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Supplementary materials for teaching Issue 28 are listed below.
To accompany our portfolio of contemporary writing by Catalan women
Before diving into the portfolio, students can learn important context about the Catalan language (which is spoken in Spain, France, Italy, and Andorra) and the region of Catalonia (via Generalitat de Catalunya and Britannica).
Mercè Ibarz’s short story “Lunch at the Boqueria” references the group of Catalan writers who were exiled from their homeland during the Spanish Civil War. Learn more about the exiles here (via the Journal of Catalan Intellectual History), including Mercè Rodoreda, one of the most famous Catalan writers (via the University of London’s Institute of Languages, Cultures and Societies).
After reading “Forever Red,” a short story by Tina Vallès that describes the terrible famine many Catalans experienced during the Spanish Civil War, students can read more about the history of the war here (via Brittanica).
For further exploration, here and elsewhere (non-portfolio)
Nathalie Handal’s poem “Roma Nostra” weaves in images of the city of Rome amid an encounter with a lover. Students can read more about the landmarks she mentions, including the Roman Forum (via Britannica) and the Basilica of Santa Maria in Aracoeli (via Turismo Roma).
Accompany “Roadside Blackberries,” a poem by Zack Strait, with a reading of Seamus Heaney’s similar poem about lost innocence and coming of age, “Blackberry-Picking” (via Poetry Foundation).
After reading Gray Davidson Carroll’s poem “Silent Spring,” students can read about the story behind Rachel Carson’s seminal environmental science book of the same name, which the poem references (via Natural Resources Defense Council).
In his personal essay “More to the Story,” Michael David Lukas discovers Nazi artifacts in his grandmother’s attic, leading him to explore the dark and complex threads of his family’s history. Students can contextualize this story by reading a New York Times guest essay about the continuing market for Nazi memorabilia (via The New York Times).
Students who enjoy Elizabeth Hazen’s poem “Real Estate for the Blended Family (Or What I Learned from Zillow)” can read some of her past work for The Common, including “Erosion” from our March 2014 Poetry and “Devices” from our February 2017 Poetry Feature.
Follow up Farah Peterson’s poem “Cherry Pie/Postpartum Depression” with her 2024 Pushcart Prize-winning essay “Alone with Kindred,” which traces the topic of interracial marriage through her personal experience and literature (via The Threepenny Review).
If students enjoy James K. Boyce’s essay “Return of the Puffin,” which follows ornithologists’ efforts to return the bird to its natural habitat in Maine, they can listen to a podcast about the unexpected reason why residents of an Icelandic island throw baby puffins off cliffs (via The New York Times).
“Letter to Archilochus,” a poem by Maura Stanton, namedrops both the ancient Greek poet and a more recent celebrity, Elvis. Students can attempt to draw comparisons between the two men by reading more about the legacies of Archilochus (via Fordham Research Commons) and Elvis (via Time Magazine).
Read more here about the history of Transkei, the coastal area of South Africa where Megan Tennant’s story “Little Women” is set, two decades after the end of Apartheid (via Britannica).
After reading Wyatt Townley’s poem “Wedding Vows,” listen to her podcast interview with The Common, and hear more about what it’s like to be the Poet Laureate of Kansas.
See all of Issue 28.
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Teach Issue 28