Lit Hit!

I have been revamping my literature curriculum for a new course I will be teaching at a local college. At first, I thought I might have trouble coming up with poems for that section in the curriculum, but I have ended up with more ideas than I can use. I didn't even think I was much of a poetry fan, but apparently I am (!). I left a pad of paper by my desk to write down curriculum ideas, and every couple of days, I would write down another idea, for instance, Robert Frost ("Two Roads Diverged in a Yellow Wood") and Dylan Thomas ("Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night). These are poems that I have frequently heard quoted or otherwise used in all sorts of public and private venues. The common, everyday metaphors of the "fork in the road," and of going "off the beaten path" relate back to Frost, for instance. Emma Lazarus, whose poem is on the Statue of Liberty, originated the phrase "Give me your tired, your poor," part of her poem including this line was put to music (I sung it with my high school choir). Of course, popular and classical music is full of poetry, set to music, of course--I am hoping to have students bring in favorite songs and we can talk about how music adds to (or detracts from) the enjoyment of the poetry itself.