred mountain flanks. Remembering that mild morning when the hills shook to the roar of guns, and those wild Franks surged upward from the sea.”[1] –The ANZAC Book As morning broke on Sunday April 25th 1915, Australian and New Zealand Army Corps […]
Blank Pages Along the Beach: Soldiers’ Diaries of the Gallipoli Campaign Read More »
People probably invented poetry to help them remember things they wanted to remember – what their gods and ancestors did, how to get from one place to another, what plants were good to eat and what plants were poisonous – all sorts of things that rhythmic patterns and regular rhyme schemes made easier to remember.
To Be or Not to Be? If someone asked me to tell the story of my life, I might begin like this: I was born in Evanston, Illinois, in 1942. I have been told that my father came home from the hospital saying over and over, “It’s a boy! It’s a boy!” There is no
First Aid: The Bones of Freshman Composition Read More »
In his splendid essay called “On an Apparent Intention in the Fate of the Individual,” Schopenhauer points out that when you reach an advanced age and look back over your lifetime, it can seem to have had a consistent order and plan, as though composed by some novelist. Events that when they occurred had seemed
Joseph Campbell on Schopenhauer, Will, and Life’s Composition Read More »
Okay, maybe saving the internet is a bit hyperbolic, but better math instruction could reduce some of the arguing that occurs. Internet trolls and pranksters are an internet hazard that most of us would like to see less of. Trolls are a separate issue. but there are certain pranksters that like to take advantage of
How Math Teachers Can Save the Internet from the PEMDAS Debate Read More »
In Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human, Harold Bloom argues that Shakespeare did more than just shape the structure and content of the English language—he created human nature as we understand it today. As James Shapiro explains, “Shakespeare remains so popular and his most memorable characters feel so real because through them Shakespeare invented something that hadn’t
Ten Reasons to Enjoy Shakespeare’s Works Read More »