Seamus Heaney's THE BURIAL at THEBES (a version of Sophocles' Antigone)

Read Wikipedia: The Burial at Thebes

History and Evolution of the Oxford English Dictionary

Welcome to the World of Word Mavens

WWII in MAPS - Visual Storytelling

See Wikipedia: German-Occupied Europe in WWII

Map Description: Historical Map of World War II: Europe in 1944

Illustrating

Allied Gains in Europe

June 6 - July 24, 1944

July 25 - September 14, 1944

September 15 - December 15, 1944

Credits: Courtesy of the United States Military Academy Department of History.

See: More Maps

Fateless (2005) - a Haunting Film about the Holocaust

Eastern Europe

Read the article by Jennifer Rosenberg: 

"A Map of Concentration and Death Camps in WWII" 

ThoughtCo, Oct. 19, 2018.

Scenes:

















FROM The New York Times:

Film Review by A.O. Scott

March 31, 2016 "Imre Kertesz, Nobel Laureate Who Survived Holocaust, Dies at 86" by Jonathan Kandell 

"The Holocaust, From a Teenage View" by Alan Riding JAN. 3, 2006

From The New Yorker: 

"Imre Kertész Speaks to Himself" By The New Yorker May 2, 2013



From Wikipedia:

Imre Kertész
Imre Kertész in Mandalay (2007)
Born	9 November 1929 Budapest, Hungary
Died	31 March 2016 (aged 86) Budapest, Hungary
Occupation	Novelist
Notable works	Fatelessness Kaddish for an Unborn Child Liquidation
Notable awards	Nobel Prize in Literature 2002
Spouse	Albina Vas (d. 1995) Magda Ambrus (m. 1996) [1][2]

Imre Kertész (Hungarian: [ˈimrɛ ˈkɛrteːs]; 9 November 1929 – 31 March 2016) was a Hungarian author and recipient of the 2002 Nobel Prize in Literature, "for writing that upholds the fragile experience of the individual against the barbaric arbitrariness of history".^[3] He was the first Hungarian to win the Nobel in Literature. His works deal with themes of Nazi Holocaust (he was a survivor of a German concentration camp), dictatorship and personal freedom.^[1] He died on 31 March 2016, aged 86, at his home in Budapest after suffering from Parkinson's disease for several years.^[4][5]

Trending Topic: Red-lining

Can you name these cities?

LA, like most American cities, is highly segregated:

The RED dots show white people,
BLUE is black,
ORANGE is Hispanic, GREEN is Asian,
and YELLOW is other.

From Business Insider "21 Maps Of Highly Segregated Cities In America"
Rebecca Baird-Remba and Gus Lubin Apr. 25, 2013:

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — White people cling to the coast around Santa Monica and Brentwood, and the north side of the city beginning with the Hollywood Hills.

L.A.'s black-white dissimilarity score is 65.0, according to a study of 2010 Census data by professors John Logan and Brian Stults of Brown and Florida State University. A score above 60 on the dissimilarity index is considered very high segregation.

The red dots show white people, blue is black, orange is Hispanic, green is Asian, and yellow is other, according to maps of 2010 Census data by Eric Fischer.

To watch the entire documentary, to read background information and to order DVDs, visit:

 http://newsreel.org/video/RACE-THE-POWER-OF-AN-ILLUSION

 "The House We Live In" asks, If race is not biology, what is it? This episode uncovers how race resides not in nature but in politics, economics and culture. It reveals how our social institutions "make" race by disproportionately channeling resources, power, status and wealth to white people. These scenes are excerpted from California Newsreel’s acclaimed three-part documentary series, Race-The Power of an Illusion. To learn more and watch the entire series.

30 Minutes:
RACE – THE POWER OF AN ILLUSION: How the Racial Wealth Gap Was Created from California Newsreel on Vimeo.

Analysis | Redlining was banned 50 years ago. It’s still hurting minorities today.

