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5th Grade Reading
Fun Family Read-Alouds for 2nd Grade and Older
Historical Fiction for Kids
Realistic Fiction for Kids
Fun Family Read-Alouds for 2nd Grade and Older
Historical Fiction for Kids
Realistic Fiction for Kids
Description
In the summer of 1968, after travelling from Brooklyn to Oakland, California, to spend a month with the mother they barely know, eleven-year-old Delphine and her two younger sisters arrive to a cold welcome as they discover that their mother, a dedicated poet and printer, is resentful of the intrusion of their visit and wants them to attend a nearby Black Panther summer camp.
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HERstory
Nashville Reads 2023: Celebrating Our Freedom to Read!
Sexual Assault Awareness Month
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Nashville Reads 2023: Celebrating Our Freedom to Read!
Sexual Assault Awareness Month
More Lists...
Description
"Here is a book as joyous and painful, as mysterious and memorable, as childhood itself. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings captures the longing of lonely children, the brute insult of bigotry, and the wonder of words that can make the world right. Maya Angelou's debut memoir is a modern American classic beloved worldwide. Sent by their mother to live with their devout, self-sufficient grandmother in a small Southern town, Maya and her brother, Bailey,...
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Description
After his mother's death in 1946, eleven-year-old Langston and his father leave behind their quiet life in Alabama and move to Chicago. Struggling to fit in and missing his mother, Langston finds refuge at the local library where, unlike his library in Alabama, blacks are just as welcome as whites to use. There he discovers the poetry of Langston Hughes and a secret--he was named after this very poet whose work his mother loved.
Language
Español
Description
The life and work of Pablo Neruda-Nobel Laureate, statesman, renowned poet-both reflect and embody the events that shaped the 20th century. Born in Chile, he fled as a political refugee in 1948, not to return until 1952. Through archival material, Neruda's writings, and interviews with family, friends, and scholars, this program presents Neruda's life and the times that molded it.
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English
Description
In this engaging 1989 documentary, Maria Beatty explores the insights and influences of the American Beat poets. The film conveys their consciousness and sensibility through candid interviews with William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, and Diane di Prima, among others. Designed as a tribute to the poets and to their spirit of artistic freedom, Gang of Souls also weaves in additional commentary from contemporary musicians, poets and writers such as Marianne...
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English
Description
"In this follow-up to her award-winning memoir Enchanted Air, Margarita Engle details her teenage years in Los Angeles against the turbulent backdrop of the Vietnam War. In vulnerable verse, she addresses the notions of peace, civil rights, freedom of expression, and environmental protection that are once again under threat. Despite these circumstances, young Margarita was able to find solace and empowerment through her education"--
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English
Description
In this program, Maya Angelou interviews poet, playwright, and political activist Amiri Baraka, formerly known as Leroi Jones. Stressing the use of concrete images of time, place, and social condition in his work, Baraka discusses the use of literature as a catalyst for political change. Reading from his poem "Funk Lore," Baraka explains how he uses jazz and blues rhythms to create metric "melody" within his poems.
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English
Description
A Pulitzer Prize-winner before she was 35, Rita Dove is the youngest poet to have held the post of Poet Laureate of the United States (1993-1995) In this program with Bill Moyers, Dove talks about her life and work, the relationship between poetry and power, and her plans for taking poetry to the people. The program also features Dove reading extensive selections from her works (including her Pulitzer Prize-winning collection Thomas and Beulah) and...
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English
Description
Cultural illiteracy among today's teenagers threatens the fabric of society, according to Professor E.D. Hirsch, Jr., author of the best-seller, Cultural Literacy. Hirsch defines cultural literacy as familiarity with the common knowledge literate Americans take for granted and ascribes teenage ignorance-vividly demonstrated in live interviews-to reading instruction that has stressed skills over content. Hirsh and moderator Robert MacNeil are joined...
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English
Description
Like musicians, Lucille Clifton and Mark Doty stress the rhythmic and musical qualities of poems, the former shaping them with economical, everyday language and the latter with language more baroque. In this program, Bill Moyers and the two poets discuss topics such as the weight of racial memory and the encounter between self and history. Readings by Ms. Clifton showcase "Fury-for Mama," "Donor," "The Times," and "Alabama 9/15/63"; readings by Mr....
