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Ireland’s Favorite Poem

March 17, 2015 by Ana Maria Caballero

Ireland may be known for St. Patrick’s day, and the heavy beer drinking involved. But, it is also known for the many legendary writers that came from its rolling green hills. James Joyce, William Butler Yeats and, most recently, Seamus Heaney all called Ireland their home. This year, RTE, the national broadcaster, hosted a contest aimed at identifying the country’s most-loved poem written in the last century. The winner is a sonnet by Seamus Heaney called “When all the others were […]

Categories: Ana Maria Caballero, ZiR • Tags: books, Ireland, literature, poetry, reading, writing

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Very little is known about the photographic practices of people under 18

March 16, 2015 by Alexia Raynal

In an article published in 2008, sociologist Penny Tinkler argued that “Very little is known about the photographic practices of people under 18 — that is, the range of ways and media through which they take, feature in, and use photographs.” Today, her words might make readers chuckle. Anyone looking at teenagers’ current photo uses would be surprised at how quickly Tinkler’s concerns are no longer valid. According to KPBC’s Internet Trends Report, over 1.8 billion new photos were shared every day on social media in […]

Categories: Alexia Raynal, ZiR • Tags: childhood, Penny Tinkler, photography, social media

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Jokes, Kitchens, & Philosophy

March 15, 2015 by Ed Mooney

Who says philosophers can’t be funny? Here’s Kierkegaard: What philosophers say about reality is often as disappointing as a sign you see in a shop window, which reads: Pressing Done Here. If you brought your clothes to be pressed, you would be fooled; for the sign is for sale. Philosophers offer you a service (so it seems). The banner says that they’ll smarten your appreciation of reality. So you enter the shop — only to learn than you won’t […]

Categories: Ed Mooney, ZiR • Tags: Kierkegaard

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Harvest : the bitter fruits of xenophobia

March 13, 2015 by William Eaton

In Harvest, Jim Crace explores what happens in an isolated feudal village when a trio of outsiders set up camp on the common land and attempt to claim squatters’ rights. The villagers destroy the intruders’ makeshift camp and remain silent when they are wrongly accused of setting fire to the Master’s stable. The severe punishment meted out to the newcomers is not contested by any of the villagers, including Walter Thirsk, from whose point of view the story is narrated. […]

Categories: Catherine Vigier, ZiR • Tags: literature

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Thoreau Can’t Count One

March 12, 2015 by Ed Mooney

In the last paragraph of the second chapter of Walden, “Where I Lived, and What I lived for,” Thoreau gives us a very quotable line: “Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in.” But that’s just the start of falling down a rabbit hole. He adds, “I drink at it: but while I drink I see the sandy bottom and detect how shallow it is. . . I would drink deeper: fish in the sky, whose bottom is pebbly […]

Categories: Ed Mooney, ZiR • Tags: Thoreau

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Go Medieval on Your Verse

March 10, 2015 by Ana Maria Caballero

One of my favorite blogs is called “Interesting Literature.” It is just that, a site with interesting, often very random, facts about literature and literary history. A few weeks ago they published a piece called “10 Short Medieval Poems Everyone Should Read.” Fear not. The poems included are only a few lines long and translation is provided, so they are very easy to read. Sure, the poems’ subject matter may seem simplistic, almost pre-adolescently romantic. But it is nevertheless fascinating to have […]

Categories: Ana Maria Caballero, ZiR • Tags: art, books, culture, History, medieval poetry, poetry, reading, writing

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Pushing for more engineers and scientists through film

March 9, 2015 by Alexia Raynal

In recent years, the US has strongly favored education programs that focus on creating more engineers and scientists. Education advocates have opened up debates on how to get children more interested in STEM fields, an acronym that stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. They are also interested in learning how to integrate these subjects into children’s everyday lives. I was recently reminded of this national drive while watching the Walt Disney Animated Studios movie “Big Hero 6” (released in fall 2014). The film tells […]

Categories: Alexia Raynal, ZiR • Tags: Big Hero 6, children, education, film, STEM

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Martyrdom (Part III)

March 5, 2015 by William Eaton

I have written elsewhere about Martin Luther King’s call to martyrdom, his exhorting a crowd of black citizens in Montgomery, Alabama: “You must say, somehow, ‘I don’t have much money—I don’t have much education—I may not be able to read or write—but I have the capacity to die!” These days when we think of calls to martyrdom, we think of Muslims, suicide bombers. And we may note stark differences: King’s martyrs were not to kill but only to be killed, […]

Categories: William Eaton, ZiR • Tags: Boris Nemtsov, courage, Martin Luther King, martyrdom, N. Scott Momaday, Plenty Horses, suicide bombers, Wounded Knee

Young Adult, in Verse

March 3, 2015 by William Eaton

I recently visited the main branch of the Miami Public Library System and was strongly impressed by what I found. Although the entire library was elegant, spacious, well-stocked and easy to decipher, the teen’s section was truly remarkable. There were large signs indicating that only 12-19 year-olds were allowed to use the area, which was equipped with computers, lounge chairs and large arched windows. One of the section’s featured books caught my eye, so I picked it up. It is […]

Categories: Ana Maria Caballero, ZiR • Tags: books, free verse, literature, poetry, reading, writing, young adult

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ZETEO

Zeteo (ζητέω): to challenge, question, dispute, explore the forgotten and ignored

Category Archives: ZiR

Ireland’s Favorite Poem

Jokes, Kitchens, & Philosophy

Harvest : the bitter fruits of xenophobia

Thoreau Can’t Count One

Go Medieval on Your Verse

Pushing for more engineers and scientists through film

Martyrdom (Part III)

Young Adult, in Verse