Punctuation for Titles with Quotation Marks

From Get It Write:

Writing Tip: January 18, 2002

More on Punctuating with Quotation Marks

About a year ago, we wrote a tip on the proper way to punctuate sentences containing quotation marks. (To review that tip, look in the tip archive for 01/08/01.) Recently, a visitor to the tip archive wrote to ask about situations not covered in the tip.

She noted that all our examples were of dialogue within a sentence. "

Do the same rules apply in other situations involving quotation marks?" she asked. 

The answer is yes: in all cases of usage involving quotation marks (American usage, not European), commas and periods always go inside the quotation marks while semicolons and colons always go outside. 

(Please see the original tip for the rules governing question marks and exclamation points.)

Specifically, the visitor wondered about a series of titles, as in this example:

-- This month's issue of Grammar Guru magazine contains articles entitled "Making Every Comma Count," "Punctuate or Perish," and "The Write Way."

Notice that the commas separating the titles are inside the quotation marks.

We should also place periods and commas inside the quotation marks that we use in other situations, such as to suggest that a word is being used in a special or ironic sense, to show that we are referring to a word as a word, or to mark the definition of a word or words. 

Here are some examples:

-- A three-hundred-pound gorilla eats quite a few "snacks," so the zoo keeper must closely monitor the animal's daily intake.

-- A lottery ticket holder who breaks even is counted as a "winner"; thus, statistics about one's odds of winning are misleading.

-- Sam sprinkles his conversations with the word "amen," although he really pays very little attention to what other people are saying.

-- The Latin verb "duco" means "to lead," "to consider," or "to prolong."

Note that in the fourth sentence, we could have used italics instead of quotation marks for the verb "duco," which is a word being used as a word. 

Also note that italics or underlining--not quotation marks--should be used to emphasize a word or phrase.

TEST YOURSELF

Are these sentences punctuated correctly?

1. Margaret read a magazine article titled "Living in the Country;" four days later she sold her house in the suburbs and moved to a farm.

2. The instructor read the class three poems by Robert Frost: "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," "Design," and "Directive."

3. Sarina's father is the most eccentric man I know, but Sarina excuses his behavior as "artistic license".

ANSWERS

Awareness Over Knowledge: Counter to Default Settings - David Foster Wallace

Notes on Wikipedia.

"This Is Water" by David Foster Wallace - Vocabulary List on Vocabulary.com

Book form on Amazon.

Full Commencement Address Transcript at Kenyon College class of 2005 written by David Foster Wallace:

Cain and Able

What Is Translation Theory? Who Is the Patron Saint of Translators?

INFOGRAPHIC

1. Word - For - Word
Interlinear

NASB - New American Standard Bible
AMP - Amplified Bible
ESV - English Standard Version
RSV - Revised Standard Version
KJV - King James Version
NKJV - New King James Version

2. Thought - For - Thought

HCSB - Holman Christian Standard Bible
​​​​​​​NRSV - New Revised Standard Version
NAB - New American Bible
NJB - New Jerusalem Bible
NIV - New International Version
​​​​​​​TNIV - Today’s New International Version
NCV - New Century Version
NLT - New Living Translation

3. Paraphrase

NIrV - New International Reader’s Version
GNT - Good News Translation (also Good News Bible)
CEV - Contemporary English Version
TLB - The Living Bible
MSG - The Message

 The examples of Bible translations is not meant to be all inclusive, but rather a listing of some of the more popular.

Wikipedia: Bible Translations

Bible Versions 


Excerpt from a post by Caitlin Nicholson:

Who is the Patron Saint of Translators?

The Bible is, without question, the most translated text in the history of the world. Sections of the book have been translated into over 2,800 languages, and it has been read by more people than any other individual piece of writing. But who was the first to translate the Bible out of its original language? His name was Jerome, and he was canonized for it.

