Michelle Brennan
I love studying and teaching. I have a degree in Music, a Bachelor and Master of Theology, and a Graduate Diploma in Health Education. My husband and I are in full-time Christian ministry.
Location I live in Ballarat - a regional city in Victoria, Australia.
Activity
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
I agree with the comments below that advocate 4 weeks for the course instead of 3. I think Week 1 would have benefited by being spread over 2 weeks. I am one who always writes down all the notes, including the video transcripts. I was getting writer's cramp by the end of Week 1, and so I wrote few comments for each unit of work, as I just wanted to get...
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
In Ballarat [a regional city 130 km west of Melbourne], we have an annual Highland Gathering. It is held in a large gum-tree-lined park, and Pipe Bands from all over Victoria take part. I don't know how long it has been going, but Ballarat has had a pipe band since the early days of its history - 170 years ago. The annual event is held in February, our...
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
A very interesting unit of study. The passion of people to preserve their heritage is commendable.
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Being historically 'inaccurate' does not take away from the literary prowess of these writers and poets. To be honest, I would much rather read a poem describing the beautiful landscape of the Highlands, than one describing the blood and guts of battle.
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
As well as being disillusioned with life in Scotland, those deciding to emigrate to Australia had the dream of becoming rich. The 1850s was the decade where gold was discovered around my home town of Ballarat, Australia. Many Scottish and Irish people travelled here at that time and many, indeed, found gold. However, the cost of mining leases increased...
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
I do not want to dwell on the scene of battle. As I woman, I would not have been there anyway. I would have been at home, praying.
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With the explanation that 'men' involved anyone between the ages of 15 and 50, I just think of all those mothers, wives, sisters and children left at home, not knowing if they would ever see their loved one again.
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A helpful reply. Thank you.
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very astute comments.
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The words of the poem a very telling, aren't they. It's a great piece of succinct social commentary.
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Once pen is put to paper, I think the author, transmitting the oral memory, may be influenced, even unconsciously, by the intended readership. History can get easily distorted; unfortunately this is happening in Australia today.
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
The melody and the singing of it were beautiful, but I found the words quite macabre.
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
Politics hasn't changed much, has it. This was a very interesting unit of study, with wonderful scenery in the video.
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I think all 9 categories were covered. I particularly liked the way gentleness and benevolence were linked with strength and not seen as weaknesses.
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
A very beautiful rendition of a very musical song. The tune is very 'singable'; it stays in your memory. I noticed that even though it was a lament it was in a major key, unlike many Welsh songs which are in minor keys. I know of some Scottish folk songs which are in minor keys, but for the most part major keys seem to be preferred.
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
Lovely to hear Gaelic poetry being read.
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
Is there anything more soul-stirring than the sound of the bagpipes - particularly outdoors on a misty morning?
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Michelle Brennan replied to Beverly Turner
Thanks so much for this link.
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
There is a small country town [village] in northern New South Wales, Australia, called Maclean. Down its main street all the wooden telegraph poles are painted in a different tartan. Obviously, people with Scottish roots pioneered this charming little town.
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
These are the skills and characteristics of a good tacksman, in my opinion - but I can't really put them in order, as they would all overlap:
literacy and basic accounting skills
knowledge of agriculture, livestock and market needs
loyalty to the Chief and the Clan in general
good leadership skills - ability to make decisions
honesty, fairness and... -
Michelle Brennan made a comment
A very interesting unit. Four main components for optimum mental health are the need for fellowship, a sense of belonging, the assurance of acceptance and a sense of purpose. The structure of the society within these townships provided all four of these mental well-being essentials. I think the people of the clan townships were probably happier than many...
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I, too, wondered about this. One would assume that fish and shellfish were plentiful. No place in the Highlands or Islands is far from the sea!
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
Do we know what breeds of cattle and sheep were kept? Those of us on the other side of the world might not be as familiar with Scottish breeds as the locals are. We would love to see photos of breeds of today that might have a long history. Or perhaps this comes in a subsequent lesson.
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
A very informative week. Like a couple of the comments below, I had not realised that the Clans were basically only in the Highlands and Islands - not the Lowlands. I also was surprised at how 'recent' the dwellings excavated at Dun Eistean were; I had thought they would show evidence of pre-medieval dwellings. I, too, loved hearing Gaelic spoken.
Some... -
Oral history and folk memory can be useful, but it can also be skewed by subsequent generations to suit their own agenda.
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The present prime minister of Australia is aptly named Scott Morrison. I wonder if he has researched his family history?
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
I have the utmost admiration for a society that placed such a high value on learning and education.
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
A very interesting unit of study. Yes, the castles were certainly impressive - still are today, especially for those people like myself [living in Australia] who have no castles.
