When I studied in the University of the Philippines Manila, way back in college, I, along with some CWL dormer friends formed a group called "Almost Dead Poets Society" (inspired by the movie of course =). We would meet and share our favorite poems from our much loved poets or share poems we ourselves composed. This blog is to continue that legacy and now, you can also be a part of it... our Facebook Group: "Almost Dead Poets Society" and/or our Twitter: "@almostdeadpoets" =)
MIBF has become a yearly tradition for Filipinos. Last year's event was attended by more than eighty five thousand people visiting over three hundred local and foreign exhibitors showcasing thousands of books. MIBF becomes a more challenging exhibit to pull off every year, especially as we come to the advent of the digital age and new ways of reading. But for as long as the written word thrives in any medium, MIBF will continue its legacy of promoting the love for reading.
Exhibit Halls 1 – 4, SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City
September 14 (Wednesday) - 18 (Sunday), 2011
10:00 AM – 8:00 PM
For the Schedule of Special Events, please CLICK HERE.
For more information, please contact the Organizer: Primetrade Asia, Incorporated
5th Floor Accelerando Building, 395 Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue, Brgy. Bel-Air, 1209 Makati City
Telephone Nos. (63-2)896-0661, 896-0682 • Fax No.: (632)896-0695
Website: www.primetradeasia.com
If the video above is not available, please CLICK HERE to watch the video on YouTube.
This is one of the favorite poems not only of Almira Lim but of the British people. It's so popular that even these two great tennis players read it aloud with an uploaded video on YouTube. Find out why...
If—
By Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!
The Poem and the Poet Exposed:
Did you notice in the video that lines from "If" appear over the player's entrance to Wimbledon's Centre Court? No wonder a lot of people like this poem... it's inspirational, motivational, it contains maxims applicable to everyday life, it's also "a blueprint for personal integrity, behavior and self development."
While reading the poem, you would probably think that the poet, Rudyard Kipling, had everything going great about his life... he's the author of the Jungle Book (which Disney made into an animated film... no wonder the name "Rudyard Kipling" rings a bell =), Nobel Prize Award winner for Literature, Poet Laureate and even offered the knighthood. The tone of this poem is pleasant and optimistic, seemingly made by a truly happy person. But that's the beauty of this poem... Kipling actually had tragic and unhappy experiences... He was sent away by his parents, starved of love and affection; beaten and abused by his foster mother; a failure at a public school; and later in life, two of his children died. To be able to write an inspirational poem amidst the pain, the grief, the wounds one has gone through is indeed admirable =)
I think it is but appropriate to start this blog with the poem popularized by the 1989 film "Dead Poets Society" where we got our name. Remember John Keating (Robin Williams)? He is the English teacher we wish we all had because he encourages his students with words like "Carpe Diem! Seize the day! And make your lives extraordinary!" He also told them that they may call him "O Captain! My Captain" if they feel daring...
O Captain, My Captain! By Walt Whitman (1865)
O Captain my Captain! our fearful trip is done; The ship has weathered every rack, the prize we sought is won; The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting, While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring:
But O heart! heart! heart! O the bleeding drops of red, Where on the deck my Captain lies, Fallen cold and dead.
O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells; Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills; For you bouquets and ribboned wreaths—for you the shores a-crowding; For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
Here Captain! dear father! This arm beneath your head; It is some dream that on the deck,
You’ve fallen cold and dead.
My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still; My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will; The ship is anchored safe and sound, its voyage closed and done; From fearful trip, the victor ship, comes in with object won;
Exult, O shores, and ring, O bells! But I, with mournful tread, Walk the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.
The Poem and Poet Exposed:
Walt Whitman wrote this poem after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln (he was a journalist, essayist and poet during that time). Major metaphors include "the ship" (representing the United States of America) and "fearful trip" (American Civil War). Who is "O Captain, My Captain!"? Take a good guess... Clue: not Robin Williams haha =)
Whitman's poems are generally prose-like and he didn't usually abide with poetic form (strict meter and rhyme). Many regard him as the "father of free verse" though he was not its inventor.
Until now, biographers are debating about his sexuality --- either homosexual or bisexual. What do you think?...
