Columbia Granger's World of Poetry - Trivia

Trivia Question for May 17

Thu, 17 May 2012 07:08:09 -0400

Question:
According to the twelfth century French poet Jean Brodel, what were the three subjects appropriate for epic poetry?

Answer: The Matter of Britain (Arthurian Legend, such as Gawain and the Green Knight , or "the Romance of the Rose "); the Matter of France (Carolingian 'history' such as the Song of Roland , Orlando Furioso and to a certain extent El Cid ); and the Matter of Rome (any stories from the classical period, such as John Lydgate's Troy Book ).

Trivia Question for May 16

Thu, 17 May 2012 07:08:09 -0400

Question:
What Russian poet was denounced by Stalin's associate Andrei Zhdanov as "half harlot, half nun," and had her poems banned from publication?

Answer: Anna Akhmatova.

Trivia Question for May 15

Thu, 17 May 2012 07:08:09 -0400

Question:
What Nobel Laureate's poems were banned in his home country after he became an American citizen in 1970?

Answer: Czeslaw Milosz. They were banned until the fall of the Communist regime.

Trivia Question for May 14

Thu, 17 May 2012 07:08:09 -0400

Question:
What book of poems did President Clinton give to Monica Lewinsky as a token of his affections?

Answer: Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman.

Trivia Question for May 13

Thu, 17 May 2012 07:08:09 -0400

Question:
What American poem lead to an obscenity trial in 1957?

Answer: "Howl" by Allen Ginsberg. The Customs Office seized copies of the poem as they were being imported from England, and sued the publisher, poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti, for trying to distribute obscene material. The American Civil Liberties Union came to Ferlinghetti's defense and eventually won the case.