Song for Malala Yousafzai

Some of you may be following the story about education rights activist Malala Yousafzai who was shot by the Taliban for campaigning for girls' education recently in Pakistan.  Despite an attempted assassination at the tender age of 15 she's currently stable in hospital and doctors say she may make a full recovery.  The Pakistan Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack and have vowed to kill her if she recovers.

In the last few weeks she has rapidly become a global symbol of courage in the face of oppression.  The I Am Malala petition set up by the UN Special Envoy for Global Education is approaching a million signatories and rallies of solidarity have been held for her in Karachi, Pakistan.

In an interview with CNN in 2011 she said the following:

"I have the right of education, I have the right to play. I have the right to sing. I have the right to talk. I have the right to go to market. I have the right to speak up.

I shall raise my voice. 

If I didn't do it, who would?"

You can read her original diary for BBC Urdu here: Diary of a Pakistani Schoolgirl which recounts how the Taliban took over her homeland, the Swat valley, in 2009, forcing men to grow beards and targeting schools for girls.

A teacher from Holy Rosary College, Mountbellew, Eamonn Quinn and his students have written a beautiful song in tribute to the courageous campaigner.  The musical talent in this school is amazing and it really is a very special tribute to someone who was prepared to make huge sacrifices for the rights some of us take for granted. Listen to it here and share with your friends on Facebook or Twitter to show your support:

An Introduction to Dermot Bolger

Possibility

Just leave yourself open to the possibility
That one dawn you wake to find your mind clear, 

One dawn you win back the love you derailed,
One dawn you kick the habit of blaming yourself.

One dawn you will wake to hear a clear signal,
A wavelength unmuffled by inference or static,

You will recognise the DJ’s voice as your own
Advertising a unique extravaganza treasure hunt
Where each clue is a signpost through your past.

You will walk through a maze of sleeping estates,
Collecting golden tickets concealed amid mistakes
Made when addiction stopped you thinking straight.

That dawn, when figures emerge amidst the chaos,
You will walk forward, unafraid to embrace happiness.

Dermot Bolger is fast becoming one of my favourite current Irish writers and not just because I got to enjoy one of his wonderful creative writing workshops at the INOTE (Irish National Organisation for Teachers of English) conference yesterday.  A prolific writer of plays, novels and poetry as well as a generous teacher of creative writing, his writing is always gripping, vivid and honest.

The poem above comes from the Night & Day Project which aims to capture a day in the life of contemporary Dublin.  It is full of arresting poems and images such as Neilstown Matadors and Flowers Mark the Spot.

To teen readers I would highly recommend his thrilling novel New Town Soul described here:  

"It’s a gripping thriller set in the south Dublin suburb of Blackrock. It’s an unsettling supernatural horror story. It’s a tenderly evocative look at teenage friendship and romance. It’s a reminder to be careful what you wish for. And it’s the story of Joey, a shy teenager whose ambitious musician father died in a car crash when Joey was a baby."

Find out more about his other writings here.

Really Good Radio

There are amazing resources in radio storytelling and documentaries available free online.  You can stream from websites or subscribe to various podcasts for free on iTunes. Never be bored on a long journey again - get downloading!


Here are some of the best:

 

This American Life
Produced by Chicago Public Media, This American Life is a hugely successful radio program on NPR that brings its audience amazing stories based around a specific theme every week.

Memorable episodes include: Act V and Middle School.

Snap Judgement

 Snap Judgement is also from NPR and also features brilliant storytelling - as it says itself - with a beat.

RadioLab
 For those with an interest in Science or just fascinated by the world around us RadioLab is a treasure trove of mad facts and gripping stories.

Episodes include: the Bad Show and What a Slinky Knows.


BBC Radio 4
There are mountains of great stuff available from BBC Radio 4 from documentaries to drama to great comedy...Find some funny here.

Let me know if you've found any other great radio podcasts out there and enjoy :)

The Art of the Short Story

How on earth can someone write a good short story in the short time available in either the Junior or Leaving Cert English exam? It's a herculean task but a few basic rules can definitely help and here they are summarised as best as I could:

A Short Story in 5 Easy Steps

1.    Introduction:

Establishing setting and characters.

a.     Describe the place where your story begins.

b.     What is life like for people there?

c.      Give the year/month/season/time of day or night.

d.     Who are your main characters? Give them names.

2.    Trigger:

Kick-start your story with something surprising…

a.     An event out of the control of the protagonist

b.     Reveal some interesting facts about your characters so the reader cares about them in some way.

3.    Development:

Develop the plot with some of the following options:

a.     A problem to solve

b.     Conflict between characters

c.      A quest

d.     Have your characters grow or develop in some way.

4.    Climax

Build up the tension to a dramatic climax

a.     Have main characters have to make a critical choice

b.     This is the highest point of drama in the story

5.    Resolution

Bring the story to an end with a satisfactory resolution:

a.     Have a reversal in the fortune of the main characters

b.     Resolve conflict or problem

c.      Give the reader a sense of a proper ending

d.     Have a surprising twist that catches the reader off guard.

Why does this formula work?  Well if you break down most of the stories we read/watch on a regular basis you'll find similar patterns at play - Here's my favorite writer, Kurt Vonnegut, talking about The Shape of Stories:

That's not to say you can't throw the rule-book out if you want to - but at least know the rules before you break them!

Similes or Metaphors?

Stealing a post from the wonderful Drogheda Grammar School English Blog as my first years also need to practice the difference between similes and metaphors!

Play the game to test your knowledge: Similes vs Metaphors