Crash Course
Dada, Surrealism, and Symbolism: Crash Course Theater #37
Watch. Dime. Develop. Powder. Pantry. Dirt. That's right, it's time for a dip into the random, because we're talking about the Dada theater that grew out of Symbolism, and the Surrealist theater that followed Dada. You'll learn about...
PBS
Poet Sherman Alexie Talks 'Faces' & 'War Dances' (Oct. 22, 2009)
Author Sherman Alexie talks about his new book of poetry called "Faces" and his new short story collection, "War Dances."
PBS
Poet Amanda Gorman On How She Prepared For Inauguration Day
The poet who will carry on a tradition and present her new work, "The Hill We Climb" at the inauguration this week is already quite accomplished at the age of 22. Jeffrey Brown talked to Amanda Gorman to learn more, as part of our...
TED Talks
Michelle Kuo: The healing power of reading
Reading and writing can be acts of courage that bring us closer to others and ourselves. Author Michelle Kuo shares how teaching reading skills to her students in the Mississippi Delta revealed the bridging power of the written word --...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Why should you read Sylvia Plath? - Iseult Gillespie
Explore the haunting and intimate works of poet Sylvia Plath, who digs into issues of mental health, trauma and sexuality in works like “The Bell Jar.” -- Under her shrewd eye and pen, Sylvia Plath turned everyday objects into haunting...
TED Talks
Stephen Burt: Why people need poetry
"We're all going to die -- and poems can help us live with that." In a charming and funny talk, literary critic Stephen Burt takes us on a lyrical journey with some of his favorite poets, all the way down to a line break and back up to...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Why should you read Dante's "Divine Comedy"? | Sheila Marie Orfano
Abandon all hope, ye who enter here... Inscribed above the Gate of Hell, this prophecy sets into motion an epic journey for salvation. Written over 10 years, Dante Alighieri's three-part narrative poem "Divine Comedy" is both an...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The Nutritionist by Andrea Gibson
An animated interpretation of Andrea Gibson's poem "The Nutritionist"
TED Talks
TED: Black life at the intersection of birth and death | Mwende "FreeQuency" Katwiwa
It is the artist's job to unearth stories that people try to bury with shovels of complacency and time, says poet and freedom fighter Mwende "FreeQuency" Katwiwa. Performing her poem "The Joys of Motherhood," Katwiwa explores the...
SciShow
Weird Names Around the Solar System
Not all of the objects in the solar system are named after Greek and Roman gods -- some are named after literary figures, movie stars, and don't get us started on what people think Earth is really called.
TED Talks
Sarah Kay: "A Bird Made of Birds"
"The universe has already written the poem you were planning on writing," says Sarah Kay, quoting her friend, poet Kaveh Akbar. Performing "A Bird Made of Birds," she shares how and where she finds poetry. (Kay is also the host of TED's...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: Why should you read Virgil's "Aeneid"? - Mark Robinson
In 19 BC, the Roman poet Virgil suffered heatstroke and died on his journey back to Italy. On his deathbed, he thought about the manuscript he had been working on for over ten years, an epic poem called the "Aeneid." Unsatisfied with the...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How did clouds get their names? - Richard Hamblyn
The study of clouds has always been a daydreamer’s science, aptly founded by a thoughtful young man whose favorite activity was staring out of the window at the sky. Richard Hamblyn tells the history of Luke Howard, the man who...
TED Talks
TED: Everyday moments, caught in time | Billy Collins
Combining dry wit with artistic depth, Billy Collins shares a project in which several of his poems were turned into delightful animated films in a collaboration with Sundance Channel. Five of them are included in this wonderfully...
TED Talks
Odes to vice and consequences - Felix Dennis
* Viewer discretion advised. This video includes discussion of mature topics and may be inappropriate for some audiences. Media big shot Felix Dennis roars his fiery, funny, sometimes racy original poetry, revisiting haunting memories...
TED Talks
C.K. Williams: Poetry of youth and age
Poet C.K. Williams reads his work at TED2001. As he colors scenes of childhood resentments, college loves, odd neighbors and the literal death of youth, he reminds us of the unique challenges of living.
TED Talks
Elizabeth Gilbert: Your elusive creative genius
Elizabeth Gilbert muses on the impossible things we expect from artists and geniuses -- and shares the radical idea that, instead of the rare person "being" a genius, all of us "have" a genius. It's a funny, personal and surprisingly...
TED Talks
Natalie Merchant: Singing old poems to life
Natalie Merchant sings from her poetry-inspired album "Leave Your Sleep," which pairs lyrics from poets -- from Gerard Manley Hopkins to a near-forgotten 10-year-old girl in Brooklyn -- with simple melodies and her unmistakable voice....
Crash Course
The Poetry of Sylvia Plath: Crash Course Literature 216
In which John Green teaches you about the poetry of Sylvia Plath. When a lot of people think about Sylvia Plath, they think about her struggles with mental illness and her eventual suicide. Her actual work can get lost in the shuffle a...
TED Talks
TED: The Museum of Four in the Morning | Rives
Beware: Rives has a contagious obsession with 4 a.m. At TED2007, the poet shared what was then a minor fixation with a time that kept popping up everywhere. After the talk, emails starting pouring in with an avalanche of hilarious...
TED Talks
TED: A warrior’s cry against child marriage | Memory Banda
Memory Banda’s life took a divergent path from her sister’s. When her sister reached puberty, she was sent to a traditional “initiation camp” that teaches girls “how to sexually please a man.” She got pregnant there — at age 11. Banda,...
Crash Course
Before I Got My Eye Put Out - The Poetry of Emily Dickinson: Crash Course English Lit
In which John Green concludes the Crash Course Literature mini-series with an examination of the poetry of Emily Dickinson. Sure, John explores the creepy biographical details of Dickinson's life, but he also gets into why her poems have...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Brendan Constantine: "The Opposites Game"
This animation is part of the TED-Ed series, "There's a Poem for That," which features animated interpretations of poems both old and new that give language to some of life's biggest feelings. [Poem by Brendan Constantine, directed by...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Who decides what art means? - Hayley Levitt
There is a question that has been tossed around by philosophers and art critics for decades: how much should an artist's intention affect your interpretation of the work? Do the artist’s plans and motivations affect its meaning? Or is it...