Book 17 of the Odyssey puts father and son on the stage together for the first time. Each has been formed by his own odyssey and is now eager to pit himself against the bad odds in Ithaca. It is a chapter that builds anticipation and shows off Homer's genius. Jay opens the episode with a haunting poem from Richard Blanco, "My Father, My Hands." https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/richard-blanco #english #classics #highschoolenglish #literature #humanities #homer #theodyssey #pedagogy #teachertalk #teachertalkwithpaul&jay #podcast #podcasts #literature #poetry #homeschool #homeschooling #homeschoollearning

Paul and Jay review book fifteen of the Odyssey where Homer begins to weave back together the threads of family and home and order that have been frayed for a long long time in Ithaca. Follow along as they both offer insights into teaching this great text. Paul opens the episode with a poem by Bruce Weigl, "My Autumn" leaves.

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/42757/my-autumn-leaves

Paul and Jay continue their review of The Odyssey detailing the essential, the subtle and the lingering in book 14. Jay opens with a poem about homelessness, "Homeless" by Juliet Kono. #theodyssey #odyssey #odysseus #bookreview #highschoolenglish #highschool #classics #homer #books #booksummary #homeschoolhighschool

Jay reads a brilliant poem by Barbara Howes. It comes from her collection In the Cold Country, published in 1954. Howes' collected works were published in 1990 and nominated for the National Book Award.

Get the basics of book 13 before you dig into the reading. Paul and Jay lay them out for you quickly and simply. Teacher or student, this episode will give you the essentials that you need to know.

Paul and Jay cover book 13 of Homer's Odyssey, working their way through the entire epic. Book 13 marks a little more than the half way point, Odysseus has only just set foot on homeland, with 11 books left to go. Follow along as Paul and Jay detail the obvious, the subtle and the mystifying about book 13. Barbara Howes supplies the poetry this time See her "The Homecoming" here https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47922/the-homecoming-56d228c0a0aeb

Over a discussion of Zadie Smith's essay "Fascinated to Presume: In Defense of Fiction" (New York Review of Books, 2019), Paul and Jay discuss diversity, multiculturalism, inclusion and representation in high school English. The movement to correct real and perceived oversights of inclusion has been disastrous for the reading and teaching of literature. But in her essay, Zadie Smith shines a light in the direction of hope and recovery.

In Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen illustrates four types of reading: 1. Reading as confirmation bias 2. Reading as performance art 3. Reading as escape 4. Reading as transformation Which sort of reader are you?