Thompson Extols Power of Written Word

“Listening to whispering voices of poets reaching us through the permeable curtain of time may guide us in the uncertain way that we must tread alone,” he said.

Citing works from Shakespeare, G.M. Trevelyan, and P.G. Wodehouse, Mr. Thompson illustrated how literature is a tool that enlightens readers about our existence in the world.
 
“My point is that your life will be enriched by a good education, not only as a preparation for a profession, but as an enhancement of your pleasure and of your understanding of the life that lies before you.”
 
Thompson read two poems, “The Bee” by James Dickey and “The Writer” by  Richard Wilbur, to show how powerful experiences  can be conveyed  through the written word.
 
“The purpose of serious poetry is to recreate experience through imagery. This morning, I suggest to you that poetry is an avenue that you may wish to travel to explore your most sincere reactions to the experiences of life.”
 
The longtime English teacher imparted words of wisdom for the students at the start of 2024-25: “Read critically and widely; stock your memory not merely with facts, but with power-imparting lines, styles, and images. You will then be able to think more lucidly and to express yourself more eloquently. And you will be more interesting to yourself and to others. What better time to consider expanding one’s mind in the mystical and mesmerizing world of reading than the beginning of another school year, for though one year flows inexorably into another, each is a ‘bringer of new things’ as the poet Tennyson wrote in his great poem ‘Ulysses,’ and each will never come again.”