One of the functions of the chief was to "administer justice". Were punishments and executions carried out in the castle grounds? I remember seeing over a castle in Northern... -
Michelle Brennan made a comment
I found this unit very interesting. I had not realised the importance of the physical features of the land in Gaelic society.
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I think it has been true of political systems throughout history. Any internal division and dissension will be exploited by others in order to gain power. But the internal division is the prime cause: 'a house divided cannot stand'.
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
A very interesting unit, with the photos and maps helping considerably.
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
Absolutely wonderful to hear these Scottish words spoken! And so good to have the download we can refer to. Thank you!
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
I have Scottish ancestry on my mother's side and my husband, born in northern Ireland, also has Scottish ancestry. We live in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, and many Scottish people came here in the Gold Rush of the 1850s. The church where my husband and I minister is actually called Scots Presbyterian Church, because it was founded by second generation...
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
I am looking forward to learning from this team of educators. their expertise covers a wide range of disciplines and so I think learning about the clans is going to be very comprehensive indeed.
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
I am really looking forward to this Course. My great grandmother emigrated from Scotland to Australia, but I don't know any details. I live in Ballarat, Victoria, and many Scottish people arrived here in the 1850s at the time of the Gold Rush.
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Michelle Brennan replied to Mary R
Hi Mary. Your comments are always perceptive and thought-provoking. In answer to your question, I can only state what the Bible teaches. Cain was not the father of evil in mankind. Evil, or 'sin', entered the world when Adam and Eve disobeyed God, by believing the serpent [Satan] and going along with his suggestion. Sin has been like a 'virus' through...
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
This has been a very thought-provoking Course. Thank you to the educators, and also to my fellow participants. I have enjoyed reading the diversity of opinions and the wealth of insights. As I see it, the factors that have united those doing this Course are the desire to learn and the compassion for our fellow human beings. I do wish all of you well. God...
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
The poem remains unfinished; many interpretations are possible. But, relating it to the holocaust and to present-day events, the story of the Jewish people is, indeed, unfinished.
Persecution has changed its guise. Now it invariably takes place, not in the death camps, but in malicious anti-Israel sentiments - often brewed by sections of the Western media. ... -
Michelle Brennan made a comment
The 'mark' of Cain has many diverse interpretations, so I will focus on the 'brother' concept. Abel was righteous, Cain was not. However, after Abel's death, Adam and Eve had a third son - Seth. And Seth replaced Abel in the line of righteous descendants. Noah was descended from Seth, and, through Noah's son Shem, the righteous line continued. Our God is...
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
What strikes me about the Biblical passage is that God tells Cain,"Your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground." No death goes unnoticed. While Cain's punishment in this life may seem too lenient, just banishment, remember there is a Judgment Day to come. Every single person will be accountable for their actions - and that includes every Nazi.
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I will write about the role of a mother - the mother of a boy I knew at High School. The family were Jewish and emigrated from Hungary to Australia after WW2, when Andrew was around 2 years of age. Andrew told me that when he was a few weeks old, his mother had him baptized as a Roman Catholic, as she thought this would protect him from any anti-Jewish...
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We are asked to comment on the time dimension. Ever since the Fall of humankind, through the disobedience of Adam and Eve, sin and evil, decay and death, are ever-present. It seems that the poet is linking the first sins of humankind [disobedience in the first generation, murder in the second] with the sins taking place during the Holocaust - there is that...
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
As neither I, nor any members of my family have experienced the Holocaust, or anything like it, I feel inadequate to comment. I only know my faith is the most important thing in my life - it is the core of my being.
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
I found it interesting that the poet describes 'them' as human beings because of their uniforms and boots. It's as though he is describing a shell - someone without a soul, whose whole persona is summed up by a uniform. He then says that these people were made 'in the image' but he does not say in the image of what or who. It is, as others have noted, a...
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The category " worthy of compassion" - ninety-nine, struck me. One can certainly feel compassion for the victims of the Holocaust, but for the perpetrators? This is very difficult. There have been cases where Nazis have genuinely repented. Even then, it would not be easy. Corrie Ten Boom, imprisoned in Ravensbruck for hiding Jews, tells of one such...
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
This poem is powerful, and causes us to reflect. We do see ourselves in these 'statistics', and it often makes us feel quite uncomfortable.
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Michelle Brennan replied to Allan Miller
A good point, Haydn.
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
A wonderful inspirational account of Lorenzo and Primo - light in the darkness.
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
The video explained the poem well, and I feel I understand it much better now. I can also see the connection between the Biblical 'Shema', where Moses is instructing the people for their future, and the poem 'Shema', where there is also instruction - teach and remember. There is also warning to heed the instructions: "lest the anger if the LORD your God be...
