The next time you're in Cumbria... wait... where's Cumbria? It's all the way over in jolly ol' England, on the northwest tip of the country. They call it the Lake District and it's one of the most beautiful places to be inspired.

William Wordsworth was one of many poets who wrote about lovely Cumberland (as Cumbria was called in his time). He captured the glory of his home in a poem called, I wandered lonely as a cloud. And now, 200 years after Wordsworth's time, there's a new generation in town.

Read William Wordsworth's poem and then, check out the video below it. It's an updated version, to say the very least.

That was the old school version. Pretty wasn't it?

Heh. Word.

Which do you prefer? William Wordsworth's poem or the video rap? Why? Post your comment below. 

AND... to learn more about silly squirrels that may or may not rap, click here, here, here, or here.

-by Alex Graves

I climb onto the small
yellow back of a dragon.
Its wings stroke through
thick air as we take off.
We glide weightlessly
over the lake.
When a gust of wind flips us over,
I fall into warm water.
Underneath,
I release from the dragon's embrace.
I swim upside down
and break through the surface.
I breathe,
grab hold of its wings,
and climb back on.

Editor's Note: Alex's poem, Kayak, was one of six winners in this year's Ann Arlys Bowler poetry contest. It was published in issue 17 of READ magazine, however, we regrettably printed an error in the poem. Here, on WORD, we present Kayak in its true form. Once again, sorry Alex.

Really? That's too bad. Why?

We are currently putting together an issue of Writing magazine and we need your help. If you are one of those students who absolutely hates to write, we want to hear from you! Only, you're going to have to write to us. Kind of a Catch 22, huh?

Send us an email at word@weeklyreader.com. Put "I Hate Writing" in the subject line and tell us all about it. What is it about writing that you dislike so much? Is it too hard? Is it boring? Let us know. We want to publish your thoughts in our magazine but more importantly, we want to help you. We want, more than anything, to crush this plague of hatred. We want to pound it into oblivion and make great writers out of the unwilling. Can we do it? Heh. Honestly, I don't know. We're certainly going to try though.

Write to us now. Feel free to vent.

-Poem by Taylor Doaty, Grade 8

As I stroll down the park,
I see an abandoned riverbank.
As I approach it,
I decide to slow down.
The shadows from the trees
make the bank look more filthy and dark.
Through the dirt and filth,
I can see the history of the riverbank.
Through the empty bottles and smashed glass,
I see people fishing and laughing
and smiling.
Without notice,
I bend down, pick up the trash
and put it in its proper place.
Soon, another lady comes to help.
Before you know it,
the riverbank is trash-free and clean.

Yesterday was Earth Day. Everyone continue to do your part. After all, this is home.

The following blog entry was written by Meredith Matthews, the editor of Current Health magazine.

April is National Poetry Month! It's time to reread your favorite poems, share them with others, and maybe write some while you're at it. One person who has taken that sentiment to heart is Stephanie Hemphill.

She recently published a book called Your Own, Sylvia. It is a biography of the highly acclaimed poet Sylvia Plath. But interestingly, it's told in poetry, adopting the voices of people who knew Plath, and pondering what might have been going on in the poet's head at various points in her life. Hemphill offers a series of poems that take the reader from Plath's birth in 1932, through her life and writing, and all the way to her suicide in 1963.

The poems are sometimes amusing, sometimes striking, but they all attempt to communicate what Plath was like at various points in her life. The reading of each poem, as well as the biographical note that explains it, gives the reader immediate and poignant insight. It makes Plath's life story more vivid and accessible than a full-length biography could.

If you're a fan of Plath, try this book on for size and see if you want to add it to your collection. (You'll also want to pick up The Bell Jar, her semi-autobiographical novel.) If you've never read any of Plath's poetry before, National Poetry Month is a great time to start!

Much of her work is edgy, marked by anger and violence, but she also wrote poems of immense and simple beauty, that anyone can appreciate. A good example is the poem “Morning Song,” essentially a love note to a child. Even if you don't usually like poetry, you'll probably be smitten by these lovely lyrics.

"We are Virginia Tech.

We are sad today and we will be sad for quite awhile. WE are not moving on, we are embracing our mourning.

We are Virginia Tech.

We are strong enough to know when to cry and sad enough to know we must laugh again.

We are Virginia Tech.

