By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) A song about drugs? Or a literal ride across a desert? Or a longing for the dry expansive lands of America while enduring the rains of a foreign land? ‘A Horse with No Name’, the best-known song by the folk group America, has invited […]
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10 of the Best Gwendolyn Brooks Poems Everyone Should Read
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) Gwendolyn Brooks (1917-2000) was an important twentieth-century American poet whose work was firmly rooted in the African-American community which she wrote about so well. Born in Kansas, Brooks declared her intention to become a poet when she was just seven years old.
The Meaning of ‘You Belong with Me’ by Taylor Swift
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) ‘You Belong with Me’ is a Taylor Swift song, which featured on her second studio album, Fearless (2008). Swift wrote the song with Liz Rose and produced it with Nathan Chapman. Although ‘You Belong with Me’ has a ‘story’ at its heart which is […]
26 of the Best Synonyms and Antonyms for ‘Unique’
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) ‘Unique’ is a strange word. It’s often assumed that there are no true synonyms for unique, because the word literally presupposes that the thing or person described as ‘unique’ is truly one of a kind, rather than simply rare. ‘Unique’, some people declare, is […]
A Summary and Analysis of R. K. Narayan’s ‘The Blind Dog’
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) ‘The Blind Dog’ is a story from Malgudi Days, the short-story collection by the Indian writer R. K. Narayan (1906-2001). This short tale is about a blind beggar who is befriended by a stray dog; the man puts the dog on a lead and […]