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Michelle Brennan replied to PN S
I. too, was glad to read your comments Paul. I didn't comment on the actual poem because I was wondering if it was an accurate translation. I felt I needed to wait until the next lesson where the meaning and motive would be explained.
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
Many of the words in this poem are deliberately chosen to evoke the Deuteronomy 6: 4-9 passage [Haydn comments on this below]. The passage is called the 'Shema' because of its first word: 'Hear O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one." This passage is meant to be recited daily by Jews. It is one of the most important texts in the Hebrew Bible, so...
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Thank you for sharing this, Janine.
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Thought-provoking comments, Rachel.
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It was heart-warming to see the photos of those tiny babies, and to see smiles on the faces of children. It really was an affirmation of life. I do believe that the weddings which took place in the DP camps would have been so significant, for the bride and groom, and also for the others gathered around. Not only was it a symbol of love overcoming hate, and...
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
I realize that I had a very shallow and 'benign' view of post-war Europe. I thought everybody was relieved and happy. Thank you for this informative lesson. I had no idea that Jews were murdered on their return home. What a terrible indictment on those communities.
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Michelle Brennan replied to Noelyne Levin
Thank you for sharing these personal insights, Ian.
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
It is lovely to see the photo of the Avenue of the Righteous among the Nations - I had not seen that before.
When I was in Warsaw I saw the monument to Irena Sendler, who saved over 2,500 Jewish babies; I had read her story and also the book about Antonina Zabinski [the Zoo-keeper's Wife], who with her husband Jan saved over 300 Jewish people from the death... -
Michelle Brennan made a comment
The poem speaks of the apparent 'randomness' of who lived and who died. The short sentences and phrases convey the feeling of being picked at random - through somebody's momentary whim.
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Michelle Brennan replied to Therese Grace
A thought-provoking response, Therese. It reminds me of something my music teacher once said to me at university: "Music expresses what words cannot, or dare not, say."
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Michelle Brennan replied to Heather Miller
This is a very perceptive and succinct response, Heather.
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Michelle Brennan replied to Sue W
I think your last sentence is so very important, Sue.
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
I feel inadequate to comment, but I do see glimmers of hope in their writings. I also see courage and defiance and, in the case of Kertesz, a certain acceptance.
The second question asks what overriding sense I have come away with. I feel intense gratitude for my life in a peaceful country. When there is a knock on the door I assume it to be a friend, not... -
Well expressed, Geraldine.
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I had not seen the significance of the colour 'black' before. Very perceptive of you, Mary.
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I like the way you express it, Lynne, "it represented everything that had made him the person he now is." A perceptive summary.
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
In answer to the first question, about how Itamar's entire work relates to the exercise book, I see it on two levels. Firstly, the book was handed to him by his father; the father nurtured the talent which was in the boy. With encouragement from a significant adult [parent or teacher], a child can thrive. On a deeper level, the early poems were the result...
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
I think Peter's parents were incredibly sensitive to their little boy's writing talents. For them to trade bread for scraps of paper is utterly amazing, given that they were all starving. And then for the father to nurture his son's talents by giving him the book, and for the mother to have "guarded with her life" the book of poems, reveals such parental...
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Michelle Brennan replied to Geraldine McGill
Yes, an excellent analysis, Geraldine. The sentence structure is the vehicle for the emotion.
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Michelle Brennan replied to Mary R
I echo your thoughts, Shirley. The comments during this course have been most thought-provoking.
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Michelle Brennan replied to Rachel Wiseman
A very thoughtful analysis, Rachel. As I was reading your comments it occurred to me that perhaps the boy was aiming curses against the Nazis at heaven - hoping that God would act. This plea is found often in the Psalms.
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
This has been a very profound lesson. No-one knows how they would react in such situations - we would hope we would not lose our humanity, but we can't predict. The 'excremental assault' is surely the worst kind of humiliation which can be inflicted.
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Michelle Brennan replied to Geraldine McGill
In answer to your question, Geraldine, I would say a resounding 'yes'.
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
I didn't realize that so many camps were constructed. Before doing this Course, if I had been asked to name the Nazi camps I could have named Auschwitz-Birkenau, Treblinka and Ravensbruck - but that's about it. The detailed planning of the construction of all these camps, with the aim to destroy people, is horrifying.
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Thank you, Regina, for sharing the Viktor Frankl quote. It is certainly worth pondering.
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
We have been asked to choose a line or two, that represents the plight of those in the Ghettos. I would have to choose: "The hell of the daily dramas seeps into their nightmares, turning into horrific scenes." For most of us, if we've had a bad dream, it is a relief to wake up. Things always seem to look better in the daylight. But for those in the...
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@MaryR I agree, Mary. I saw the words in the poem as displaying 'energy' and 'defiance' rather than 'bravado'.