Continues:

Translating the Bible

After giving up the monastic life, he decided to travel to Antioch, where he continued his studies of Greek and Hebrew. Jerome was even a secretary to Pope Damasus I from 382 to 384, whereupon he acted as the spiritual director of a number of noble Roman ladies who had also indicated that they were interested in the monastic lifestyle.

It was during this time, when he was secretary to the Pope, that he started on the task of translating the Bible into Latin. It was the popular form of the language at the time, which is what gave the translation its name: The Vulgate, meaning “Of the Common People.”

There had been a translation prior to Jerome’s, a version that is now called the Old Latin Version. But Jerome’s version far surpassed it, not only in terms of literary quality, but also in terms of scholarship. He was well versed in classical Latin, but he specifically wrote in the style that was actually spoken and written by the people of his time.

THE FOLLOWING IS from a blog:

GETTING TO GRIPS WITH TRANSLATION THEORY: A (VERY) BRIEF INTRODUCTION.

Excerpt: 

As thought on translation has developed over the centuries, there have always been prevailing ideas of the correct level of translation and correct method of translation and first of all we will cover the level of translation.

The passage from word to culture

From the idea of translating ‘sense-for-sense’ over ‘word-for-word’ put forward by Jerome (the patron saint of translators) which replaces the individual word as the unit of translation with the phrase, dualistic oppositions have often featured prominently in translation theory.

The bipolar ‘free vs. literal’ translation for example, which questions whether a translated text should remain close to the source text or be rendered in flowing prose, is widely known and Eugene Nida’s idea of formal equivalence vs. dynamic equivalence (which roughly equates to retention of original form (FE) against naturalness of expression (DE)) follows along similar lines.

Today, the most widely cited theoretical idea is Lawrence Venuti’s thought based on deviation from domestic norms. This sees him develop a methodology in which he attempts to overturn the standard translation practice of ‘domestication’ – making a text fit in with the dominant norms of the target culture – with a method labelled as ‘foreignisation’ which involves avoiding standard usage and allowing the ‘foreignness of the text to shine through’.

In this way translation theory has moved from the level of the sentence to the level of textor indeed culture as a whole, emphasising context, and this ‘cultural turn’ is the area of preoccupation for many contemporary scholars.

Origins of the discipline and different theoretical stances

The discipline name ‘translation studies’ was first coined by poet and translator James Holmes, who was one of the first scholars to really explore the science of translation. His precocious and comprehensive map of the discipline is still quite widely used in translation literature today due to its wide scope and its accuracy in addressing both practical and theoretical issues. Indeed, his ‘Applied translation’-‘Translation Aids’ designation still provides one of the only links between translation theory and modern translation technology.

Moving on from this general map of the discipline as a whole, scholars have tended to focus their attention on specific areas of translation, each pertaining to certain established schools of thought. There are those who focus on linguistic ideas, seeing the way that language works as the key to understanding the process of translation. Meanwhile, there are others who follow Gideon Toury’s descriptive translation studies with its ideas of polysystems (which is praised for taking social contexts into account) and translation norms, claiming that the methodological study of translations over a period of time and within particular contexts will show patterns that can lead to a better understanding of the translation process. 

READ MORE from the original post.

The Bible - and The History of the English Language

The Bible as Literature at Yale University



Click for Yale University Video Lectures on The Bible as Literature




The History of English in Ten Minutes - Full Playlist

Seamus Heaney's Digging

Irish poet Seamus Heaney, winner of the Nobel Prize for literature in 1995 and one of the 20th century's greatest poets, has died aged 74. Watch a recording of Mr. Heaney giving a reading of his poem, "Digging", at Villanova University in April 2010.

Digging 

BY SEAMUS HEANEY

Between my finger and my thumb   

The squat pen rests; snug as a gun.

Under my window, a clean rasping sound   

When the spade sinks into gravelly ground:   

My father, digging. I look down

Till his straining rump among the flowerbeds   

Bends low, comes up twenty years away   

Stooping in rhythm through potato drills   

Where he was digging.

