“A room without books is like a body without a soul.”
Marcus Tullius Cicero
“Books are a uniquely portable magic.”
Stephen King
“Books are the lifeblood of humanity.”
Charles F. French
Month: August 2018
THOUGHTS ON POETRY
StandardThis is an excellent post on poetry by K.D. Dowdall!
I reblogged this from something I wrote almost a year ago.
What is poetry and its place in the human psyche? Poetry and prose, I believe, magically transports the reader to visualize vividly a very personal place in time, bringing to life every possible emotion seared into the psyche that the reader may have experienced in real life, wished for, dreamed of, or feared.
This is what makes poetry so emotionally beautiful and painfully true. We get it and it can be transforming. But, where does poetry fit in, in the whole scheme of our human experience. Poetry reflects our romantic inclinations, our troubled history, our social truths, politics, and the most beautiful of all philosophies – who and what are we anyway, in the scope of all there is under Heaven and Earth.
Poetry is romantic. The great writer and poet, Percy Bysshe Shelley said, “Poetry is a sword…
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My Very Own “Book Bucket List”
Quotevia My Very Own “Book Bucket List”
Thank you so much to James J. Cudney for including my novel, Maledicus: The Investigative Paranormal Society, Book 1!
Gallows Hill can be found here in ebook.
Gallows Hill in paperback can be found here.
An interview about Gallows Hill can be found here.
Please follow the following links to find my novel:
Thank you!
The book trailer:
Maledicus:Investigative Paranormal Society Book I
My radio interview:
R.I.P. Senator John McCain
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John McCain (1939-2018) died today after a battle with brain cancer. He was a U.S. Navy veteran, a prisoner of war, a Senator, and a candidate for the Presidency of the United States of America. He was also a person of independent thinking, who often said he asked this question when facing difficult choices: what would Teddy Roosevelt have done?
He was someone with whom I disagreed on many issues of politics, but I have great respect for his service to the county, his integrity, and his decency. I will never forget how he responded to a person who claimed that Obama was not an American, and McCain said, “He’s a decent family man, a citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues, and that’s what this campaign is all about.” (time.com)
John McCain was a good, decent, and honorable man. His memory will be honored in good thoughts for much longer than that of the present corrupt administration whose leader disparaged McCain’s military service.
Rest In Peace John McCain
Works Cited
http://time.com/4866404/john-mccain-barack-obama-arab-cancer/
Picture Books
StandardHere is another wonderful post from an excellent teacher–Jennie!
The school year is beginning, and I turn to the most important thing I do in teaching – reading aloud. This is an earlier post that explodes with many picture books I discovered, and how they became the golden key. This is the beginning of many book reviews and stories behind what happened when I read aloud. Stay tuned!
My very first day of teaching was filled with nerves. There I was, sitting in front of fifteen children, ready to read-aloud a book that was new to me- Swimmy by Leo Lionni. Thus began my love of children’s books and reading. My life was about to change. It was more than the book; it was the full experience with the words and illustrations, and the children.
Suddenly the library and local book store became my favorite stops. I vowed to start my own book collection. One of my first purchases…
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Food Tastes Better in Europe~
StandardThis food all looks delicious! Thank you to Cindy Knoke!
Guess who ate one of these cake slices? I did and it was divine. You can trust France to make killer-good-desserts.
We are heading off now to explore new parts of Europe and are looking forward to the food.
This cheese is well, French. It is raw milk, hand-made, and it is to die for. Yep, we ate slices of this too! What the heck, it’s France!
France has an amazing selection of gorgeous fresh mushrooms, all sold in open-air markets.
Venice on the other hand is justifiably world-famous for its outdoor, fresh fish markets.
Venice also has incredible produce, small farm grown and picked when ripe,
along with every imaginable, Italian seasoning and condiment, all sold in charming open air markets.
Greece is chock-full of mom and pop produce stands selling delicious small farm produce.
Most German towns have weekly outdoor markets.
Spain’s open-air markets are extensive,
and Portugal’s…
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Ireland’s Holocaust heroine
StandardThis extraordinary story should be known by all.
The great events of our past – the wars and the genocides – are just a series of small steps strung together… steps that when looked back upon appear to be a seamless, momentous journey.
And because of that, we tend to overlook many of those very people who created the events that make history so extraordinary.
The name Mary Elmes is not one that conjures up any special memory to most people, and that’s probably just the way the Corkwoman would have wanted it.
Look at her photo and words like ‘refined’, delicate’ and ladylike’ spring to mind. Mary Elmes was all those things and more besides. She was also fearless, iron-willed and relentless in her cause – to bring help and succour to frightened, dispossessed people in fear for their lives. Were it not for Mary, hundreds of children would have died at the hands of the Nazis…
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An Open Letter To Teachers
StandardHere is another wonderful post about teaching from Jennie!
Dear Teachers,
As you start your new school year there is one word that will get you through the uncertainty and the worry. It’s the same word that is the heart of educating. That word is ‘joy’. No, it’s not the happiness that children bring. It’s the happiness that you bring because it inspires and ignites the mind and the heart of children. Yes, that’s how it works.
Children come to you with big eyes, looking at you to teach them. They don’t know what to think. They want to learn, yet what they really want is to be inspired to learn. That is where you can make a difference.
What do you like? Because whatever it is, from math to music, that ‘like’ will become your best buddy, your guiding star, and the foundation to teach all the things that you like. It will also become a portal…
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Chauvet Cave: A Video Poem ©2018
StandardHere is a poem and video from a talented writer, Marc A. Valle!
Have You Written Today?
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Here is a quick question to all the writers out there who read this blog: have you written or will you write at least 300 words today? If you do that much every day, by the end of one year, you will have drafted your book!
Keep Writing!
charles french words reading and writing 