Clipmarks | sjclaar's clips

Alley's General Store

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 19:54:46 GMT

clipped by: sjclaar
clipper's remarks: West Tisbury, MA.

Clip Source: westtisburyfreepubliclibrary.org

October of 2008 marked the 150th anniversary of Alley's General Store.
The celebration included cake, speeches, hamburgers and hot dogs -- and, of course, a commemorative poem.
(Photo by Hal Garneau)

Historic Tree - Do Not Climb

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 19:45:46 GMT

clipped by: sjclaar
clipper's remarks: Poet Laureate
Daniel Waters
West Tisbury, Martha's Vineyard, MA

Clip Source: westtisburyfreepubliclibrary.org

Historic Tree -- Do Not Climb

Although you're just an oak grown very old
and knobby, jumbled elbows thrown around
you, knees and knuckles scraping on the ground,
we nicknamed you the Monkey Tree, a bold
distinction in a town of trees. Over time
we tenured you this clearing and this fence.
Some caring people even had the sense
to paint a sign forbidding us to climb you

the way we caution children to refrain
from crippling Grandma, making her lap their throne.
She takes them in her arms despite their mauling
and shelters them by what she won't explain:
that age does not make apes of trees alone;
that time makes vacancies we fill by sprawling.

© Daniel Waters

William Butler Yeats Q&A

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 05:48:30 GMT

clipped by: sjclaar
clipper's remarks: Answer to question #3

Clip Source: www.sparknotes.com

Our first clue that the Yeats poem may be related to the earlier Keats poem occurs in the first stanza, when the speaker calls the birds singing in the trees "dying generations," a phrase quite similar to one in Keats's ode--"Thou wast not born for death, immortal Bird! / No hungry generations tread thee down." From that moment on, the poems are as thematically opposite as is possible for two poems glorifying art. Keats's nightingale (a natural bird) is a symbol of lyric fluidity, expressiveness, change, and union with nature; around the nightingale, Keats thinks that it would be "sweet to die" and "to cease upon the midnight with no pain." Yeats's golden bird (an artificial bird) is a symbol of permanence, knowledge, unchangeability, and a liberating separation from nature; Yeats longs to be "gathered into the artifice of eternity" precisely because he does not wish to age and to die.

William Butler Yeats Q&A

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 05:47:17 GMT

clipped by: sjclaar
clipper's remarks: Answer to question #2

Clip Source: www.sparknotes.com

The language of "Leda" and "The Second Coming" is certainly magnificent, but the poems' themes are also quite powerful, and remain relevant to the experience of contemporary readers. Putting aside all the mystical jargon from A Vision, "The Second Coming" is a brilliant evocation of chaos and primal energy, and of a kind of eerie premonition: the sphinx "slouching toward Bethlehem" can be interpreted in many ways besides that which Yeats described. And "Leda" is a wonderful document of a violent encounter with the incomprehensible, the alien, the overwhelming, and of a turning point after which nothing will ever be the same.

William Butler Yeats

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 05:46:05 GMT

clipped by: sjclaar
clipper's remarks: Answers to questions on Yeats
Answer #1

Clip Source: www.sparknotes.com

Because the artificial is permanent, unfading, impervious to decay, beautiful, and free of the troubles of the human heart, and because the natural is impermanent, fading, destined to decay, frequently ugly, and troubled by pain and longing, Yeats consistently finds himself attracted to the artificial, particularly when it is at its most beautiful. In the Byzantium poems, Yeats glorifies a golden bird that is the apotheosis of the relationship between nature and art: the bird takes its form from nature, but it is not bound to "the fury and the mire of human veins." It will last forever, and will never forget how to sing; and Yeats longs to become it.

Precautions

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 18:03:49 GMT

clipped by: sjclaar
clipper's remarks: Precautions for taking immuno suppresant drugs

Clip Source: www.lupus.org

Conclusion

All of these agents are steroid-sparing. While cytotoxic medications should not be used in cases of mild lupus, these medications can be very helpful and even life-saving when major organs are involved, or in cases where the lupus is quite active and symptomatic.

Sometimes a kidney biopsy or other tissue biopsy is necessary before deciding whether to use these drugs. Even in more serious cases of major organ involvement, cytotoxic drugs should not be used indefinitely without good reason.

It is important to weigh the beneficial effects as well as the risks involved in cytotoxic drug therapy. Doctors use the term "risk-benefit ratio" to describe the comparison of side effects to beneficial effects of medication. While these cytotoxic drugs are not FDA-approved for use in SLE, they are commonly used and accepted as standard practice. People with lupus should discuss the risk-benefit ratio of these medications with their physician.

Dylan Thomas Poetry

Thu, 14 May 2009 15:40:19 GMT

clipped by: sjclaar
clipper's remarks: Dylan Thomas "Do Not Go Genrly inyo yjay Good Night" Dylan Thomas

Clip Source: www.poets.org

Do not go gentle into that good night

by Dylan Thomas

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.


Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay, 
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

The Parable of the Blind - William Carlos Williams

Wed, 06 May 2009 14:01:49 GMT

clipped by: sjclaar
clipper's remarks: Poem based on painting "The Parable of the Blind" by Pieter Brueghel 1568, an example of Ekphrastic poetry.

