Rod McKuen helped bring poetry closer to everyday English. Through simple vocabulary, conversational rhythm, and emotional directness, he made verse feel less formal and more familiar—expanding poetry’s audience and helping reshape what modern English poetry could sound like.
Birth of Rod McKuen (1933–2015) — When Poetry Began to Sound Like Conversation
Avec délicatesse, tu vins sécher ma peine,Cette larme qui fuyait, trop lourde à contenir ;Ton sourire a posé sur ma nuit son haleine,Et j’ai revu, grâce à toi, la lumière venir.La douceur d’un baiser, si simple, si discret,M’a soulevée d’un coup, comme un souffle vainqueur ;Ton regard langoureux, tes mots pleins de secret,Ont pris mon […]
Goutte d’âme – Drop of soul
The new issue of The Common, a literary journal always worth reading from cover to cover, carries my poem “Legion.” I never thought I’d write a poem about the First World War, a conflict that gave rise to more great verse in English than any other. What could I add to the lines of Wilfred […]
“Legion”: Harry Krumm in the Great War
Ulysses S. Grant is remembered for war and politics, but his greatest contribution to English may be his prose. In Personal Memoirs, he proved that clarity, restraint, and plain style could carry more authority than ornament—helping define modern nonfiction in English.
Birth of Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885) — When Plain English Became Powerful
The Beauty of Softness: Finding Peace in Paul Verlaine’s “Green” Green Paul Verlaine See, blossoms, branches, fruit, leaves I have brought, And then my heart that for you only sighs;With those white hands of yours, oh, tear it not, But let the poor gift prosper in your eyes. The dew upon my hair is still […]
Green ~ A Poem by Paul Verlaine
The death of Bram Stoker in 1912 marks the enduring influence of Dracula, a novel that shaped the language of Gothic horror in English. Through its vocabulary, structure, and atmosphere, it transformed how fear is described, turning imagination into a shared and lasting linguistic system.
The Death of Bram Stoker — When Fear Found Its Language
Sanaas Haus hat tausend Augen, die kritisch jeden ihrer Schritte überwachen. Seit sie mit ihrer Familie aus dem Irak nach Deutschland gekommen ist, versucht sie, der familiären Enge zu entkommen und doch den Frieden zu wahren. Als Kind ist Sanaa mit ihren kurdischen Eltern nach Deutschland gekommen. Inzwischen ist sie eine junge Erwachsene, lebt aber […]
Das Haus hat Augen – “Beschreibung einer Krabbenwanderung” von Karosh Taha
On April 17, 1897, Thornton Wilder was born. Through simplicity, suggestion, and direct connection, he reshaped how English functions on stage. His work proved that dialogue does not need complexity to be powerful—only precision, presence, and the ability to reach beyond what is explicitly said.
Birth of Thornton Wilder (1897–1975) — When English Learned to Say More by Saying Less
penwithlit