Settle in today to listen to an Irish David and Goliath tale that extols pluck and smarts and reminds us that it's often the small and seemingly weak that topple the great and grand, especially when they're being tyrants and bullies. We can ALL make a difference. https://youtu.be/qqZJRNb_W3c I'd love to hear from you: [...]
What you carry in your mind in large part defines the atmosphere of your life. I vote we put POETRY in there to fill our lives with wisdom, beauty, and inspiration! Tell us in the comments: 1. What poem do you intend to memorize? 2. What would you like to exclude or include to uplevel [...]
A brief, passionate rant about the enlivening influence of poetry, very broadly defined with the help of John Stuart Mill and 19th century poet, Arthur O'Shaughnessy, and an invitation to throw off world weariness and cynicism and embrace and live YOUR poetry, your way. If you're moved and inclined, please share a comment - perhaps, [...]
This week, you’ll hear wonderful poems by our community poets, and you’ll “meet” a 19th century Irish poet whose two poems give us both our SPARK and DARE. If you'd like to participate, please send me your poems (1-7: your choice) in the body of your email (no attachments, please!), to kate@katechadbourne.com by Sunday, April [...]
It's happening - and YOU'RE INVITED. You'll find all the info on how to participate and our wonderful prizes in this video. I would love to have you with us! https://youtu.be/3LWedfHRaMs
Just a quick word of encouragement from a "found" poem, discovered in a sheaf of papers recently. Can I just say again: I love my students. I feel so lucky to teach them. And I feel lucky that every day I sit at the piano and help someone to sing or play the piano or [...]
Sometimes, a visitor to my home notices the mermaid-blue typewriter or the record player or the crowd of ink bottles and fountain pens on my desk. From time to time, one of them asks why I have these things in a tone that suggests I may be keeping a zebra in the bathtub or a [...]
By sheer chance, I just opened a journal from 2021 and felt encouraged by this entry: "The hardest goodbye (at the end of the term) was with C who tried bravely not to cry. It’s easy to assume I don’t mean much to people, that I’m part of the furniture of life. But even that [...]
Sometimes in my morning writing, I ask questions of “Wise Kate” – that part of me that knows more than I do at present. Today, I asked her: “What do you believe about pleasure?” Here’s what she said: +That it’s as necessary as air and water to life, and more than that – to [...]
I’ve been a whirlwind of fruitful work this year. It has been exhilarating and sometimes tiring but always, always worth it. I feel I’m using my gifts and I’m helping. I love my students and my days are about my favorite things: songs, stories, poems, and enchantment. What could be better? And yet, I’ve also [...]
