Donation Day

Yesterday, after organizing and boxing up all of the donations to the Orphanage Clothing Drive, the students and myself delivered everything to the Jiangyin Children's Welfare Home. We had a lot of donations (including about 20 brand new winter coats from an anonymous donor!), but were somehow able to stuff it all into ten boxes, and get it loaded and dropped off downtown.

Imagine our surprise when the local news station showed up to interview us for the nightly news! . Luckily, one of my students was able to act as translator. I haven't seen the broadcast--I don't think I even receive that channel on my TV--but will post it if ever found. 

Anyway, it was a good day. The coordinator of the orphanage was happy (as I'm sure the kids will be), the students were happy, and I'm happy that we could all work together to make even a small difference. Many thanks to all the donors, to Celia Cheung and Xu Hailong for help in coordinating everything, and to my students for all their work! Here are some photos:

At the Jiangyin Children's Welfare Home with all the donations.

With my student, Kyara, being interviewed for the nightly news.

Organizing some of the donations.

All boxed up and ready to go!

Our chariot/delivery bus, lol.

In front of the school before we left to deliver the donations.

Orphanage Volunteer Program Article

The article on my junior class Orphanage Volunteer Program is now up on the school's website, with student writings about the experience. Also included is information about our December 2014 Orphanage Clothing Drive. We've gotten a LOT of donations, so far, and expect to deliver all the items at the beginning of the new year. I'm so proud of the students, not only for their compassion, but their efforts to make a difference! Here's the link to the article:

Orphanage Volunteer Program at Nanjing Senior High School:

http://www.njschool.cn/Item/5153.aspx

RIP Seamus Heaney

Sad news, as Nobel Prize winning poet Seamus Heaney has passed away at the age of 74. Heaney, once described by poet Robert Lowell as "the most important Irish poet since Yeats", died this morning after a brief illness. You can read his obituary here. The world lost a great one today, a "once-in-a-lifetime portent, the comet's pulsing rose" (to quote from his poem, "Exposure"). I'm leaving off here with a video of one of my favorite poems of his, "Death of a Naturalist". RIP, Seamus Heaney. You will be missed.

Speaking of Free Apps...

A Poetry Daily app for iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad! It's lovely, with a new poem from a current book, magazine, or journal, chosen from a wide variety of poets, to provide you with "a window on the broad range of poetry offered annually by publishers large and small". Plus, it's packed with extra features besides the daily poem, such as poet and publishing info, landscape view, favorites tab, daily poetry news, and more. Good reviews. Get it hot off iTunes, here:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/poetry-daily/id376587204?mt=8

Free Shakespeare App

Surprisingly useful, Readdle's free Shakespeare app for iPhone, iPod, and iPad includes the complete works--that's 41 plays, 154 sonnets, and 6 poems (even doubtful works). Perfect, on-the-go information for teachers or fans! I've even whipped out my iPhone in class, when I couldn't remember a detail about King Lear or Hamlet. How many lines are in Antony & Cleopatra? 3573. Which came first, Two Gentlemen of Verona, or Titus Andronicus? Two Gentlemen, 1592. Of course, you can upgrade to the Pro Edition for $9.99 if you like, but I haven't found it necessary yet (and I teach Shakespeare), as there are a ton of free goodies besides the works: a search feature, scene-by-scene breakdown, glossary, quotes, bio, chronology, and more. There's even a section on Elizabethan Theater. Version 3.2.2 is available, with optimization for iOS 5, and it's gotten great reviews.  In fact, I've never had a loading problem or bug. You can download it for free at iTunes, at the link below. Enjoy!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/shakespeare/id285035416?mt=8

R.I.P. Adrienne Rich

...and the world loses yet another phenomenal poet.  Adrienne Rich has passed away at the age of 82.  Link below, to the L.A. Times article, and a couple of videos.  The world feels a little sadder, today...

"What Kinds of Times Are These?"

"Diving Into the Wreck"

L.A. Times:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2012/03/adrienne-rich.html 

Goodbye, Szymborska

Sad news today, that Poland's 1996 Nobel Prize-winning poet, Wislawa Szymborska, has passed away at the age of 88.  Here's a link to the NY Times article:

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2012/02/01/world/europe/AP-EU-Poland-Obit-Szymborska.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

I studied some of her work during my days at VCFA, and always appreciated her sense of humor.  Here's a poem of hers I always liked, called "In Praise of Feeling Bad About Yourself", from 1976:

The buzzard never says it is to blame.

The panther wouldn't know what scruples mean.

When the piranha strikes, it feels no shame.

If snakes had hands, they'd claim their hands were clean.

A jackal doesn't understand remorse.

Lions and lice don't waver in their course.

Why should they, when they know they're right?

Though hearts of killer whales may weigh a ton,

in every other way they're light.

On this third planet of the sun

among the signs of bestiality

a clear conscience is Number One.

Good stuff, and a whole body of stellar work left behind.  RIP, lady.

USPS to Issue Poet Stamps in 2012

Link below to the philly.com article about stamps dedicated to American poets of the 20th century, set to be released March 3, 2012.  This is cool!  I remember a previous set of stamps, and had a few of them.  This time, I think I'll get the whole set.  Poets to be featured are:  Elizabeth Bishop, Joseph Brodsky, Gwendolyn Brooks, E.E. Cummings, Robert Hayden, Denise Levertov, Sylvia Plath, Theodore Roethke, Wallace Stevens, and William Carlos Williams.  A great lineup, for sure, but it also seems some important poets are missing~Anne Sexton, for one, and as mentioned in the article, what of Allen Ginsberg?  Frank O'Hara?  At any rate, I'm pleased that the postal service deems poetry culturally important enough to include another set of poet stamps.

http://articles.philly.com/2011-12-07/news/30486337_1_poet-laureate-wallace-stevens-gwendolyn-brooks

Tranströmer Wins Nobel Prize

Poetry fans, rejoice:  Swedish poet Tomas Tranströmer has just won the 2011 Nobel Prize in Literature.  The 80 year-old has published more than 15 poetry collections, and been translated into 60 languages.  You can follow the link below to the NY Times article.  A big congratulations to Mr. Tranströmer!

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/07/arts/swedish-poet-wins-nobel-prize-for-literature.html

Jackson Wins Eric Hoffer Award

A big, happy congratulations to Richard Jackson (one of my writing mentors), who has just won the 2011 Eric Hoffer Award, for his book of poetry, Resonance.  This annual award "recognizes outstanding writing in a variety of categories, including short prose and book awards for works published by independent presses, i.e., small, micro, and academic presses," and "was established as the 21st century began with the purpose of 'opening a door to writing of significant merit,' as a memorial to the American philosopher Eric Hoffer."

Dr. Richard Jackson "is the author of 10 books of poems, most recently Resonance Unauthorized Autobiography: New and Selected Poems and, Svetovi Narazen: Selected Poems, and several chapbooks of translations. Last Journey: Selected Poems of Giovanni Pascoli appeared from Red Hen Press (2010), co-translated with Susan Thomas and Deborah Brown, and his translation of Potovanje Sonca (Journey of the Sun) from Slovene by Aleksander Persolja appeared in 2009. His own poems have been translated into 15 languages."

Again, congratulations, Rick.  Can't think of anyone who deserves it more!  Here's a link to the story:

http://blog.utc.edu/news/2011/06/dr-richard-jackson-awarded-writing-prize/