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Literary Christmas Quiz!
Just under the wire (and perhaps the mistletoe)… a literary Christmas quiz, one that will require you to use your (egg)-noggin! Happy holidays to everyone! In O. Henry’s short story “Gift of the...
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We Resolve…
One of our favorite gifts this Christmas was a book called 642 Things to Write About by the San Francisco Writers’ Grotto (2011). Given to us by a dear friend, the book is a collection of prompts (642...
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Django Unchained: Djust Pick a Tone, Already!
Even as an English teacher, I have a hard time describing tone. Is it an attitude? Is it atmosphere? How is it different from mood? All very technical. I wouldn’t even call tone a...
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Quiz: Football in Fiction
Maybe you know this already, but the Baltimore Ravens is the only pro sports team named after a work of literature: Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven.” (In fact, the team’s mascot is apparently a bird...
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Twelve Observations About Twelfth Night (Part 1)
I recently re-read Twelfth Night, after a twenty-year hiatus. And I have to say: that play is kray-kray. Oh, it’s fun and light-hearted, and it has some important things to say about gender and...
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Dark Moons, Furious Sounds, Immigrant Rainbows: Different Interpretations of...
Make no mistake: he—or she—had a brain, all right. Unlike a certain singing scarecrow, whoever initially found the parallels between Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon and the film The Wizard of Oz...
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Favorite Passages, Part 1: Reached
“I know what she means. Writing, painting, singing—it cannot stop everything. Cannot halt death in its tracks. But perhaps it can make the pause between death’s footsteps sound and look and feel...
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St. Patrick’s Day Literary Quiz
Top o’ the morning, Erin go bragh, and may the road rise to meet you! For our 50th post, we prepared a special St. Patrick’s Day Literary Quiz, celebrating Irish (or Irish-American) writers and their...
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A “Dear John” Letter: How I Stopped Being a Hater and Learned to Appreciate...
Dear John: You don’t know me, but for years, I hated you. It’s nothing personal, since I didn’t actually hate the person “John Cena.” Just the character “John Cena”—the one on TV, the one you’ve...
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A Daisy by Any Other Name: Possible Titles for The Great Gatsby
So, the new film version of The Great Gatsby just opened. And Mark is currently teaching Fitzgerald’s novel in his AP class. And this is a blog devoted to fiction. Sounds like a readymade excuse for...
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Synchronicity and the Soundtrack of Our Lives
Yesterday, as part of my first day at summer school, I played the Police song “Message in a Bottle”– which I then heard on the radio on my way home. Got me thinking about something I had written a few...
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A Nostalgic Look at Summer Reading
School’s out for the summer! This glorious time of year ushers in one of my favorite things… summer reading. While taking my boys to the library last week to pick out some books for our local library’s...
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Superman… What an Angel!
“Kneel before Zod!” That’s General Zod’s timeless line from 1980′s Superman II, the one line that escaped the film and, like a criminal from the Phantom Zone, has invaded the pop-culture lexicon. What...
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Party like It’s Summer 1983: Thirty Songs from a Summer Far, Far Away…
For me, music marks the time. Maybe everyone does this, but I often find myself matching “eras” of my life to songs that were popular at the time. For example, twenty-five years ago this month, I...
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Robin Hood: Outlaw of the 21st Century
This week we’re pleased to share news of an exciting new creative venture in the world of comics. My brother, Matt Dursin, is in the final hours of a campaign through Kickstarter, an awesome new way...
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Storybook Season: The 2013 Red Sox
It’s 11:26 pm on Wednesday night, October 30, 2013. Just a few minutes before, the Boston Red Sox had beaten the St. Louis Cardinals to become World Series Champions. My friend Jeremy sends me a text...
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Suddenly… A Post on “Tensions” by Billy Collins
Last week, I gave my Composition students an assignment related to poem “Tensions,” by the Modern Master, Billy Collins. Not familiar with the poem? Here it is, with the all-important opening epigram…...
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Stories Behind School-Based Words
I like words, and I like stories. Ergo, it makes sense that I like stories about words. I fancy myself an amateur etymologist (even though I’m not sure what it takes to be a professional etymologist)....
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Three Well-Worn College Essay Topics That Are Really Hard to Pull Off
Friday, November 1st, was the “early application” deadline for many colleges and universities. And do I know this because I was applying to college myself? No, sir. But as a high school teacher, I...
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Votes and Remotes! TV Shows with Election-Themed Episodes
Before the polls closed, we wanted to celebrate this Election Day by remembering TV series which had memorable ”election-themed” episodes. The West Wing: This series provided two election episodes....
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