Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Mid-Week Challenge ~ Youth & Age

Hi Toads and friends! Kerry here, stepping in for Izy at the last moment.

Source: Bored Panda
Photographer Qozop



In his new “Spring-Autumn” series, Asian photographer Qozop addresses the role of clothing in our society through a clever and playful juxtaposition of two generations. Participating youths and elders (parents and children or grandparents and grandchildren) are photographed in their attire and then asked to swap clothing and pose again. Read more and view other examples of Qozop HERE. Please click on the photos to enlarge them.


Source: Bored Panda
Photographer Qozop

Below are some interesting facts about the achievements of several historical people, who have defied the strictures of age in their pursuit of success:


  • Mozart was already competent on keyboard and violin; he composed from the age of 5.
  • Shirley Temple was 6 when she became a movie star on “Bright Eyes.”
  • Anne Frank was 12 when she wrote the diary of Anne Frank.
  • Nadia Comăneci was a gymnast from Romania that scored seven perfect 10.0 and won three gold medals at the Olympics at age 14.
  • Tenzin Gyatso was formally recognized as the 14th Dalai Lama in November 1950, at the age of 15.
  • Pele, a soccer superstar, was 17 years old when he won the world cup in 1958 with Brazil.
  • Elvis was a superstar by age 19.
  • John Lennon was 20 years and Paul Mcartney was 18 when the Beatles had their first concert in 1961.
  • Jesse Owens was 22 when he won 4 gold medals in Berlin 1936.
  • Alexander the Great, by age 29, had created one of the largest empires of the ancient world
  • J.K. Rowling was 30 years old when she finished the first manuscript of Harry Potter
  • Amelia Earhart was 31 years old when she became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean
  • Oprah was 32 when she started her talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind
  • Edmund Hillary was 33 when he became the first man to reach Mount Everest
  • Martin Luther King Jr. was 34 when he wrote the speech “I Have a Dream."
  • Marie Curie was 35 years old when she got nominated for a Nobel Prize in Physics 
  • Leonardo Da Vinci was 51 years old when he painted the Mona Lisa.
  • Abraham Lincoln was 52 when he became president.
  • Dr. Seuss was 54 when he wrote "The Cat in the Hat".
  • Colonel Harland Sanders was 61 when he started the KFC Franchise
  • J.R.R Tolkien was 62 when the Lord of the Ring books came out
  • Nelson Mandela was 76 when he became President” 

Let us challenge the stereotypes of youth and old age in our poetry today. 


12 comments:

Fireblossom said...

Thanks for stepping in, Kerry!

Stephanie Faris said...

I like the stories of older achievers better. The people who accomplished great things by the age of 15 just make me feel like I got a late start!

Anonymous said...

So clever, Kerry! k.

Sherry Blue Sky said...

Cool prompt, Kerry. Given my advanced age, I should be able to come up with something for this prompt, though it may take me a while, LOL.

Marian said...

i felt rather addled while writing this, does that count? ;)

Unknown said...

Could you please remove my link from th prompt?

Kerry O'Connor said...

Enigma, your link leads to a deleted post.

Preeti S. said...

Uhm, I don't know what went wrong so I'm submitting the link again. The post is live on my blog.

Margaret said...

I read these before I wrote mine… now I have nothing. I usually never read before I write mine - it usually stifles my creativity.

Hannah said...

What an inventive challenge, Kerry!

I feel I haven't (quite) done it full justice but I wanted to say a tanka full. :)

Thank you!

Anonymous said...

Hi Kerry, thinking about this prompt for days, which inspired my poem, but very belated. k.

Justin Lamb said...

I'm two days late. Meh. :)