Intro
Welcome to the latest issue of the Grammaticus Newsletter! This month I have a lot of poetry and literature for you, much of it celebrating the arrival of spring. English language learners will find additional resources containing vocabulary and grammar exercises, plus there are my listening tips. Until next month, take care!
Books & Literature
Free ebook: “Four Stories for Spring” by Ellen Robena Field
With the arrival of spring, it’s time for another quarterly ebook from the Grammaticus Free Library series: “Four Stories for Spring.” It contains four spring-themed stories, with the accompanying illustrations and vocabulary notes designed for English language learners.
“I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” by William Wordsworth
You might think the poet is the main character of this poem – the "I" of the first line – but it is actually these beautiful flowers that steal the show.
"Spring Storm" by William Carlos Williams
The poem presented here, ‘Spring Storm’, serves as a good example of imagism: there are no complex, intertextual references or intellectual pretences. Instead, the poet shares an image coming straight from everyday life.
Culture & Media
Exploring Old-Time Radio
Before there was cable, satellite and terrestrial television, radio reigned supreme as the main source of entertainment. Luckily, a lot of old-time radio (OTR) has been preserved, and thanks to the internet you can now easily access countless hours of music, drama, mystery and other types of radio shows.
Anachronism as a lifestyle
A few years ago two articles circulated among my friends and historical role-play buffs, both about a couple who chose to live like it was the late 1800s, full-time.
Learning English
Confusing words: ‘beside’ vs ‘besides’
The words ‘beside’ and ‘besides’ look deceptively similar, but they don’t have the same meaning. English language learners often confuse the two, so in this post I’ll explain the basic differences.
Portmanteau words in English
What happens when you use elements of two or more words and combine them to create a new word? You get a "portmanteau" - a term used by linguists for such unusual neologisms. Learn more about them in this blog post.
Listening tips
Meridian: Flannery O'Connor
“You could describe her as a stranger in a strange land.” The life and work of the American writer and virtuoso of the Southern Gothic. Born in Savannah, Georgia in 1925, she was an outsider in a region of outsiders: a Roman Catholic in the Protestant Bible Belt. [Duration: 26 min.]
A Forgotten Storyteller: Ellen Robena Field Smalley
Earlier this month I released a free ebook featuring short stories by Ellen Robena Field (scroll up for more information). In this episode of The Ordinary, Extraordinary Cemetery podcast you can learn more about this long neglected writer. [Duration: 21 min.]