SEAN CONNERY DIES AGED 90

The Oscar-winning Scottish actor Sean Connery was best known for his portrayal of James Bond, being the first to bring the role to the big screen and appearing in seven of the spy thrillers. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2000.  Read here.

SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE

English lyrical poet, critic, and philosopher  Samuel Taylor Coleridge was born on 21 October 1772. His Lyrical Ballads, written with William Wordsworth, heralded the English Romantic movement, and his Biographia Literaria (1817) is the most significant work of general literary criticism produced in the English Romantic period. Read here. 

Here you can download a PDF presentation.

NATURE IS EVERYWHERE

How do you define "nature?" If we define it as that which is untouched by humans, then we won't have any left, says environmental writer Emma Marris. She urges us to consider a new definition of nature - one that includes not only pristine  (=unspoiled) wilderness, but also the untended patches of plants growing in urban spaces - and encourages us to bring our children out to touch and tinker (=play) with it, so that one day they might love and protect it.  Here you can listen to her TED Talk.

TONI MORRISON

The author Toni Morrison was the first African-American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature and best known for her nuanced discussion of race in America. Read here.