Having reached St. John's (see post below), I feel free to upload the final map of the Tour, covering the whole thing from start (in Vancouver, 12 April) to finish (well, we're not finished yet, but we're not leaving St. John's before it's over!).
We passed the 11 000 km mark today, just after Gander. We're now 200 km closer to Minsk than we are to Silicon Valley, where the first entry on this blog was written.
6 comments:
Wow ! What an incredible composition of poetry ! Having a keen interest in both poetry, and Canadian history, I thoroughly enjoyed this presentation. It was rather intriguing, and quite refreshing to listen to history recited in this fashion, which I think is an appealing method for students like myself. The intricately woven historical facts and combination of poetry portrayed through a narrative was completely captivating. As a Newfoundlander, I feel our history adds to our uniqueness, and gives us a sense of pride. I think it is wonderful that you are taking time to travel across this great country, entertaining and educating youth. Mr. Mitchell, you are such a passionate poet, and it is a pleasure to watch your work. I have no doubt that your success in this area will continue to flourish in the future. Kudos !
Melissa Hoskins Prince of Wales Collegiate St.John’s, NL
As you can see from Melissa's eloquent response, Jack provided our students with an unforgetable, passionate and truly unique learning experience. His energy, creativity and scholarship, his respect for the past and the capacity of young people to appreciate a serious, profound work of art, are inspirational.I'm sure many students in the audience became motivated to help revive a tradition which has been neglected for too long. Canada will be hearing from them in the future, and our culture will be all the richer as a result. Thanks very much, Jack, for all you've done for our students;thanks to Dave as well for taking care of the logistics behind all successful initiatives; and thanks to Annie and The Dominion Institute for making it all possible.
Please note: Photo and announcement on PWC homepage for events on May 30: www.pwc.k12.nf.ca
My name is Joey Whitten, I witnessed the brilliant presentation of the poem today with my English class. It truly was interesting and captivating. Using incredible usage of literary devices such as similes, "The musket smoke like fog along the plains" and "The men like waves crashing against the shore as they collided head to head on the plains" Amazing imagery is used to capture you in every moment he speaks of. The tale of how he came to choose this topic is truly interesting as well. His explanation of how it relates to both the middle ages and the battle for Troy give whole new meaning to the poem and bring it to a realistic and respectable level. I'll finish on the note that as incredible as the poem is, adding visuals, or even making it into a play could be things to truly inspire towards.
Joey Whitten
Student of Mr. Samuelson
and Prince of Whales Collegiate
Hello, my name is Peter McCann, I am currently level one student at P.W.C. who is an English student of Mr. Samuelson. Now, I’m not going to lie to you and say I was hyped up about going to hear a poem that was apparently a half an hour long, in fact, I was down right dreading it and the only benefit I could see was the fact that I was not going to have to work that period. This was my old opinion. After actually hearing this piece of literature by Poet “Jack Mitchell,” I discovered that it was extremely interesting and I was quite glad that I had the opportunity to hear it. So to Mr. Mitchell, I say, that I am thoroughly impressed with the fact that you got a kid like me who truly despised poetry till that day, to write a thank-you comment, not only for the good poem, but the fact that you opened up my mind to try reading other works of poetry by other writers.
Peter McCann
Prince of Wales Collegiate
St.Johns, NL
What a surprise, I went in to the Learning Resoucre Center with one word two words on my mind . . "Epic Poem" . . I had no idea what I was to expect, but what I saw, was truly unforeseen. The poem had a great remindtion of the history, along with a story of its own. It was truly an hournor to hear this epic poem by Jack Mitchell, and would glady go and see another one any time.
Christina Slaney
PWC
My name is Kylie Churchill, and I would like to say a thank you for this inspiring epic poem! It’s not very often that we get to see a historical form of poetry, and to revive one so intriguing as this, will most definitly become a proud moment in our history. The musical rhythm added in different strophes was a unique twist, and made it even more interesting. The dialog in the epic poem also added to the plot and setting. But most of all, the character description of General Wolfe, and the imagery of the battle were so excellently described that it captures the audience in a way most would not believe possible within the context of the presentation. It was very well received, and thank you again for a job well done!
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