We do not understand this tragedy. We know we did not deserve it but neither does a child in Africa dying of AIDS, but neither do the invisible children walking the night to avoid being captured by a rogue army. Neither does the baby elephant watching his community be devastated for ivory; neither does the Appalachian infant killed in the middle of the night in his crib in the home his father built with his own hands being run over by a boulder because the land was destabilized. No one deserves a tragedy.

We are Virginia Tech.

The Hokier Nation embraces our own with open heart and hands to those who offer their hearts and minds. We are strong and brave and innocent and unafraid. We are better than we think, not quite what we want to be. We are alive to the imagination and the possibility we will continue to invent the future through our blood and tears, through all this sadness.

We are the Hokies.

We will prevail, we will prevail.

We are Virginia Tech."      [source: TPM ]

This is a poetic call for unity, healing, and dealing ... and probably the most powerful reflection I've come across over the past few days.

After reading this speech, I went looking for more of Giovanni's poetry. I came across "Cotton Candy on a Rainy Day"  which you might already know. I think it really sheds light on this moment in history.

You know, it helps not to be alone during days as dark as these -- and literature and poetry, as always, has the power to pull us together. So, I invite you to read Nikki Giovanni's speech and her poem "Cotton Candy on a Rainy Day"  and to share your thoughts and feelings about these writings and the VT tragedy with us and other students in the WORD community. Click on the {comment} button below and talk to us.

 I really hope to hear from you.

On Wednesday, the world lost a great writer. Kurt Vonnegut is best known for his anti-war novel, Slaughterhouse-Five. It is a fictional book based on the fire-bombing of Dresden, a series of air-strikes that Vonnegut himself witnessed as an American soldier in Germany during World War II. The novel's main character, Billy Pilgrim, lives through the horrors of those few days over and over again, as he remains unstuck in time.

On hearing of the recent author's passing, Joel Bleifuss, editor of In These Times said that Vonnegut was "a man who combined a wicked sense of humor and sort of steady moral compass, who was always sort of looking at the big picture of the things that were most important."

I have read about half of Vonnegut's extensive and impressive collection of science fiction novels. It's nice to know that, even though the writer may be gone, we can always visit with his alter-ego, Kilgore Trout.

A few quotes from the late Kurt Vonnegut:

Maturity is a bitter disappointment for which no remedy exists, unless laughter can be said to remedy anything. - KV

A purpose of human life, no matter who is controlling it, is to love whoever is around to be loved. - KV

I say in speeches that a plausible mission of artists is to make people appreciate being alive at least a little bit. I am then asked if I know of any artists who pulled that off. I reply, "The Beatles did." - KV

All time is all time. It does not change. It does not lend itself to warnings or explanations. It simply is. Take it moment by moment, and you will find that we are all, as I've said before, bugs in amber. - Slaughterhouse-Five

I want to stay as close to the edge as I can without going over.  Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can't see from the center... Big, undreamed-of things -- the people on the edge see them first. - Player Piano

New knowledge is the most valuable commodity on earth. The more truth we have to work with, the richer we become. - Breakfast of Champions

...and so it goes.

The runner-up in our Take Me Away! contest (Senior Fiction category) is Andi Malisheski. Andi's story is entitled, "Songs".

Here is what our guest judge, Ursula K. Le Guin, had to say about it:

"Songs" is a lyrical picture of the yearning spirit of youth, when you can be homesick even when you're home, with a suggestion of spiritual experiences and adventures yet to come.

Andi is turning 15 this weekend! Happy birthday, Andi!

   When we asked her how long she has been writing, Andi told us that she's been writing ever since she was able to read! "In fact, when I was in second grade, I wrote a kid's book on Egyptology. Thankfully, it's packed away in a box that will never see daylight again!"

   When asked about the genre of fantasy, Andi replied, "With fantasy, there are very few limits to what you can imagine--your words don't have to conform to any of the same rules as if you were writing about this world. Everything--histories, cultures, characters--is entirely your own."

   "Anyone can write. The hard part is learning to write well. For me, the characters that make the story must be so genuine that you can see them stepping off the page and out into the world. Flaws and all."

  
Flaws definitely keep characters interesting, Andi. No flaws in your story though!

Congratulations on being Take Me Away's runner-up!

Click HERE to read "Songs," a story by Andi Malisheski ... and check out her cool art, too!

The runner-up in our Take Me Away! contest (Junior Fiction category) is Kevin Valente. Kevin's story is entitled "The Mystery of the Shadow".

