…wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king” is the famous line from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, but I’m using it for today’s post to direct your attention to two things — 1) the new PT issue that went live on June 2 that is all about children and play, and 2) about Shakespeare plays and poetry. The word “play” has various meanings and one of them refers to drama. Children naturally act out stories with each other or their toys, and create little ‘plays,’ as it were. And so taking them to see plays is a natural extension, I think, of that basic child-like impulse to create them.
Last year, I wrote a post about the Shakespeare play, Twelfth Night, put on by the Unicorn Theatre in London. We also went to see Romeo and Juliet at the Globe theatre. I was convinced by my experiences there that children (and parents) need not be intimidated by Shakespeare’s plays. Of course, for most people, it is the poetic language of Shakespeare (the plays are mostly written in blank verse which is unrhymed iambic pentameter) that can be off-putting; however, if one gets to see the play acted, the language does not appear nearly so opaque and in fact contributes to the pleasure of watching the drama. In Winnipeg where I live, we have a local theatre company, Shakespeare in the Ruins, that puts on a Shakespeare play every summer in outdoor venues. This year they staged the Merry Wives of Windsor. We took both our children to the play and they enjoyed watching it.
Have you ever taken your children to a Shakespeare play? What was it and did they enjoy it? Does your city have a local company that stages plays for children? Do tell us here at PaperTigers.
This week’s Poetry Friday host is Kelly Polark.
#7 in the Poetry Potluck Series, celebrating National Poetry Month 2010.
credit: mhthomps.
Okay. Be honest. How many TVs do you have in your house?
Does every member of your family own a cell phone? Everybody with his/her own iPod, laptop, Kindle and digital camera? Does your Wii keep you extra fit? And are you one of those people who simply had to get an iPad the second it went on sale?
Gadgets, gadgets, gadgets. They help us stop time, save time, waste time. How did we ever manage without them? Champion headbanger/comic-in-training/uber-cool blogger Kelly Polark is here to share a poem from her collection about electronic gadgets, Plug into Poetry. She wrote these as part of an assignment for Heidi Roemer's ABC's of Poetry course. Seems like a fun way to take a closer look at all those wires and circuits we've all become so enamoured with. What has your TV said to you lately?
THE TV SPEAKS
Pretty cool, no? I like all the suggestions except "Clean your room." I would rather have George Clooney come over and help me with my dusting. ☺
Now, before I roll out Kelly's recipe, please select a bowtie in lieu of a bib. This will maximize your enjoyment of her pasta salad, and besides, poetry lovers must always look their dapper best.☺
photo by quigley_brown (Jim Hamman).
Kelly: Since my poetry collection is for kids, my recipe is kid friendly. I bring this pasta dish to family events and serve it as a side when we grill in the summer.
KELLY'S PASTA SALAD
(makes 8 side dish servings)
Ingredients:
6 slices of bacon
1-1/2 cups of Hellman's mayonnaise
2 T sugar
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
6 cups bowtie pasta (cooked and drained)
cucumber
grape tomatoes
Cook bacon until crisp (I bake mine in the oven). Mix mayo, sugar and garlic salt in large bowl. Add pasta, cucumber (I cut the cukes in chunks) and tomatoes and mix lightly. Sprinkle with crumbled bacon before serving. Enjoy!
**I made this recipe last weekend and loved it. Can't beat bacon for great flavor. I'm looking forward to making it again through the summer. Thanks, Kelly!
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Kelly Polark
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