Th i s - · PDF filepoetry in school: ... Concrete Poem: A poem that takes a shape on the page...
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Transcript of Th i s - · PDF filepoetry in school: ... Concrete Poem: A poem that takes a shape on the page...
This Poetry Notebook belongs to: _________________________
Poetry History
Tell me a little bit about your past experience with poetry.
I have, or have had, a favorite poem or poet: Yes No
If you remember their name or the title of a poem, write it here: ______________________
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I have written poetry for school before: Yes No
If you have, please tell me a little about what you liked and/or found challenging about writing
poetry in school: ______________________________________________________
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I have written poetry outside of school before: Yes No
If you have, please tell me a little about what you like and/or find challenging about writing
poetry outside of school: _________________________________________________
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1
Introduction to Poetry
BY BILLY COLLINS
I ask them to take a poem
and hold it up to the light
like a color slide
or press an ear against its hive.
I say drop a mouse into a poem
and watch him probe his way out,
or walk inside the poem’s room
and feel the walls for a light switch.
I want them to waterski
across the surface of a poem
waving at the author’s name on the shore.
But all they want to do
is tie the poem to a chair with rope
and torture a confession out of it.
They begin beating it with a hose
to find out what it really means.
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Poetry Glossary
Poem: This is something often discussed and debated. Think about your own definition as we
work. Dictionary.com says:
1. a composition in verse, especially one that is characterized by a highly developed
artistic form and by the use of heightened language and rhythm to express an
intensely imaginative interpretation of the subject.
2. composition that, though not in verse, is characterized by great beauty of
language or expression: a prose poem from the Scriptures; a symphonic poem.
3. something having qualities that are suggestive of or likened to those of poetry:
Marcel, that chicken cacciatore was an absolute poem.
Stanza: This is poetry’s equivalent to a paragraph. It is a chunk of lines that stand together in a
poem.
Line: The words of a poem written together on one line. This might or might not be a complete
thought, and might or might not include end punctuation like a period or question mark.
Syllable: The beats in a word. For example: “Example” has three beats, or three syllables:
ex-am-ple. Try counting the syllables in your name.
Found Poem: An original poem created out of existing or “found” text -- this might be from
existing songs or poems, street signs, books, articles, love notes, letters, etc.
Concrete Poem: A poem that takes a shape on the page that is important to the poem itself.
Rhyme Scheme: The pattern of rhyming words in a poem. (A poem does not need to have any
rhyming in it.)
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Heart Map
Fill the heart below with the people, places, things, ideas, dreams, memories, etc. that live in
your heart. You can include single words, short phrases, pictures, use color… anything that helps
you focus on and capture what’s in your heart.
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Poetry Recitations
Find a published poem that you like, that speaks to you, and copy it below. Over the next week
or so, we will work on memorizing these poems. On Tuesday, Dec 5, you will be reciting it to the
class from memory. Please choose a poem that you feel a connection to and is at least 12 lines
long.
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Valentine for Ernest Mann by Naomi Shihab Nye
You can’t order a poem like you order a taco.
Walk up to the counter, say, “I’ll take two”
and expect it to be handed back to you
on a shiny plate.
Still, I like your spirit.
Anyone who says, “Here’s my address,
write me a poem,” deserves something in reply.
So I’ll tell a secret instead:
poems hide. In the bottoms of our shoes,
they are sleeping. They are the shadows
drifting across our ceilings the moment
before we wake up. What we have to do
is live in a way that lets us find them.
Once I knew a man who gave his wife
two skunks for a valentine.
He couldn’t understand why she was crying.
“I thought they had such beautiful eyes.”
And he was serious. He was a serious man
who lived in a serious way. Nothing was ugly
just because the world said so. He really
liked those skunks. So, he re-invented them
as valentines and they became beautiful.
At least, to him. And the poems that had been hiding
in the eyes of skunks for centuries
crawled out and curled up at his feet.
Maybe if we re-invent whatever our lives give us
we find poems. Check your garage, the off sock
in your drawer, the person you almost like, but not quite.
