Strange Fruit

In Gr. 9 English we just experienced Billie Holiday’s haunting 1939 rendition of the poem written by Abel Meeropol to denounce the terrible tradition of lynching in the southern United States. It is considered one of the first protest songs and we are studying...

So romantic it makes you sick

In preparation for the IGCSE Literature exam, the grade 9 students studied Christina Rossetti’s sappy poem, A Birthday. It celebrates the joyous return of the poet’s beloved – joyous for her, cheesy and pathetic for us.