Brandon Learning Centre: British Education - process, preparation and practicalities

The Spoon River Anthology is a fascinating collection of poems by Edgar Lee Masters. The conceit is simple; the poet moves through a graveyard and the lives and regrets of villagers are told in poetic form. Each poem has a clear voice and the interplay between the characters is fascinating. Amongst the most moving poems for me is that of George Grey. The narrator speaks of the anguish caused by his lack of engagement. Fear of failure or hurt holds us back and can prevent us from realising our potential and achieving happiness. Any enterprise we undertake will have the potential to go wrong but it is from our mistakes and experiences that we achieve actualisation. George Grey - from Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters I have studied many times   The marble which was chiseled for me—   A boat with a furled sail at rest in a harbor.   In truth it pictures not my destination   But my life.       For love was offered me and I shrank from its disillusionment;   Sorrow kn

"Aprile is the cruelest month" according to Chaucer who had clearly never spent March in Louisiana battling the howling winds! Today, however, all the misery is forgotten as spring appears to be making a guest appearance after a weekend of truly miserable rain (I volunteered for Hogs for the Cause www.hogsforthecause.org  which degenerated into a mud bath within minutes of opening. Fortunately the turnout was incredibly good and the barbecue was nectar of the gods. I spent a wonderful morning discussing Chinese culture with the bright students of Isidore Newman School http://www.newmanschool.org/home  and emerged into brilliant sunlight which made me think of the last lines of ee cumming's poem "if i have made, my lady, intricate" which sum up the creeping of delight into the psyche; if i have made, my lady, intricate if i have made, my lady, intricate imperfect various things chiefly which wrong your eyes(frailer than most deep dreams are