(6/29/2009)
The audio book broadcast listings at
gutterstar.net/streaming have been updated. The new broadcast includes: Horizon Storms, by Kevin J. Anderson.
The Azores (Portuguese:
Açores
pronounced
[??so???] or [[??so??]) are a
Portuguese
archipelago
in the
Atlantic Ocean
, about 1,500 km (950
mi
) from
Lisbon
and about 3,900 km (2,400 mi) from the east coast of
North America
. The westernmost island (
Flores
) actually lies on the North American plate and is only 1,925 km (1,200 mi) from
St. John's
in the
Canadian
province of
Newfoundland and Labrador
. The Azores' most significant industry is tourism.
The nine major Azorean Islands and the eight small
Formigas
extend for more than 600 km, and lie in a north west-south east direction. The vast extension of the islands defines an immense
exclusive economic zone
of 1.1 million km². The westernmost point of this area is 3,380 km from the North American continent. All of the islands have
volcanic
origins, though Santa Maria also has some
reef
contribution. The mountain of Pico on
Pico Island
, at 2,351 m in altitude, is the highest in all of Portugal. The Azores are actually the tops of some of the tallest mountains on the planet, as measured
from their base at the bottom of the ocean. The archipelago forms the Autonomous Region of Azores, one of the two
autonomous regions of Portugal.
Poetry, and discussions of it, have a long history. Early attempts to define poetry, such as Aristotle's Poetics, focused on the uses of speech in rhetoric, drama, song and comedy. Later attempts concentrated on features such as repetition and rhyme, and emphasised the aesthetics which distinguish poetry from prose. From the mid-20th century, poetry has sometimes been more loosely defined as a fundamental creative act using language. Poetry often uses particular forms and conventions to expand the literal meaning of the words, or to evoke emotional or sensual responses. Devices such as assonance, alliteration, onomatopoeia and rhythm are sometimes used to achieve musical or incantatory effects. Poetry's use of ambiguity, symbolism, irony and other stylistic elements of poetic diction often leaves a poem open to multiple interpretations. Similarly, metaphor and simile create a resonance between otherwise disparate images—a layering of meanings, forming connections previously not perceived. Kindred forms of resonance may exist, between individual verses, in their patterns of rhyme or rhythm.
