Category Archives: teaching

It Just Came Up in Class, #2

Posted on October 2, 2016 by nancohen

A student observed that the speaker in James Wright’s poem “Lying in a Hammock at William Duffy’s Farm in Pine Island, Minnesota” is experiencing a human need for meaning (i.e., what does it mean to “waste” one’s life) that the … Continue reading →

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It Just Came Up in Class, #1

Posted on October 1, 2016 by nancohen

The room my C block class meets in has suddenly acquired a large faux-leather chair that made me think of Sesame Street’s Monsterpiece Theater, which made me think of this American Monster Classics classic:

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Prince, 1958-2016

Posted on April 21, 2016 by nancohen

Six years ago, in a brief tribute to the poet Ai, I tried to put into words my sense of the way an artist’s work transforms when the artist’s life is over, and quoted Bishop’s elegy for Lowell: “Sad friend, you … Continue reading →

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“Enough”

Posted on April 6, 2014 by nancohen

At Viewpoint School, we have “5Up,” a lunchtime series of short talks by members of the school community–students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents, and friends.  I gave one in February, and it recently went up on the school’s YouTube channel.  Because … Continue reading →

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Complete freedom

Posted on March 14, 2010 by nancohen

We were listening to Beyond the Fringe in the car today as we drove to Miri’s soccer game.  In “Sitting on the Bench,” Peter Cook ruminates, “It’s quite interesting work, mining.  You’re given absolute free hand to do whatever you … Continue reading →

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