A Book Every Week: Mark Strand

Together with novels and short stories, poems are excellent learning companions. They are short, musical and, sometimes, unforgettable. I am especially fond of British and American poetry so today I would like to introduce you to Mark Strand. He is a Canadian-born poet, essayist and translator. You can watch the video below and listen to Mark Strand reciting one of his poems, The Couple. If you feel like reading the poem at the same time or more slowly, click here.

Weekend Films: "Vincent" by Tim Burton

As I said in class today, I will be recommending films and books to you every week. You can watch or read them at the weekend and, if you like, we can share ideas and opinions later. You seemed satisfied with this idea, so you are all welcome to take part in this new Movie Club, either as spectators or as critics.

We have been talking about supernatural events today, so I would like to start with a short film by Tim Burton, Vincent. This is the story of a young boy, Vincent Malloy, who pretends to be like the actor Vincent Price (who narrates the film). He is obsessed with the tales of Edgar Allan Poe, and it is his detachment from reality when reading them that leads to his delusions that he is in fact a tortured artist, deprived of the woman he loves, mirroring certain parts of Poe's "The Raven".

Enjoy!!