University of Florida Homepage

Sarah Josepha Hale

Listen to the Recess! Clip https://recess.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/42/Sarah-Josepha-Hale.mp3 Author Rita Smith Air Date 10/25/2000 Sarah Josepha Hale Transcript Sarah Josepha Hale was born on a New Hampshire farm in 1788. She operated a school for seven years before marrying a lawyer and giving birth to five children. Her husband died in 1822 and Hale became a writer […]

James Whitcomb Riley

Listen to the Recess! Clip https://recess.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/42/James-Whitcomb-Riley.mp3 Author John Cech Air Date 10/9/2000 James Whitcomb Riley Transcript Just recently, Indiana celebrated the birthday of James Whitcomb Riley, the famed Jossier writer, who was born in a log cabin in Geenfield, Indiana, on October 7th, 1849, and who became, by the time of his death in 1916, […]

The Pied Piper’s Anniversary

Listen to the Recess! Clip https://recess.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/42/Pied-Piper.mp3 Author Rita Smith Air Date 7/24/2000 Pied Piper Transcript The Pied Piper of Hamelin, that wonderful narrative poem for children written by Robert Browning, was first published July 22, 1842. In Browning’s version of the legend, the town of Hamelin, was infested with rats: “Rats! They fought the dogs, […]

May Day

That’s the late, great, beat poet, Allen Ginsberg with friends singing a part of their 1969, slightly off-key version of one of William Blake’s “Songs of Innocence”–the “Echoing Green.”

Poetry Collections

Listen to the Recess! Clip https://recess.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/42/Poetry-Collections.mp3 Author John Cech Air Date 4/14/2000 Poetry Collections Transcript When kids get to pick out the poetry that they like, as you can imagine, they’ll usually go for something funny or gross or outrageous–something that pushes the envelope and makes us squeamish adults squirm a little in our chairs. […]

New Poetry Books

Listen to the Recess! Clip https://recess.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/42/Young-Peoples-Poetry-Week.mp3 Author John Cech Air Date 4/13/2000 New Poetry Books Transcript Every household should have a nice, thick volume of poetry on its shelves, for reading aloud or pouring over silently, for inspiration or comfort, or for the sheer pleasure of hearing language beautifully crafted. One doesn’t need to explicate […]