And let me know.
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Where do poems hide?
Go on a poetry scavenger hunt. Where do you think poems might hide? Think about actions,
places, objects, gestures, moments, people, etc. Create a list poem out of your ideas below.
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You Can’t Write a Poem About McDonald’s by Ronald Wallace
Noon. Hunger is the only thing
singing in my belly.
I walk through the blossoming cherry trees
on the library mall,
past the young couples coupling, by the crazy fanatic
screaming doom and salvation
at a sensation-hungry crowd,
to the Lake Street McDonald's.
It is crowded, the lines long and sluggish.
I wait in the greasy air.
All around me people are eating --
the sizzle of conversation,
the salty odor of sweat,
the warm flesh pressing out of
hip huggers and halter tops.
When I finally reach the cash register,
the counter girl is crisp as a pickle,
her fingers thin as french fries,
her face brown as a bun.
Suddenly I understand cannibalism.
As I reach for her,
she breaks into pieces
wrapped neat and packaged for take-out.
I'm thinking how amazing it is
to live in this country, how easy
it is to be filled.
We leave together, her warm aroma
close at my side.
I walk back through the cherry trees
blossoming up into pies,
the young couple frying in
the hot, oily sun,
the crowd eating up the fanatic,
singing, my ear, my eye, my tongue
fat with the wonder
of this hungry world.
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Challenge Poem
Ask a classmate to give you a challenge: “You can’t write a poem about _______________.”
Now write one.
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Crows in a Strong Wind
BY CORNELIUS EADY
Off go the crows from the roof.
The crows can’t hold on.
They might as well
Be perched on an oil slick.
Such an awkward dance,
These gentlemen
In their spottled-black coats.
Such a tipsy dance,
As if they didn’t know where they were.
Such a humorous dance,
As they try to set things right,
As the wind reduces them.
Such a sorrowful dance.
How embarrassing is love
When it goes wrong
In front of everyone.
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Using symbols and metaphors in poems.
Eady uses the awkward movements of crows trying to stay on a roof in the wind to show how
rejection and heartbreak and losing love feel. Use the chart below to brainstorm ideas for a
symbolic/metaphoric poem inspired by Eady.
Feeling/Experience: Could be represented by:
Example: Being hurt by love Awkward crows in the wind
Pick one of your ideas and try out a poem on the next page.
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SIMS: The Game by Elizabeth Spires
In some ways it's Life Real Life
in some ways Yes in some ways No
You design the people they can be
outgoing nice playful active neat
but you can't make them be everything
if they are neat they will clean up after themselves
(Charisma is when they talk to themselves
in front of a mirror)
Adults never get older & old people can do
anything young people can do
Adults don't have to have jobs they can cheat:
push the rose bud & money appears
Job objects like pizza ovens earn you money
or you can be an extra in a movie a soldier
a doctor an astronaut a human guinea pig
Children get older slowly every day they get a report card
children can live in the house without adults
(a family is anyone who lives in the house with you)
Everyone gets skill points:
for chess painting playing the piano
gardening cooking swimming mechanics
(when you get points a circle above your head
fills up with blue)
& there are goals: not to run out of money not to die
& to buy more stuff for the house
(like a pool table or an Easy Double Sleeper Bed)
Adults can get married but it's hard to get married
You tell them to propose but they can't make the decision
on an empty stomach or they've just eaten
& are too tired
To have a Baby click Yes or No & a baby carriage
rolls up
Everyone has to eat sleep go to the bathroom etc.
if they live alone & don't have friends
they get depressed & begin waving their arms
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If you give them Free Will you don't have to
keep track of them
but it's strange what they'll do:
once a player fell asleep under the stairs standing up
& sometimes they go into a bedroom that isn't theirs
& sleep in the wrong bed then you have to tell them:
Wake up! That is not your bed!