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@IanNiven A perceptive comment, Ian
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
Oh, what energy! What courage and defiance! I do hope this poem was read aloud in the barracks at Auschwitz - spirits would have soared.
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
I have not read the poem as yet. The title is intriguing, and I am assuming it is an accurate translation. 'Cheerful' is different from 'happy'; cheerfulness implies a deliberate choice to 'be of good cheer'. It is an act of the will, rather than an emotional state. Hence, those who know their fate is most likely death, can perhaps, in the immediate 'now',...
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
Oh, that poor father! How heart-breaking!
We are asked to comment on human behaviour and the vexed question of 'good' and 'evil'. The biblical answer, and the one I adhere to, is that we live in a fallen world. In the battle between good and evil we are asked to be bearers of light shining in the darkness. The poetry of this young lad is a ray of light in... -
The UN reported that in Burkino Faso, Mali and Niger last year 4,000 people, mainly from Christian villages, were murdered by Jihadists. Fulani terrorists have also attacked hundreds in Nigeria. We have read nothing of this in the Australian media - perhaps it was reported in other countries?
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
I can understand Abramek's father not wanting to share the exercise book with anyone. However, I also think that the half-brother, Eliezer, showed amazing generosity of spirit in handing over the book to Yad Vashem. He saw that these poems were to be shared with the world, and were more important than just one family.
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Michelle Brennan replied to Mary R
I feel the same, Mary.
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Michelle Brennan replied to Shirley Heelas
An interesting observation, Shirley. Today we live in a age where people are ready to blame others, hence all the litigation cases which make lawyers wealthy. During the holocaust, we see people who had every right to blame others, rise above their appalling circumstances.
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Yes, that is true Mary, and such incidents do not usually get reported by the mainstream media.
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
A powerful video, with heart-rending words. What stays in my mind are the words of the self-sacrificing mother,"There are values more important than life."
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Michelle Brennan replied to Michelle Brennan
Thank you for this added insight, Rachel.
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Beautifully expressed, Rachel.
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
The comments by Shani Lourie urging us to respect the dignity of the diary writers is a very timely reminder. As she expresses it: we are entering the intimacy of the diary writer's soul. I have a book titled "Children in the Holocaust and World War II", compiled by Laurel Holliday. It makes for very poignant reading.
I think one of the hardest things to... -
Well expressed, Paul.
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Michelle Brennan replied to Michelle Brennan
Thanks for your reply, Janine. Isaiah 58:10 mentions darkness and light, and Isaiah 61:1 prophesies "release from darkness for the prisoners."
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
Thank you for a very informative, well-planned, and challenging first week. I have really valued the comments from my fellow participants in this course. It is wonderful that we are joining together from so many different parts of the world.
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The use of repitition, as in Celan's "Death Fugue" can be very effective. Eugen Nerdinger (1910-1991) was not a poet as such, but a graphic designer. However, he did write a poem to describe the danger he felt, never knowing when the Gestapo would come for him. He belonged to a resistance network in Augsburg; the leaders of this network were captured and...
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Thanks for letting us know about this additional book, Nicky.
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
A very interesting video - I shall try to obtain these books. As I was reading the transcript of the video, the book that came to mind was Tolstoy's War and Peace. In this epic story, Tolstoy weaves his fictional characters against the historic backdrop of 1812 and the reader experiences the effect of the historic events on the lives of the individuals.
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
I truly believe that a person who writes a poem about a traumatic event in their life does so because they cannot help but do it. They must. It is cathartic and part of the healing process. It is not to give the reader 'information' about the trauma; the poet writes even if no-one were ever to read the poem.
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
I found it helped to read this poem out loud. It starts off in a stark, cold way, then changes in tone, rhythm and content in the second last stanza. The survivor seeks a teacher and a master. Teacher in Hebrew is 'Rabbi' and Master in Greek is 'kurios' translated as 'Lord'. Both these terms were used by Christ's disciples, especially when they were asking...
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
I think with all 3 poems, the ending is beyond words - it can't be expressed. On first reading, it was the Szymborska poem that impacted me the most, as it happened during my lifetime [as I commented on last lesson]. But, having re-read and contemplated the 3 poems, I find it is Delbo's poem, especially the last line, that is staying in my mind. When I...
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Michelle Brennan made a comment
I found all 3 poems very moving, and, like other participants have commented, I feel I need to re-read them and contemplate them further. I think the 'Photograph from September 11th' had the greatest impact on me on the first reading, because it happened in my lifetime, and I can remember exactly what I was doing at the time. I was getting my stove repaired,...
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I do like your comments, Janine, especially how poetry can give us deeper insight into human beings, and can connect past, present and future generations.