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Stories for "poetry"

Nerves, bones, words: Fellows Friday with Ivana Gadjanski

Nerves, bones, words: Fellows Friday with Ivana Gadjanski

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Biologist, poet and fledgling entrepreneur Ivana Gadjanski has worked on using animal toxins as a possible treatment for MS, and is growing bones and cartilage in dishes. She has also published two books of poetry in Serbia. Now she’s developing Pubsonic, an online research tool that allows users to access free medical journal papers via []

The power of poetry: Stephen Burt at TEDGlobal 2013

The power of poetry: Stephen Burt at TEDGlobal 2013

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“I read poetry all the time, I write about poetry frequently, and I take poems apart to see how they work,” says Stephen Burt as he takes the TEDGlobal stage. “I’m a word person. I understand the world best and most fully through words, rather than pictures or numbers. When I have a new experience, []

8 beautiful and heartbreaking poems from Shane Koyczan

8 beautiful and heartbreaking poems from Shane Koyczan

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Shane Koyczan has a way with words. “I’ve been shot down so many times I get altitude sickness just from standing up for myself,” he says, beginning today’s talk. “That’s what we were told—stand up for yourself. But that’s hard to do if you don’t know who you are.” Koyczan appeared on the TED2013 stage []

The best of TED-Ed: The art of the metaphor

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The adage goes: You learn something new every day. This is especially true if you watch TED-Ed lessons, which bring to life educational topics as varied as “insults by Shakespeare” and “pizza physics” with animation. As a holiday gift, we’re bringing you the TED-Ed’s team’s favorite talks of the year that, despite being amazing, didn’t get the []

10 spoken word performances, folded like lyrical origami

10 spoken word performances, folded like lyrical origami

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[ted id=1625 width=560 height=315] Spoken word artist Lemon Andersen begins today’s talk with the poem, “Please Don’t Take My Air Jordans,” written by Reg E. Gaines in 1994. My Air Jordans cost a hundred with tax. My suede Starter jacket says Raiders on the back. I’m stylin’, smilin’ looking real mean, Cause it ain’t about []

3 thoroughly slamming spoken word performances

3 thoroughly slamming spoken word performances

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It’s hard to get one’s brain started on a Monday (especially if you stayed up to watch Curiosity last night). To get synapses firing, here are three killer spoken-word performances from last month’s TEDxBoston. Kemi Alabi: Unlovelies in the Key of C Major Boston University student and slam poet Kemi Alabi takes us to the world []

Poems in motion: Billy Collins at TED2012

Poems in motion: Billy Collins at TED2012

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Photo: James Duncan Davidson “I’m here to give you your recommended daily allowance of poetry.” So says Billy Collins, former Poet Laureate of the United States. He tells the story of being approached by the Sundance Channel to record his poems and set them to animation. Attempts to set his poetry to music had failed in the past. But []

Text of “What I Will” by  Suheir Hammad

Text of “What I Will” by Suheir Hammad

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What I Will by Suheir Hammad I will not dance to your war drum. I will not lend my soul nor my bones to your war drum. I will not dance to your beating. I know that beat. It is lifeless. I know intimately that skin you are hitting. It was alive once hunted stolen []

3 TEDTalks for National Poetry Day

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Today is National Poetry Day in the UK, and why not everywhere? We found out about it in the stateless world of Twitter trending topics. If you’re in the mood to celebrate, watch a few of these TEDTalks about, or featuring, poetry: “War child” Emmanuel Jal tells the story of his amazing life in words []

Learning Africa’s stories: Chris Abani on TED.com

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Novelist and poet Chris Abani believes the heart of a place can be best understood through its poems and narratives. He talks about African and Nigerian stories — including his own story of artistic and political awakening, which began with an inventive teacher who taught him the forbidden history of his own people. How, he []