If they are mad they stomp on each other or put each other
in wrestling holds but no one gets hurt
There are different ways to die:
you can drown in the pool if you swim laps for 24 hours
(the Disaster Family all drowned in the pool
except the little girl who kept going
to school after they died she was perfect)
& the stove or fireplace or grill
can set the house on fire:
once there was a fire in the kitchen
eight people rushed in
yelling Fire! Fire! & blocked the door
so the firemen couldn't get through
(after that everyone had to study cooking
now there are less accidents)
If you have Free Will you can starve or drown yourself
then you wander around as a ghost
until another player agrees to resurrect you
In some ways it's Life Real Life
in some ways Yes in some ways No
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Create your own “real life” comparison poem. What actions, things, games, TV shows,
books, breakfast cereals, etc. have a lot in common with “real life” (and a lot of differences too)?
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Poems for Two Voices
What is a Two-Voice poem? Two-voice poetry is written for two people to perform. The poetry
usually has two columns—one for each person who is reading the poem. Sometimes, the poet
wants the two readers to say something at the same time; so the poet writes the words on the
same line in each column.
These poems often sound like a dialogue for two people.
Just like all poetry, poems for two voices need an idea. Nature makes great subject matter for
poetry for two voices, but two voice poems can also be written about school, current events, or
events in literature. In writing your own poem for two voices, think about ideas that need
discussion or make for great dialogue. List 3 ideas from your own life that might make for good
poetry with more than one voice.
1. ___________________________
2. ___________________________
3. ___________________________
Example:
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You can write your two-voice poem on your own (you write both voices), or team up with
another writer and each write one voice.
Title: ________________________________________
(Voice 1) (Voice 2)
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Create your own poem about a “first love.”
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This Is Just To Say William Carlos Williams
I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox
and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast
Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold
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Try your own sorry-not-sorry poem:
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Ode to French Fries, by Pablo Neruda
Translated by Ken Krabbenhoft
What sizzles
in boiling
oil
is the world's
pleasure:
French
fries
go
into the pan
like the morning swan's
snowy
feathers
and emerge
half-golden from the olive's
crackling amber.
Garlic
lends them
its earthy aroma,
its spice,
its pollen that braved the reefs.
Then,
dressed
anew
in ivory suits, they fill our plates
with repeated abundance,
and the delicious simplicity of the soil.
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Odes
Odes are poems that celebrate someone or something, typically with heightened language and
hyperbole (exaggeration). Try singing the praises of someone or something that you think is
truly awesome. Remember to include lots of specific, sensory detail.
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A Sestina for Michael Jordan by Jay Spoon
The NBA wasn't the same without Michael.
What was THE GAME
Became just a game.
I missed watching him in his hundred dollar shoes
Do his million dollar dunks
After pulling some of his million dollar moves.
Other people tried the same moves,
But they couldn't make them as smoothly as Michael.
They tried to copy his dunks,
To make it more of a GAME.
Some of them even wore his shoes.
But without him it was always, only, a game.
It got boring just watching a game,
Even if there were a few good moves,
And someone was wearing some really nice shoes.
In their hearts the fans knew that without Michael,
There would never be another great GAME—
Just lay-ups and shots from outside, but no great dunks.
Sure, they all tried to do powerful dunks,
But they never made it more than a game.
The thing that would make it more of a GAME
Again were the magnificent moves
Of the fabulous Michael-—
With or without his hundred dollar shoes.
Some say it was the shoes,
And some say it was the dunks,
But all basketball fans loved to watch Michael.
Coaches don't like coaching a game.
They want steals, dunks, exciting moves—
They want a GAME.
The only way it could ever be a GAME
Again is him, wearing his hundred dollar shoes,
Pulling his million dollar moves,
Then going up for his million dollar dunks.
Without him on the starting five it was an amateur's game.
The playoffs, the steals, the fouls are nothing without Michael.
The plain truth is that before Michael there was no GAME.
It was just a predictable game played in boring shoes.
I'm relieved to have him back; I missed those dunks and moves.
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Create a sestina for someone you admire (famous or not).