Kevin is 14 and has been writing for about 2 years now. He likes brainstorming different topics and then writes in spurts when he is sufficiently inspired. When we asked Kevin what inspired him to write "The Mystery of the Shadow," he told us that his grandfather in Italy is a sculptor and has shipped them many statues. Kevin's yard is filled with inspiration!

   "The Mystery of the Shadow" may mean many things to you, but to Kevin it is about finding answers and facing your fears.

Not all writing can make that claim. But yours certianly can, Kevin. Yours can.

Click HERE to read "The Mystery of the Shadow," a story by Kevin Valente.

The runner-up in our Take Me Away! contest (Senior Poetry category) is Melody Hughes. Melody's poem is entitled "Auromorphis".

Auromorphis is a gritty portrayal of greed that starts out leaving dust and a lack of air and moisture in our mouths. It is only by journeying with these alchemists through to the end that we find what they really desire is not gold but something much more substantial. This is truly one poem of unmeasurable worth.

Melody is 15 and has been writing since she was in the 2nd grade. "Writing for me is based on spontaneous inspiration and not habit," Melody told us. "My inspiration for Auromorphis came mostly from science class, where I learned what alchemy is and became fascinated by the subject."
   "I like the fantasy genre because you can get so creative with setting and characters. However, fantasy can be written poorly with many cliches, weak plots, and stereotyped characters."

Maybe that is so in some cases. But not yours, Melody. Not yours.

Click HERE to read "Auromorphis," a poem by Melody Hughes.

The runner-up in our Take Me Away! contest (Junior Poetry category) is Christine Rheem. Christine's poem is entitled "We Walk".

Here is what our guest judge, Ursula K. Le Guin had to say about it:

I liked Christine Rheem's "We Walk," a dreamy, weird journey, in which he and she and you and I all become one person at the end -- or were we always?

Christine is 14 and her favorite writer is Scott Westerfeld, author of the Uglies series and the Midnighters. When we asked Christine what she likes about the fantasy genre of writing, she said:

I love how fantasy writers can create new worlds that draw you in and make you wish that world was real. I don't like the fact that the worlds really aren't real though! I would love to be able to live at Hogwarts or Middle Earth or Avalon or any of those places.

Wouldn't we all, Christine? Wouldn't we all?

Congratulations on being Take Me Away's runner-up!

Click HERE to read "We Walk," a poem by Christine Rheem.

It's finally here! Yayyyyy!

In the current issue of Writing magazine, we have published the six winners of this year's "Take Me Away!" writing contest. Back in September, we challenged our readers to imagine a land of make-believe--of mythical creatures and dreams, of snakes and snails and puppy dog tails. Well maybe not all of those. In any case, we received a ton of entries and they were all (in their own special way) fantastic!

Author Ursula K. Le Guin was our guest judge, and you can read the works of the four student authors who won this contest by picking up an issue of Writing, or right here online at WORD. The winners are:

Junior Poetry
I am Going to Leekartos
By Rachael A. Schermer, age 13
Read It

Senior Poetry
The Benevolent Dictator
By Justin Hanselman, age 15
Read It

 Junior Fiction
Embers of the Moonlight
By Ela Banerjee, age 13
Read It

Senior Fiction
The Metamorphosis
By Megan Mikhail, age 14
Read It

Congratulations to our four student writer winners! Make sure to come back here to WORD every day this week to read the poems and stories of our runner-ups, alongside brief comments from Ursula Le Guin!

-Poem by Lexi Morsch, Grade 7

I woke up this morning and guess what I saw?
A little black fly, buzzing in the hall.
It followed me to breakfast, it followed me to school.
It folowed me to soccer practice, ballet class, the pool.
It followed me to dinner and all I could do was stare.
It landed on my spaghetti, my bread, my hair!
It landed on mom's wedding ring, her coffee cup, the psalms we sing.
My dog's nose, my dad's tie, my brother's bat, my apple pie.
As it watched me brush my teeth that night, I summoned up a plan:
I'd catch it unexpectly and flush it down the can.
I made my move so slyly, but my flame went out too quick.
My candle's brilliance had extinguished--it burned up all its wick.
I turned the light on careful, to see what had gone wrong...

...and there lay the fly, already gone.

I watched its lifeless body for a moment, and I realized just then:
That all it ever wanted was a true best friend.

Have you seen the cover for the final Harry Potter book? It was just released on Wednesday. Check it out!

But that's just the front cover... He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is on the back. Here is a full layout:

Watch out, Harry!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows comes out on July 21st at 12:01 a.m.