11+ hour, 33+ min ago (678+ words) For Gillian Rea, speaking Ulster Scots was a normal part of her childhood and she wants to see others enjoying the culture. A newly-minted tour guide, she has turned her dream into a reality sharing her Ulster Scots heritage with those who wish to learn the history and customs. "People travel more now, and visit other countries," Gillian said. "But sometimes we don't know what's on our doorstep. "I think it's really important to explore the culture around you, to know who you are and where you come from in order to see where you're going." Gillian, who is from Kilwaughter in County Antrim, was one of several people to share readings and stories at an event in Cullybackey as part of Ulster Scots Leid (language) week. Much of Ulster Scots poetry is centred around the home, work, rural living…...

18+ hour, 52+ min ago (209+ words) The Caste Con Census: Anand Teltumbde argues that a nationwide caste census cannot annihilate it Campaign in poetry, govern in prose: Why transformative governance needs poetic vision Mrs Funnybones Returns: Twinkle Khannas new book works better when reflective than when comedic Perfect Family review: Many home truths in a show about a dysfunctional clan Always near extinction, the rudra veena accidentally found a lifeline in a young sculptor Nellie and beyond: How inquiry commissions in India are used as political tools to hide the truth Gustaakh Ishq review: The real romance is between words rather than humans "At the end of daybreak, life prostrate, you dont know how to dispose of your aborted dreams / the river of life desperately torpid in its bed / neither turgid nor low, hesitant to flow / pitifully empty, the impartial heaviness of boredom distributing shade equally…...

19+ hour, 8+ min ago (635+ words) He lusted after her She resisted many times over He insisted She resisted He persisted She resisted He pestered She resisted many times after " When his pestering became too persistent She told him her piece of mind To place him among his kind To remind him to find his kind " "Your kind sows []...

21+ hour, 23+ min ago (647+ words) At 71, the Bradford-born lensman describes himself as semi-retired, but that has not stopped him using the experience to inspire his latest creation. Their bespoke booklet is both a celebration and a lament for the public houses of the past that the pair knew growing up. But, they say it is also an acknowledgement of the positive effect meeting in the pub has on their mental health and the well-being of men of all ages. Mr Beesley said: "We had this little project thinking about sitting in a pub when you're of an older age, discussing life, discussing health, discussing family. "We thought there's a really nice little book to be done there, particularly because it's relevant to the demographic that we're in. "[The book's] about the joy of drinking really fine beer in a proper pub, but all that comes…...

22+ hour, 26+ min ago (494+ words) A bestselling children's author said he only realised how much his home county had inspired his writing after organising an exhibition about his work. With more than three million copies of his stories sold, Kes Gray is well known for books such as Oi Frog!, created with illustrator Jim Field, and the Daisy series. After looking through his cupboards to prepare for the new exhibition at Chelmsford Museum, he realised how much of his writing was inspired by links to his Essex childhood. "I started to write down all of the little memory triggers that I could find, and there were loads of them - there were loads of more than I ever realised," he said. One such memory, a trip with his friend Tim to Baddow Recreation ground to collect a bucket full of frogspawn, led to the creation of…...

1+ day, 2+ hour ago (500+ words) BEIJING, CHINA - Media OutReach Newswire - 29 November 2025 - Heading into its milestone 10th season in 2025, the Classical Chinese Poetry Contest, a cultural phenomenon co-produced by China Media Group, the Ministry of Education of China, and the State Language Commission. This anniversary edition uses poetry as a medium and emotional resonance as a bridge to create a vital cultural link between cherished Chinese literary traditions and audiences across Southeast Asia. Poetry as a Cultural Bridge and an Emotional Bond: the 2025 Classical Chinese Poetry Contest Deepens its Cultural Echoes in Southeast Asia BEIJING, CHINA - Media OutReach Newswire - 29 November 2025 - Heading into its milestone 10th season in 2025, the Classical Chinese Poetry Contest, a cultural phenomenon co-produced by China Media Group, the Ministry of Education of China, and the State Language Commission. This anniversary edition uses poetry as a medium and emotional resonance as a bridge to create a…...

1+ day, 2+ hour ago (305+ words) BEIJING, CHINA - Media OutReach Newswire - 29 November 2025 - Heading into its milestone 10th season in 2025, the Classical Chinese Poetry Contest, a cultural phenomenon co-produced by China Media Group, the Ministry of Education of China, and the State Language Commission. This anniversary edition uses poetry as a medium and emotional resonance as a bridge to create a vital cultural link between cherished Chinese literary traditions and audiences across Southeast Asia. BEIJING, CHINA - Media OutReach Newswire - 29 November 2025 - Heading into its milestone 10th season in 2025, the Classical Chinese Poetry Contest, a cultural phenomenon co-produced by China Media Group, the Ministry of Education of China, and the State Language Commission. This anniversary edition uses poetry as a medium and emotional resonance as a bridge to create a vital cultural link between cherished Chinese literary traditions and audiences across Southeast Asia. Javascript is required for you to be able…...

1+ day, 4+ hour ago (943+ words) Below are twenty-five poems to "hold us still" this holiday season. The order progresses, in general, from Advent longing and anticipation to Christmas joy and wonder to post-nativity moments like the presentation in the temple and the visit of the magi. For previous years" installments, see volume 1, volume 2, and volume 3. Source: University of Virginia Office of Engagement 2. "Prayer" by John Frederick Nims: The first in a sequence of five poems, "Prayer" expresses a sense of emptiness and desire, beckoning an unnamed one whom I read as Christ to come and fill. "Come to us, conceiver, / You who are all things, held and holder. / . . . / Come, infinite answer to our infinite want." Source: Five Young American Poets, vol. 3 (New Directions, 1944); compiled in The Powers of Heaven and Earth: New and Selected Poems (Louisiana State University Press, 2022) 3. "how he is coming then" by…...

1+ day, 23+ hour ago (925+ words) I would say," reflects Michael Pakaluk, author of The Shock of Holiness, this is the meaning of life: to live every moment in the presence of God, and to reveal God to others in the concrete details of our lives. God allows us a lot of creativity in doing so." November 28, 2025 Paul Senz The Dispatch 0 Print There is a certain majesty and real beauty to be found in everyday life. If we have the eyes to see it, everything from rising in the morning, to going to work, to doing the dishes, to sitting silently in the company of family and friends, to wrestling with a toddler at Mass, to sharing a meal'all of these can be paths to holiness, and signs of the graces and blessings of God in our lives. Pakaluk recently spoke with'Catholic World Report'about his new…...

2+ day, 12+ hour ago (213+ words) A trio of poets will present their work for Lit Youngstown's next First Wednesday Reader Series event. Featured readers will be Dom Fonce of Youngstown, Mark Sebastian Jordan of Mansfield and Katherine Orr of Kent. Fonce is the author of chapbooks "Odd Nest," "Here, We Bury the Hearts" and "Dancing in the Cobwebs." His poetry has been published in trampset, Gordon Square Review, Rappahannock Review, Delmarva Review and Jenny Magazine Jordan is a poet, historian, music critic, playwright, director and speaker who is based in the central highlands of Ohio. Orr's poems have appeared in The Kenyon Review, The Texas Review, The New York Quarterly, The Midwest Quarterly and other journals and anthologies. She is the author of "White Sustenance," which won the Stan and Tom Wick Poetry Chapbook Prize, and the forthcoming "Benefit Auction After the Library Fire." She…...