For a sestina, you will need six anchor words: 1.__________ 2.__________
3.__________ 4.__________ 5.__________ 6.__________
(In A Sestina for Michael Jordan, Jay Spoon’s anchor words are: Michael, GAME, game, shoes,
dunks, moves.)
A sestina has seven stanzas, and the lines end with the anchor words in the following pattern:
Stanza 1: 1
2
3
4
5
6
Stanza 2: 6
1
5
2
4
3
Stanza 3: 3
6
4
1
2
5
Stanza 4: 5
3
2
6
1
4
Stanza 5: 4
5
1
3
6
2
Stanza 6: 2
4
6
5
3
1
Stanza 7: 2
4
6
(Look back at A Sestina for Michael Jordan to see the pattern in action. )
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On Turning Ten by Billy Collins
The whole idea of it makes me feel
like I'm coming down with something,
something worse than any stomach ache
or the headaches I get from reading in bad light--
a kind of measles of the spirit,
a mumps of the psyche,
a disfiguring chicken pox of the soul.
You tell me it is too early to be looking back,
but that is because you have forgotten
the perfect simplicity of being one
and the beautiful complexity introduced by two.
But I can lie on my bed and remember every digit.
At four I was an Arabian wizard.
I could make myself invisible
by drinking a glass of milk a certain way.
At seven I was a soldier, at nine a prince.
But now I am mostly at the window
watching the late afternoon light.
Back then it never fell so solemnly
against the side of my tree house,
and my bicycle never leaned against the garage
as it does today,
all the dark blue speed drained out of it.
This is the beginning of sadness, I say to myself,
as I walk through the universe in my sneakers.
It is time to say good-bye to my imaginary friends,
time to turn the first big number.
It seems only yesterday I used to believe
there was nothing under my skin but light.
If you cut me I could shine.
But now when I fall upon the sidewalks of life,
I skin my knees. I bleed.
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Try writing a poem about being younger and/or growing older.
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Found Poem: Fill in the blanks
The template below is created from a poem by the famous American poet Langston Hughes.
Create your own poem by filling in the blanks. I’ll show you the original in class sometime soon.
__________ Rain Song
Let the rain __________ __________
Let the rain __________ upon your head with __________ __________ drops
Let the rain __________ you a __________
The rain makes __________ __________ on the sidewalk
The rain makes __________ __________ in the gutter
The rain plays a __________ __________ on our roof at night
And I __________ the rain
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Response Poems
Choose a published poem that you enjoy and speaks to you. Copy it below. On the next page,
create a poem in response to your chosen poem. Some options for this: You might use the
structure of the poem, try a different take on the subject matter, lift a line or stanza from the
poem to begin your own, or write directly to the poet or narrator.
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Your response:
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Black-Out Poem
A black-out poem is a type of found poem where you choose the words that you want from an
existing page of text -- an old book, a page of newspaper, a magazine page, etc. The surrounding
words are blacked-out so that your new poem stands out.
Try your own on the following page.
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Concrete Poetry
Concrete poetry takes on a shape on the page that is important to what the poem is about.
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Try your own concrete poem.
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Haiku
Haiku are very short, highly structured poems that originated in Japan. One of the great haiku
masters, Basho, said of haiku: “Haiku is simply what is happening in this place, at this moment.”
A haiku poem is written in three lines with the following syllable count:
5 Syllables
7 Syllables
5 Syllables
A few examples, mostly serious and one silly:
Winter solitude-
in a world of one colour
the sound of the wind.
― Bashō Matsuo (translated from Japanese)
Mountain-rose petals
Falling, falling, falling now...
Waterfall music
― Bashō Matsuo (translated from Japanese)
november nightfall
the shadow of the headstone
longer than the grave
-Nick Avis
Haikus are easy
But sometimes they don’t make sense
Refrigerator
Often a haiku won’t match the syllable count, but it captures the spirit of a haiku by focusing on
a small moment:
war zone . . .
amongst the rubble
an empty birdcage
Mohammad Azim Khan
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Try a few of your own haiku (maybe try some serious and some silly.)