Clip Source: homepage.mac.com

The Parable of the Blind

William Carlos Williams

This horrible but superb painting
the parable of the blind
without a red

in the composition shows a group
of beggars leading
each other diagonally downward

across the canvas
from one side
to stumble finally into a bog

where the picture
and the composition ends back
of which no seeing man

is represented the unshaven
features of the des-
titute with their few

pitiful possessions a basin
to wash in a peasant
cottage is seen and a church spire

the faces are raised
as toward the light
there is no detail extraneous

to the composition one
follows the others stick in
hand triumphant to disaster

Pieter Brueghel, The Parable of the Blind (1568)

Oil on canvas, approximately 34 inches x 61 inches. Museo e Gallerie Nazionali de Capodimonte, Naples.

The Parable of the Blind- William Carlos Williams

Wed, 06 May 2009 03:39:09 GMT

clipped by: sjclaar
clipper's remarks: ekphrstic poem example

Clip Source: www.dwpoet.com

The Parable of the Blind

This horrible but superb painting
the parable of the blind
without a red

in the composition shows a group
of beggars leading
each other diagonally downward

across the canvas
from one side
to stumble finally into a bog

where the picture
and the composition ends back
of which no seeing man

is represented the unshaven
features of the des-
titute with their few

pitiful possessions a basin
to wash in a peasant
cottage is seen and a church spire

the faces are raised
as toward the light
there is no detail extraneous

mposition one
follows

to the composition one
follows the others stick in
hand triumphant to disaster

William Carlos Williams

Pieter Brueghel, The Parable of the Blind (1568)

Oil on canvas, approximately 34 inches x 61 inches. Museo e Gallerie Nazionali de Capodimonte, Naples.

Ekphrasis - how to

Wed, 06 May 2009 03:31:45 GMT

clipped by: sjclaar
clipper's remarks: How to write an Ekphrastic poem

Clip Source: www.ehow.com

How to Write an Ekphrastic Poem

Instructions

Step 1

Start by checking out some examples of ekphrastic poetry. See the Resources section for one famous example.

Step 2

Find a work of art that brings out strong feelings in you. You could like it, hate it, think it's funny or have just about any feeling you can imagine as long as you want to write about it.

Step 3

Take down notes of your reactions to the art you chose for your subject. You could focus on what you think the art depicts, how it makes you feel, how it would make your reader feel or some combination of those.

Step 4

Begin to organize your notes into poetic language. Look for ways to paint a picture with your words so your reader will be able to see your subject and feel the feelings you associate with it.

Step 5

Decide the form of your poem. All poems have a form, whether they follow definite rules or not.

american gothis grant wood

Wed, 06 May 2009 03:21:21 GMT

clipped by: sjclaar
clipper's remarks: american gothic - Grant Wood 1930

Clip Source: valerie6.myweb.uga.edu

Grant Wood (1930)

American Gothic

Donald Hall poem in villanelle

Tue, 05 May 2009 19:12:10 GMT

clipped by: sjclaar

Clip Source: www.poemhunter.com

Villanelle

Katie could put her feet behind her head
Or do a grand plié, position two,

Her suppleness magnificent in bed.

I strained my lower back, and Katie bled,
Only a little, doing what we could do

When Katie tucked her feet behind her head.

Her torso was a C-cup'd figurehead,
Wearing below its navel a tattoo

That writhed in suppleness upon the bed.

As love led on to love, love's goddess said,
"No lovers ever fucked as fucked these two!

Katie could put her feet behind her head!"

When Katie came she never stopped. Instead,
She came, cried "God!," and came, this dancer who

Brought ballerina suppleness to bed.

She curled her legs around my neck, which led
To depths unplumbed by lovers hitherto.
Katie could tuck her feet behind her head

And by her suppleness unmake the bed.

Donald Hall

llupus

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 20:34:12 GMT

clipped by: sjclaar

Clip Source: mayoclinic.com

Lupus

Definition

Lupus is a chronic inflammatory disease that occurs when your body's immune system attacks your own tissues and organs. Inflammation caused by lupus can affect many different body systems, including your joints, skin, kidneys, blood cells, heart and lungs.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 20:27:41 GMT

clipped by: sjclaar

Clip Source: mayoclinic.com

Rheumatoid arthritis

Definition

Rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory form of arthritis that causes joint pain and damage. Rheumatoid arthritis attacks the lining of your joints (synovium) causing swelling that can result in aching and throbbing and eventually deformity. Sometimes rheumatoid arthritis symptoms make even the simplest activities — such as opening a jar or taking a walk — difficult to manage.

Sjogren's Disease

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 20:26:08 GMT

clipped by: sjclaar

Clip Source: mayoclinic.com

Sjogren's syndrome

nition

Sjogren's (SHOW-grins) syndrome is a disorder of your immune system often defined by its two most common symptoms — dry eyes and a dry mouth.

Sjogren's syndrome often accompanies other autoimmune disorders — such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. These diseases are marked by inflammation of your connective tissues, and it's common for people with Sjogren's syndrome to also have a connective tissue disorder.

Definition

Sjogren's (SHOW-grins) syndrome is a disorder of your immune system often defined by its two most common symptoms — dry eyes and a dry mouth.