Adolescence, the critical time in the life of any person when they transition to adulthood. The rite of passage in many cultures. Nowadays, the perception of teens brings images of a spoiled, coddled generation, glued to their screens. Perhaps our society puts little value in giving the youth responsibility, but rather wants to protect these formative years. As a student of history, I have come across many examples of children and teens holding positions of power and responsibility. Among royalty and commoners alike, the responsibility of youth was to be an equal partner in providing for their families. I’m by no means idealizing the past as a utopia of responsibility. History is full of the horrors of child labor. But I would like to take voyages through time to look into several examples of youth being capable of executing complicated tasks. First, we shall see those who went on to be great. Louis XIV, the Sun King, succeeded his father at five, while France was fighting Habsburg Austria in the Thirty Years’ War. He helped negotiate the Westphalia treaty, but even though France won, this caused bankruptcy. Then, revolution caused collapse and until the end of his reign, Louis would rule the country on his own behalf. To save France, he wisely appointed Jean Colbert as Finance General to improve the economy. Louis increased exports and took power away from the military aristocracy and, cunningly, he supported the Netherlands in a war before defeating them, expanding French territory. In the next decades, he defeated corsairs attacking French shipping, and spread European goods around the world through embassies to Asia. By the times he died, France was a metropolis. Another powerful child ruler worth mentioning is Shapur of Persia. After coming of age, this young emperor set to work removing the effects of a humiliating treaty. Shapur then started a campaign against the Arabs and Eastern Romans. He took over part of Armenia and defeated the mighty Romans in battle. Persia then annexed Armenia. He died in 379. Shapur is considered one of Persia’s greatest kings and left a lasting legacy. On the converse side, there are some ineffective sovereigns who died early, and failed to preserve their nations. One example is Edward the VI. He ascended to the throne at age 10, made several not-so-great decisions, including emptying the English coffers, and caught ill and died at fourteen. Then there was Puyi, the last Emperor, who came to power at the inept age of four. His rule was marked by the Japanese invasion of Korea and civil unrest, leading to his deposition. He was made Manchurian King, but he had his servants beaten or even killed for his own amusement. After the war, he died a commoner in Beijing. In conclusion, this shows us that while some child rulers have excelled, others have not. Which path is right for young people, power or a normal life? The more we teens are allowed to do may (or may not) let us become responsible adults. I’ll let you decide.
Young Bloggers
Poetry Soup – Ep. 15: “Witchgrass” by Louise Gluck
https://stonesoup.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Poetry-Soup-Ep.-15-copy.MP3.mp3 Transcript: Hello, and welcome to Poetry Soup. I’m your host, Emma Catherine Hoff. There’s been a short break, but Poetry Soup is back, with “Witchgrass,” by the late Louise Gluck. Louise Gluck was born on April 22, 1943 in New York City. She wrote 12 books of poetry, including The Wild Iris, which I will be reading from today. Though she never finished a degree, Gluck attended Sarah Lawrence College and Columbia University, and went on to later teach poetry at Stanford and English at Yale. She won many awards, including the Nobel Prize in Literature and the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. From 2003 to 2004, she was also the U.S. poet laureate. She died on October 13, 2023. Louise Gluck’s personal experiences are prominent in her poetry. She often wrote about trauma and sadness. Some of her poetry was also influenced by Greek mythology, such as in her chapbook, October. Her poems are haunting, even in The Wild Iris, when Gluck combines her themes of tragedy with seemingly innocent flowers, which is exactly what she does in “Witchgrass.” Something comes into the world unwelcome calling disorder, disorder— If you hate me so much don’t bother to give me a name: do you need one more slur in your language, another way to blame one tribe for everything— as we both know, if you worship one god, you only need One enemy— I’m not the enemy. Only a ruse to ignore what you see happening right here in this bed, a little paradigm of failure. One of your precious flowers dies here almost every day and you can’t rest until you attack the cause, meaning whatever is left, whatever happens to be sturdier than your personal passion— It was not meant to last forever in the real world. But why admit that, when you can go on doing what you always do, mourning and laying blame, always the two together. I don’t need your praise to survive. I was here first, before you were here, before you ever planted