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English
Description
This overview of the life and literature of Emily Dickinson from the Famous Authors series offers an insight into the reclusive author of 1,775 poems and a valuable collection of letters. The video depicts Dickinson's story as that of an individual in a society that smothers individuality and discusses the struggle of a female poet among male contemporaries. She did, however, know of and admire women writers like George Eliot and the Bronte sisters....
Author
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English
Description
Cammie O'Reilly is an unusual kid with an even more unusual home life. She hangs out with a flamboyant black shoplifter named Boo Boo, her housekeeper is a sullen arsonist named Eloda Pupko, and she lives above the entrance of a prison where her dad is the warden. Trying to cope with the death of her mother, who died saving Cammie's life, causes Cammie to become a depressed, angry tween, driven mad by her life in prison. The more Cammie tries to figure...
13) Sylvia Plath
Language
English
Description
The creative intensity with which Plath confronted her experiences as daughter, wife, mother, and writer is explored in documentary and archival footage intercut with visualizations of her work.
14) Deborah Garrison
Language
English
Description
The poetry of Deborah Garrison, who recently made her debut with her critically acclaimed collection A Working Girl Can't Win, speaks in a voice sometimes defiant and tinged with sarcasm, but humorous, too, and sweetened by tender longing. In this program, Bill Moyers and Ms. Garrison discuss topics centering on her experiences as a woman in the workforce. Readings by Ms. Garrison feature "The Boss," "Please Fire Me," "A Kiss," "A Friendship Enters...
15) Modernismo
Language
Español
Description
It was an aesthetic movement with an ambitious program: linguistic innovation as a means of liberation from Romanticism and Neoclassicism, and as a way to clarify Latin American identity. As this program explains, Modernismo coincided with a burst of interest in stories and accounts that were tied to the creation of independent nation states. Viewers will discover valuable insights regarding this cultural tidal wave and the ways in which it transformed...
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English
Description
Following acclaimed poet and memoirist Maya Angelou on a visit to her childhood surroundings in Stamps, Arkansas, this Bill Moyers interview remains a classic of broadcast journalism and a valuable teaching tool for African-American studies. "I was terribly hurt in this town," Angelou tells Moyers, "and vastly loved." She recalls her rapturous discovery of Shakespeare (while savoring a favorite sonnet's opening line) and the power poetry gave her...
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English
Description
Produced in 1965, this classic Canadian documentary is an informal portrait of the Montreal poet, novelist, and songwriter Leonard Cohen. The celebrated Renaissance man was inducted into both the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Canadian Music Hall of Fame; he is also a Companion of the Order of Canada, the nation's highest civilian honor. Shot in black and white, the film captures Cohen as he reads his poetry to a rapt audience. It also...
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English
Description
The story of jazz begins in New Orleans, 19th-century America's most cosmopolitan city. Here, in the 1890s, African-American artists created a new music out of ragtime syncopations, Caribbean rhythms, marching band instrumentation, and the soulful feeling of the blues. This program introduces the pioneers of this revolutionary art form: half-mad cornet player Buddy Bolden, pianist Jelly Roll Morton, clarinet prodigy Sidney Bechet, trumpet virtuoso...
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English
Description
This powerful documentary - an acclaimed film in the field of child sexual abuse prevention - tells the stories of three courageous incest survivors: former Miss America Marilyn Van Derbur, an inspirational author and motivational speaker; poet and community activist Janice Mirikitani, founding president of the Glide Foundation, through which she helps inner-city female addicts to address the trauma of incest; and Barbara Hamilton, author of The Hidden...
20) Robert Pinsky
Language
English
Description
Robert Pinsky, Poet Laureate of the United States for an unprecedented third term, finds his inspiration in common things, transforming the culturally unpoetic into masterpieces of verbal expression. In this program, Bill Moyers and Mr. Pinsky discuss topics including his love of the English language, the pervasive influence of history, and the flourishing of poetry on the Internet. Readings by Mr. Pinsky feature "ABC," "Ginza Samba," "Poem with Refrains,"...