Writing about poetry got me really thinking about imagery for the most part. Since that was the main focus of my explication paper, imagery was very fresh on my mind. So when it came time to write my "Wrecking the 1st Person" poem imagery was still my main focus. More than structure, rhythm, rhyme, meter, and other such poetic devices, I think that imagery is the most powerful aspect of poetry. In my "Egypt" poem I focused a lot on the images of the desert and of the chaotic and violent situation. Colors, actions, and sound played a large part in the poem's effect. That is why i had everyone walk around in a circle. I wanted people to sense the closeness with a large group of people and also to hear the footsteps of everyone around them. Closing the eyes helps people to focus their senses so they can see and hear the images but also it contributes to the sense of chaos because they are not sure what is happening around them. That poem came from an experience I had in a rural marketplace in Egypt where tourists never really go so my fiancee and I were quite a spectacle. A crowd of children began following us that grew into a crowd of adults as well. It became a mob mentality quickly and people began touching my fiancee in inappropriate places. Consequently, my elbows began swinging in people's faces, it was scary.
For my "Found" poem I did focus more on rhythm and structure but I didn't like it nearly as much. Putting the nursery rhymes together was fun and interesting but the end result was too repetitive and a little boring I think.
Writing about poetry and writing poetry are very different things but I do think that they compliment each other. Writing about poetry gets you thinking about the elements of poetry and how they affect the reader. How the sound and images and other aspects work to make meaning for people. Having all those things in your mind when you sit down to write your own poetry allows you to utilize those aspects and make much more interesting poetry. I think. On the other side, having written poetry you have a deeper understanding of what goes into it and can therefore comment more appropriately on it.
Both of these assignments would be great creative assignments in my own classroom because they allow students to be creative but not take full credit for the work and therefore not have that intimate relationship with it that leads to shyness. Especially the "Found" poem. Its like being a DJ, taking other things and mixing them into something new. I really enjoyed doing these poems and hearing everyone Else's as well. Doing the presentations in class was great but I wonder how that would fair in a high school classroom, or even worse, junior high. Those students might be less inclined to participate in something like that.
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You know i really liked your analogy of the DJ. I think that becuase the found poem was ultimately so inpersonal i was able to have more fun with it. The other poem, wrecking the first person, was so difficult for me to work with so much so that i think it sucked! Your poem, and the way we heard it, really resonated with me because your right, the imagery that i got with walking around and closing my eyes really let my imagination go wild. I really enjoyed it because it appealed to some of my sense that go dormant when hearing a poem. For whatever reason when you read your poem i was reminded of O'Briens "The Things they Carried." It really was the stamping of the feet and the chaotic feeling that you were describing and that we were feeling that made it have more of an impact. It was great.
Nick!!!!! You are very intelligent, and I think you may be right with the whole imagery theory. Out of everyone’s poems, the one you performed when you had us walk in a circle had the biggest effect on me. While most of us engaged our sight and hearing, walking in a circle and stomping helped us engage touch, not only holding hands, but also the vibrations in the floor, and loud sounds. It also enabled us to use our imagination and see what you were reading in your poem using pictures we have stored in our minds from past experiences. I thought the way you presented your poem was really creative and it definitely made an effect on the class! Instead of feeding us images so everyone sees the same thing, you forced us to use our own minds. I really enjoyed it. Wow I cannot believe what happened to you and your fiancé in Egypt! That must have been really scary for you both. While it was a horrible experience, you were able to reflect on some parts of it and put it into poetic form. You changed an experience into art, and that can be difficult to do. I agree that these assignments would be great to teach in the classroom, but I also agree with your fears that middle school and high school ages may not be fully willing to participate. With any project though I think it depends not on the age, but on the class, and how well the students work together. Great job Nick!! Ps How is the wedding planning going??? =)
Okay you know what? That was really offensive and hurtfull. I just had to give a presentation on a subject that is really close to my heart and sensitive and there you go making me feel terrible by writing "poop" why would you do something so hurtfull? I never want to read your posts again. You should just go back to that hot dry desert and stay there with the trash and felons I am going to send there. Exuse me I am now gong to cry.
Nick,
I am going to attempt to answer your query regarding how something like a found poem would work is a junior or high school setting. Present it to them in a way they might understand. For example in popular music there is tons of sampling, example: Kanye West, he is the king of imbeding other people's work within his own. Also, I really liked your DJ analogy as well. That is right on point. It might be a good idea to present the idea of poetry to your students using analogies they understand. Anything to get students to realize they like poetry a lot more than they actually know.
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