NPR has created a brand new commencement speech database, “an inspiration machine full of wise and funny words going back to 1774.” You can search the database by name, school, date or theme. Take a spin and you will find speeches by Adrienne Rich at Douglass College (1977), the Dalai Lama at Tulane (2013), David Foster Wallace at Kenyon College (2005), J.K. Rowling at Harvard  (2008), Jill Abramson at Wake Forest (2014), Joseph Brodsky at U. of Michigan (1988), Ray Bradbury at Caltech (2000) and much more. Most of the speeches are presented in text format, some in video.
On NPR’s blog, they’ve highlighted some of the key takeaways from the long history of commencement speeches: Be kind, dream, remember history, embrace failure, don’t give up, etc. Â Right above, you can see NPR’s new animation featuring former Clinton and Obama speechwriter Jon Lovett at Pitzer College’s commencement.
Related Content:
“Wear Sunscreenâ€: The Story Behind the Commencement Speech That Kurt Vonnegut Never Gave
Dissident Poet Joseph Brodsky Gives Six Life Tips to College Grads (1988)
‘This Is Water’: Complete Audio of David Foster Wallace’s Kenyon Graduation Speech (2005)
Meryl Streep Gives Graduation Speech at Barnard
Neil Gaiman Gives Graduates 10 Essential Tips for Working in the Arts
David Byrne’s Graduation Speech Offers Troubling and Encouraging Advice for Students in the Arts
NPR Launches Database of Best Commencement Speeches Ever is a post from: Open Culture. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus, or get our Daily Email. And don’t miss our big collections of Free Online Courses, Free Online Movies, Free eBooks, Free Audio Books, Free Foreign Language Lessons, and MOOCs.
The post NPR Launches Database of Best Commencement Speeches Ever appeared first on Open Culture.
NPR Launches Database of Best Commencement Speeches Ever
No comments:
Post a Comment