a garden. And I’ll be here when only the sun and moon are left, and the sea, and the wide field. I will constitute the field. Louise Gluck centers her poem on a plant called witchgrass. It’s a sort of weed, unwanted in gardens and often pulled out. Gluck connects this unwantedness to her own life, as well as to the lives of others. Rather than backing down from the slurs and names she refers to in stanza two, she proudly declares, “I was here first.” Rather than agreeing that witchgrass is unneeded and forgetting about it, rather than getting rid of it and writing about something different, something more exciting, Gluck gives this plain weed a personality and significance. She shows how important the smallest things can be, how everything can play a role. By identifying with a plant – and a despised, insignificant one at that – Gluck composes an original and deep poem. In the first three stanzas, Gluck ends with dashes, signifying pauses in her speech. As she keeps going, however, she gets rid of these, showing that she is becoming more confident in what she is saying. But even the witchgrass has grown violent from the ages of violence that have been committed towards it. It has grown over the flowers, an act it cannot control, but one that it doesn’t excuse – it is stronger, or “sturdier,” after all. In a way, the witchgrass has embraced the concept of “survival of the fittest.” For plants and animals, this is a law of nature – the bigger organisms survive more than the smaller. But, humans having stepped in, the situation becomes a question of either preference or prejudice, leaving us to ponder whether what is acceptable in nature is acceptable for human beings – and why it is or isn’t. Told from the point of view of the plant itself, Gluck ends the poem with the line, “I will constitute the field.” She means that witchgrass, despite being hated by humans, has the right to and can be a part of the field that they love. However, this is where survival of the fittest comes in again – because witchgrass could also reclaim the field when the weaker flowers that rely on human care have died. In “Witchgrass,” Louise Gluck shows us the perspective of an ordinary weed and leaves us to think about the meaning behind it. I hope you enjoyed this episode of Poetry Soup, and I’ll see you soon with the next one!
A Collector’s Armory Ep. 2: Collecting at a Young Age by Ayaan Pirani, 12
https://stonesoup.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Podcast-2.m4a Welcome to A Collector’s Armory. This is a podcast about collecting different things throughout the stages of life. As you might remember from Episode 1, an armory is a place where weapons are kept, but I’m using the word broadly to name a place where any collectible could be stored. I’ll be your host, Ayaan Pirani, and I have been collecting items for a long time. I’m located in Houston, Texas, and I am in 6th grade. Last episode, I covered the basic information about collecting items and answered a few basic questions about collecting such as: What are the prices of collectables? and Who are some famous people who collect items? The name of this episode is “Collecting From A Young Age.” When I was young, I would collect toy cars. Each and every day I would beg my parents for a new matchbox car, so we settled upon an agreement. Every day that I worked hard and listened to them I would be promised a new toy car. This deal carried on to about when I was the age of 4. Most of the time I acted well though I never really received a new car because my parents did not care to waste time and go to a Dollar Tree every other day. That’s why many parents make young kids collect various nature objects because they would not have to spend a dollar all of the time on cars or dolls. Engaging children with collecting shells or rocks from a very young age can be useful because it will allow them to spot different details in various objects. Many children may find satisfaction with collecting many items and pursue it as a hobby or for personal enjoyment. About ⅓ of preschool age kids pursue interests in collecting one type of object. In addition to collecting items in nature, some young kids collect toys and stuffed animals. You may have seen a 3 year old’s crib filled with stuffed animals of all kinds. Instead of forcing kids to give up on their collections you should influence them to collect more items that may help them focus on how to arrange and categorize the toys. Kids who forcefully collect things due to anxiety may begin hoarding items, which is not good. In general, pediatricians consider collecting items a huge positive to their future as it gives them a leg ahead in figuring out their interests. Before our time ends I want to leave you with a quote that I think many kids would agree with: “Collectors are happy people.” – Johann Wolfgang von Geothe, a German writer. This is your host, Ayaan Pirani, signing off for today. Next month we’ll be talking about collectables for ages 6-9. Leave a comment down below stating what you collect. Until next time! See ya!
