TED Talks
Elizabeth Gilbert: Your elusive creative genius
Elizabeth Gilbert muses on the impossible things we expect from artists and geniuses -- and shares the radical idea that, instead of the rare person "being" a genius, all of us "have" a genius. It's a funny, personal and surprisingly...
TED Talks
Natalie Merchant: Singing old poems to life
Natalie Merchant sings from her poetry-inspired album "Leave Your Sleep," which pairs lyrics from poets -- from Gerard Manley Hopkins to a near-forgotten 10-year-old girl in Brooklyn -- with simple melodies and her unmistakable voice....
Crash Course
The Poetry of Sylvia Plath: Crash Course Literature 216
In which John Green teaches you about the poetry of Sylvia Plath. When a lot of people think about Sylvia Plath, they think about her struggles with mental illness and her eventual suicide. Her actual work can get lost in the shuffle a...
TED Talks
TED: The Museum of Four in the Morning | Rives
Beware: Rives has a contagious obsession with 4 a.m. At TED2007, the poet shared what was then a minor fixation with a time that kept popping up everywhere. After the talk, emails starting pouring in with an avalanche of hilarious...
TED Talks
TED: A warrior’s cry against child marriage | Memory Banda
Memory Banda’s life took a divergent path from her sister’s. When her sister reached puberty, she was sent to a traditional “initiation camp” that teaches girls “how to sexually please a man.” She got pregnant there — at age 11. Banda,...
Crash Course
Before I Got My Eye Put Out - The Poetry of Emily Dickinson: Crash Course English Lit
In which John Green concludes the Crash Course Literature mini-series with an examination of the poetry of Emily Dickinson. Sure, John explores the creepy biographical details of Dickinson's life, but he also gets into why her poems have...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Brendan Constantine: "The Opposites Game"
This animation is part of the TED-Ed series, "There's a Poem for That," which features animated interpretations of poems both old and new that give language to some of life's biggest feelings. [Poem by Brendan Constantine, directed by...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Who decides what art means? - Hayley Levitt
There is a question that has been tossed around by philosophers and art critics for decades: how much should an artist's intention affect your interpretation of the work? Do the artist’s plans and motivations affect its meaning? Or is it...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: What makes a poem a poem? - Melissa Kovacs
What exactly makes a poem - a poem? Poets themselves have struggled with this question, often using metaphors to approximate a definition. Is a poem a little machine? A firework? An echo? A dream? Melissa Kovacs shares three recognizable...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: Everything you need to know to read Homer's "Odyssey" - Jill Dash
An encounter with a man-eating giant. A sorceress who turns men into pigs. A long-lost king taking back his throne. On their own, any of these make great stories. But each is just one episode in the "Odyssey," a 12,000-line poem spanning...
TED Talks
TED: Can a computer write poetry? | Oscar Schwartz
If you read a poem and feel moved by it, but then find out it was actually written by a computer, would you feel differently about the experience? Would you think that the computer had expressed itself and been creative, or would you...
Crash Course
A Long and Difficult Journey, or The Odyssey: Crash Course Literature 201
In which John Green teaches you about Homer's Odyssey. If it was Homer's If Homer was even real. Anyway, that stuff doesn't really matter. John teaches you the classic, by which I mean classical, epic poem, the Odyssey. The Journey of...
Kids’ Poems and Stories With Michael Rosen
The Portesham Mirror Poem – Iron Age Grave Goods
New ReviewThe Portesham Mirror Poem – Iron Age Grave Goods
Kids’ Poems and Stories With Michael Rosen
The Listening Lions – Poem Explanation (Fitzwilliam Museum)
New ReviewThe Listening Lions – Poem Explanation (Fitzwilliam Museum)
Kids’ Poems and Stories With Michael Rosen
The Knowes of Trotty Poem – Bronze Age Grave Goods
New ReviewThe Knowes of Trotty Poem – Bronze Age Grave Goods
Kids’ Poems and Stories With Michael Rosen
The Folkton Drums Poem – Neolithic Grave Goods
New ReviewThe Folkton Drums Poem – Neolithic Grave Goods
Kids’ Poems and Stories With Michael Rosen
Should All Poems Rhyme?
New ReviewShould All Poems Rhyme?
Kids’ Poems and Stories With Michael Rosen
Rhythm of Life – Poetry Workshop
New ReviewRhythm of Life – Poetry Workshop
Kids’ Poems and Stories With Michael Rosen
Primary School Assembly Poem
New ReviewPrimary School Assembly Poem
Kids’ Poems and Stories With Michael Rosen
Newcomers – Poetry Workshop
New ReviewNewcomers – Poetry Workshop
Kids’ Poems and Stories With Michael Rosen
Jack and the Beanstalk – Right Class Six Poem
New ReviewJack and the Beanstalk – Right Class Six Poem