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DEFINING THE MAGIC by Charles Bukowski
a good poem is like a cold drink
when you need it,
a good poem is a hot turkey
sandwich when you’re hungry,
a good poem is a gun when
the mob corners you,
a good poem is something that
allows you to walk through the streets of
death,
a good poem can make death melt like
hot butter,
a good poem can frame agony and
hang it on a wall,
a good poem can let your feet touch
China,
a good poem can make a broken mind
fly,
a good poem can let you shake hands
with Mozart,
a good poem can let you shoot craps
with the devil
and win,
a good poem can do almost anything,
and most important
a good poem knows when to
Stop.
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Create a poem about what you think poetry can (or cannot) do:
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Poetry Study Final Products: Poetry Collection & Performance
Poetry Collection
Your tasks: to create original poetry, revise it, and select pieces for an original poetry
collection.
Goals: to try new types of writing with attention to voice, word choice, organization, and
specific detail; to thoughtfully revise the poems in the collection
Your collection needs:
● An illustrated cover (original artwork, photography, or collage)
● To be bound in some way: project folder, stapled, small binder, comb binding
● Poems in the collection are typed or neatly handwritten
● At least 12 poems (These might include your poems from this notebook.)
● At least three different forms or types of poems
● An author page including photo, brief bio (1 paragraph), and reflection (1 paragraph) on
your thoughts and feelings about writing and revising the poems in the collection.
Due date: Tuesday, Dec 19th
**Please let me know if you would like to have your collection back to give as a holiday gift. I will be
sure to have it back to you on Wednesday, Dec 20.
Grading: The collection will be graded using the rubric below, on the target: I can write narrative texts. 4 3 2 1
Voice Voice in the poems
is engaging, sincere,
and well suited to
the subject matter.
Voice in the poems
is well suited to the
subject matter of
the poems.
In places, the
voice in the poems
is well suited to
the subject matter
of the poems .
Voice in the
poems does
not support the
themes or
subject matter.
Word Choice Poems include a rich
vocabulary and
powerful word
choice
Word choice is
clear and supports
the meaning of the
poem
Word choice is
clear in places, but
may also be
general and vague
in places
Word choice is
vague and
general.
Specific
Detail
Poems include a rich
variety of specific
details.
Poems include a
variety of specific
details.
Poems include
some specific
detail.
Poems include
little specific
detail.
Organization
and
Structure
Poem structures,
including
organization and
line breaks, support
the content of the
poems and move the
reader through the
text.
Poem structures
are clear and
support the content
of the poems.
An attempt has
been made to
organize and
structure the
poems.
Poem
structures are
not clear.
41
Components
Collection includes
all components.
Several components
are taken above and
beyond
Collection includes
all components.
Collection
includes most
components.
Collection is
missing
multiple
components.
Examples of “above and beyond”: Significant effort put into the cover, more than
three forms included, and/or an especially thoughtful and thorough reflection.
Poetry Performance
Your task: to perform two of your poems for an audience including classmates, families, and
school community members
The goal: share your work with a larger audience and practice performance and public
speaking skills.
Performance Guidelines: Choose two poems to perform. If your poems are very short (less
than five lines each), please choose a third poem to perform as well.
Due date: Tuesday, December 19th
Performances will be held during class.
Grading: Performances will be graded using the rubric below on the target: I can effectively present information.
4 3 2 1
Presence Confident stance
Strong eye contact with
the audience
Gestures support the
subject or feeling of the
poem
Confident stance.
Eye contact with
the audience
Some fidgeting.
Some eye
contact with the
audience
Fidgeting is a
distraction from
the presentation
Little eye
contact with the
audience
Voice Voice is strong,
expressive, and clear.
Voice is clear and
audible.
At times, voice is
clear and
audible.
Student is
difficult to hear.
Pacing Varied and expressive
pacing. Strong use of
pauses and speed of
presentation.
Pacing highlights
the content of the
poems.
Pacing supports
the poems in
places.
Pacing does not
match the
content of the
poems.
42
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