In honor of Saint Patrick’s Day this Friday, here’s an unpublished photo poem from my collection of works inspired by images from The Guardian’s Photo of the Day posts that I wrote back in 2019. Though these Irish setters aren’t fooling around on what was the first day of the Crufts dog show, I found … More Photo of the Day Poems: Three Irish Setters #Poem #Poetry #Irish #Dogs #Setters
As I noted last week, these poems take a more lighthearted look at the world, specifically looking at fast food and fashion, though I doubt either situation would be seen as lighthearted by the soldiers lining the escalator or models walking the runway. Still, the images captured by these two photographers tell stories that go … More Photo of the Day Poems – Of #FastFood and #Fashion
Just like last year, I’m returning to some of the unpublished photo poems inspired by images from The Guardian’s Photo of the Day posts that I wrote back in 2019 when I was teaching a semester course in poetry. Having just covered the villanelle form in my AP English Literature class today, and seeing that … More Photo of the Day Poems: Shepherd Me #Poem #Poetry #Shepherd #Villanelle #Psalm23
I found my creative voice again last week! Despite the busyness of wrapping up a school year, I carved out the time to parody Smashmouth’s “All Star,” Billy Joel’s “Piano Man,” and The Proclaimer’s “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” as parting gifts to my students. That evening, I felt energized and revived. I even managed … More From Exhaustion to Awakening: Photo of the Day Poems #Poetry #Photography #TheGuardian
The purple polka-dotted Fender is what got me. I’ve never been to New Orleans; the closest I ever got was Gulf Shores, Alabama back in the late 90’s when my wife and I were living in Florida. I’ve never heard Buddy Guy in concert; my closest New Orleans musical experience was a live performance of … More I, Too, Sing New Orleans: Photo of the Day Poems #Poetry #NewOrleans
For one final celebration of National Poetry Month, I’ll dip back into my collection of Photo of the Day poems drawn from The Guardian website back in 2019. Three years ago, in the final week of April, the following two images appeared and inspired these poetic responses. The stark contrast between these images needs to … More Photo of the Day Poems – Somewhere between Tripoli and Moscow #Poetry #Life #NPM22
Tonight I share the fusion of photography and poetry, of India, Japan, England, and America: a Japanese tanka dedicated to William Carlos Williams (the pediatrician) and William Wordsworth (the romantic) inspired by a photograph by Divyakant Solanki. I am sure both Williamses would see in this everyday image the profound in the common. It comes … More Photo of the Day Poems: A Collision of Cultures #Poetry #NPM22
Sunday night. The eve before Monday morning always leaves me wanting more weekend. And yet room 209 awaits and tomorrow the bell will ring at 8:04 a.m. and I will continue unpacking e. e. cummings’ poem “in Just-” with my AP English Literature students. Rather than post the cummings poem, I figured I would return … More Photo of the Day Poems: Breaking Bread #Teaching #Poetry #NPM22
Having just re-entered the usual rhythm of life after my children’s speech and debate tournament in Pittsburgh (and staring at the grim reality that grading five more thesis papers before tomorrow is looking less and less like a reality), I leave you with another selection from my series of photo poems inspired by The Guardian … More Photo of the Day Poems – #Faith
C. S. Lewis once addressed the topic of whether one should continue learning in the midst of troubled times in his sermon “Learning in War-Time” given at St. Mary the Virgin Church, Oxford, on Sunday, October 22, 1939. He would argue that, yes, we must continue to learn in spite of, or, perhaps, even because … More Photo of the Day Poems – Stripping the Veil of Familiarity
the deepening ground 