The coarse boot nestled on the lug, the shaft   

Against the inside knee was levered firmly.

He rooted out tall tops, buried the bright edge deep

To scatter new potatoes that we picked,

Loving their cool hardness in our hands.

By God, the old man could handle a spade.   

Just like his old man.

My grandfather cut more turf in a day

Than any other man on Toner’s bog.

Once I carried him milk in a bottle

Corked sloppily with paper. He straightened up

To drink it, then fell to right away

Nicking and slicing neatly, heaving sods

Over his shoulder, going down and down

For the good turf. Digging.

The cold smell of potato mould, the squelch and slap

Of soggy peat, the curt cuts of an edge

Through living roots awaken in my head.

But I’ve no spade to follow men like them.

Between my finger and my thumb

The squat pen rests.

I’ll dig with it.

Literary Terms Students Should Know

Tuesday 8/28: Journal - Empathy & Bias

Today's Journal:

Reflect on a time that you felt excluded from a group (outside looking inside).

1. What is the difference between....

A. empathy, sympathy, and compassion?

B. bias, prejudice, and racism?


Consider the denotation as well as the connotation of these words.

Diversity, Race, Identity, and Intersectionality

Consider these images for "Dimensions of Diversity":

Identity Exercise: 

TED Talk: Hip-Hop or Shakespeare?

YouTube: 

Published on Dec 7, 2011

Akala demonstrates and explores the connections between Shakespeare and Hip-Hop, and the wider cultural debate around language and it's power.

MOBO award-winning hip-hop artist 'Akala' is a label owner and social entrepreneur who fuses rap/rock/electro-punk with fierce lyrical storytelling (think Wu-Tang Clan and Aphex Twin meets Rage Against The Machine). With Akala's latest record, convention-defying album DoubleThink, Akala has proven himself as one of the most dynamic and literate talents in the UK. Inspired by the likes of Saul Williams and Gil Scott Heron, Akala has also developed a reputation for stellar live performances with his drummer Cassell 'TheBeatmaker' headlining 5 UK tours and touring with everyone from Jay-Z, Nas & Damian Marley, M.I.A. and Christina Aguilera to Siouxsie Sue and Richard Ashcroft, appearing at numerous UK / European and US festivals (Glastonbury, Big Chill, Wireless, V, Hove and SXSW) also partnering with the British Council promoting British arts across Africa, Vietnam (the first rapper to perform a live concert in Vietnam), New Zealand and Australia. In 2009, Akala launched the 'The Hip-hop Shakespeare Company', a hotly-tipped music theatre production enterprise which has sparked worldwide media interest since its inception. Previous collaborators include British actor Sir Ian McKellen; actor/musician Colin Salmon and Royal Shakespeare Company Voice Director; Cicely Berry. 2011 sees the launch Akala's latest endeavour 'Illa State Productions' to garner his budding scriptwriting talent alongside TV presenting and as a music composer for various TV and Film projects.

First Rapper to Win a Pulitzer Prize: Kendrick Lemar

From Pulitzer.org:


The 2018 Pulitzer Prize Winner in Music

For distinguished musical composition by an American that has had its first performance or recording in the United States during the year, Fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000).

DAMN., by Kendrick Lamar

Recording released on April 14, 2017, a virtuosic song collection unified by its vernacular authenticity and rhythmic dynamism that offers affecting vignettes capturing the complexity of modern African-American life.


Article - The New York Times: "Kendrick Lamar Wins Pulitzer in ‘Big Moment for Hip-Hop’":

On Monday, Mr. Lamar’s “DAMN.” took home an even more elusive honor, one that may never have even seemed within reach: the Pulitzer Prize for music. Mr. Lamar is not only the first rapper to win the award since the Pulitzers expanded to music in 1943, but he is also the first winner who is not a classical or jazz musician.

“The time was right,” Dana Canedy, the administrator of the prizes, said in an interview after the winners were announced. “We are very proud of this selection. It means that the jury and the board judging system worked as it’s supposed to — the best work was awarded a Pulitzer Prize.”

