Monday, July 14, 2008

Justice For Vandals Is Poetic

I wanted to share a link from a recent edition of NPR's Talk of the Nation.
Last December, students from Middlebury College broke into the Homer Noble Farm in Ripton, Vt. — the place where poet Robert Frost spent his summers — to hold a party. Before it was over, the house was trashed, with broken china and furniture throughout. Some of the 28 people charged with trespassing and vandalism accepted an unusual plea agreement — they had to take a class on Robert Frost.

Jay Parini, a professor of English and creative writing at Middlebury College, talks about instructing some of these students in poetry and poetic justice.

I thought this a fascinating interview on how poetry can be used to teach life lessons. While we don't yet have his latest book, Why Poetry Matters, you'll find many others written by or edited by Dr. Parini in our catalog.

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