•  Since John Yau, the author of “Russian Letter,” is also very much involved with art, imagine this poem in a visual art form. Sketch or paint an image that you think the poem inspires. Present your image to the class and explain how it arose from the poem.

•  Yau can be compared to other poets, for example, Bob Dylan. Take one of the themes of this poem (freedom, change, nonconformity, time) and compare it to one of Dylan’s lyrics. (The book called Lyrics, published in 2005, contains Dylan’s poetry.) How similar are the images that these two poets use? Do they agree with one another? Is one clearer in his meaning than the other? Present your findings to your class.

•  Present a PowerPoint display of Rembrandt’s...