She added: “It shines a light on hip-hop in a completely different way. This is a big moment for hip-hop music and a big moment for the Pulitzers.”





From Rolling Stone: "Watch Kendrick Lamar Accept Pulitzer Prize for ‘Damn.’" By RYAN REED

“I’ve been writing my whole life, so to get this type of recognition – it’s beautiful,” says rapper at ceremony"


From Vanity Fair Cover Story - August 2018, Lisa Robinson writes:


“It was one of those things I heard about in school,” he says, “but I never thought I’d be a part of it. [When I heard I got it], I thought, to be recognized in an academic world . . . whoa, this thing really can take me above and beyond. It’s one of those things that should have happened with hip-hop a long time ago. It took a long time for people to embrace us—people outside of our community, our culture—to see this not just as vocal lyrics, but to see that this is really pain, this is really hurt, this is really true stories of our lives on wax. 

And now, for it to get the recognition that it deserves as a true art form, that’s not only great for myself, but it makes me feel good about hip-hop in general. Writers like Tupac, Jay Z, Rakim, Eminem, Q-Tip, Big Daddy Kane, Snoop . . . It lets me know that people are actually listening further than I expected. 

When I looked up at that man on the podium today, I just had countless pictures in my mind of my mother putting me in suits to go to school. Suit and tie, from the dollar store, from thrift shops, when I was a kid.” 

He recalls his seventh-grade teacher Mr. Inge, who turned him on to poetry: “It wasn’t a traditional English class,” he says. “It was more of an artistic exercise. He told us to ‘write something only you can understand, then pass it on to the next person.’ ” 

He tells me about the visit with his parents to the White House (“Obama reached out”). “My mother wore a black-and-brown dress; she made sure to wear her best.” And, he tells me, “it [took me back] to talking to my grandma, when she was alive, and I was always thinking what it would be like if we had a black president. She had some hope . . .”

Praise for Kendrick Lamar

From Vanity Fair Cover Story:

AUGUST 2018

The Gospel According to Kendrick Lamar

Kendrick Lamar understands and employs blues, jazz, and soul in his music, which makes it startling. His work is more than merely brilliant; it is magic.—TONI MORRISON

It takes guts, courage, and skill to shoulder the burden of a generation’s mind-set. Culturally, Kendrick Lamar is that compass—in fact, a GPS—in this current Hour of Chaos. That enough is worth a Pulitzer Prize or any award that sets the bar high.—CHUCK D

I love everything about his music. I can literally listen to his music and become a kid growing up with all the struggles in the inner city, but at the same time [learn] all the lessons it taught that we use as men today. If you listen to the last verse of “Black Boy Fly,” on good kid, m.A.A.d city, I know exactly what he means—because I was that kid.—LEBRON JAMES

The minute I hear good news, it just motivates me to do more. I don’t want to get complacent. If you asked seven out of ten people, ‘What would you do if you got the Pulitzer Prize?,’ they’d say, ‘I’d put my feet up.’ But that would make me feel I’d reached my pinnacle at 30 years old, and that wouldn’t make me feel good.—KENDRICK LAMAR

By the end of listening to his first full album, I felt like I knew everything about him. He brings you into his world with his lyrics in a way that really paints a clear picture.—EMINEM

For a gentle dude, he throws a righteous punch; I wouldn’t get in the way of it. No single artist will ever be the antidote to a generation’s malaise, but just identifying some of the problems really helps.—BONO

Kendrick Lamar’s work represents some of the most important music being produced today, period. He fits squarely onstage in the artistic community, like any other cutting edge, musical genius.—Dana Canedy, administrator, the Pulitzer Prizes

Rap is the biggest music out there, and it’s nice that it’s finally getting the recognition it deserves. For his album to make it onto that platform is great for all of us. Oh, and I’m also jealous.—Eminem