A Film Wherein a History Professor, Way out West...
Struggles to Learn Patrick Henry's Great Speech
Struggles to Learn Patrick Henry's Great Speech
From the Film: Photography by Cory Carpenter and Jake Shelley
I like to learn speeches, documents, and poems by heart to "pull out of my hat" while teaching American history. A couple of days ago I talked about and "channeled for" Patrick Henry and his "Liberty or Death" speech, delivered on the eve of the American Revolution. (See previous post.)
I first memorized the speech way back in 1976 as part of a Bicentennial TV documentary done by historians of the Revolution in Washington State. I've delivered it from memory in class and for friends many times, but I've grown a bit rusty, and this fall I "cheated" and used notes for some of the speech. That afternoon after class while taking a walk through the rolling wheat fields outside of Cheney I practiced the speech in my mind over and over. And that is when the theme of this little film came to mind.
Yesterday, I ventured out onto a wheat field road with two students, Cory Carpenter and Jake Shelley, to make this little film about the trials and triumphs of putting the memory to work on a famous speech.
Click below to see the film.
Go ahead. Click on it.
It only runs for three minutes, and it's free!
I first memorized the speech way back in 1976 as part of a Bicentennial TV documentary done by historians of the Revolution in Washington State. I've delivered it from memory in class and for friends many times, but I've grown a bit rusty, and this fall I "cheated" and used notes for some of the speech. That afternoon after class while taking a walk through the rolling wheat fields outside of Cheney I practiced the speech in my mind over and over. And that is when the theme of this little film came to mind.
Yesterday, I ventured out onto a wheat field road with two students, Cory Carpenter and Jake Shelley, to make this little film about the trials and triumphs of putting the memory to work on a famous speech.
Click below to see the film.
Go ahead. Click on it.
It only runs for three minutes, and it's free!
This current post is one of a growing number of historically-themed entries on americanrealities.com.
Click here and see more entries on the American Realities blog.
(You know you want to!)
Click here and see more entries on the American Realities blog.
(You know you want to!)
If you enjoyed this post, you may also enjoy a previous post on Patrick Henry and his famous speech:
-- "Patrick Henry's 'Liberty or Death' from the Revolution to the Classroom"
-- "Patrick Henry's 'Liberty or Death' from the Revolution to the Classroom"
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