Michael R. Clark

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Speeches

Commencement Speech, Singapore American School Class of 2016

Michael R. Clark

06 May 2026

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Delivered at the Star Theatre in Singapore

Let Them Read Books, Part II

Picking up from the previous post, here's the second part of my manifesto. The Rise of the Screen Apple launched its first iPhone, not coincidental to the death-throes of the book, in 2007. Before the year was out, everyone seemed to have one. I did. In his “iPhone

05 May 2026 9 min read

Friday Poem: "Surveying With the Jumping Spider"

A crumb of dirt, at first glance. Dark fleck amongst white bird-speck and grill-ash. Then a headlong twitch forward fifty bug-lengths in half a blink, close to my hand in its gigantic clumsiness, all wrinkle and knuckle. Then it is on me. Microscopic furry glove with three extra fingers. Eye-buttons

01 May 2026 1 min read

Let Them Read Books: A Teacher's Call to Action, Part I

This extra-long essay began as a write-beside-your-students exercise last year in my AP Lang class and it rapidly snowballed into a manifesto. The assignment was to write a braided essay, a creative and funky version of the old dry synthesis essay that includes anecdotal material and plays with the conventions

26 Apr 2026 9 min read

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