Blogger #27, Natalie Szeto, Period 2, 3/24/21, Day A

 This class, we had a double-lesson ー we learned about using poetry as inspiration for our own poetic work, as well as learning about the evolution of poetic expression in the 21st century.

4 RL Sp: Poetry Used for Inspiration  

Aim: How can we use the poem, “This is Just to Say” by William Carlos Williams as inspiration for our own poems?

Do Now: WHOLE CLASS DISCUSSION

For the Do Now, we had a class discussion about the following prompt: Describe a time when you or someone you know did something that was “technically wrong” and you should have felt sorry for it but you didn’t?

Fiona started off the class discussion by talking about the time when she stole her brother’s iPad. Vallerie then added on by talking about her own brother, and how he would take the TV remote when he was not supposed to; she said that she would have to take the remote from her brother, and although she felt bad, she knew it was the right thing to do. To conclude the discussion, Ms. Peterson told us a story about her cousins. Her youngest cousin, Kristy, would constantly borrow Kelly’s (Kristy’s older sister) clothing, without telling her. However, Kristy would accidentally ruin the clothing, and return it with stains, rips, holes, etc. In one particular incident, Kristy borrowed a brand-new sweater from Kelly, went out, and when she came back, the sweater was completely destroyed. Kristy then apologized to Kelly, but the next time Kelly left the house, Kristy went into her closet and borrowed another piece of clothing. 

This Do Now served as a good introduction into the topic of apologizing but not genuinely meaning it. This is a recurring subject matter throughout the lesson, and connects to the Aim regarding William Carlos Williams’s poem, “This is Just to Say.” 

Spirit Reading:

After discussing the Do Now, we read the poem, “This Is Just To Say” by William Carlos Williams. 

Once we read the poem, we learned about the backstory of it, and the manner in which William Carlos Williams writes. This particular poem stemmed from a quick note that he wrote to his wife one morning. This “spur of the moment” approach to writing, reflected Williams’ style when it came to poems. Instead of following strict rhyme schemes or syllabic patterns, Williams had an unconventional approach to poetry, and would often write about anything. 

Next, we read the poem, “Variations on a Theme by William Carlos Williams,” written by Kenneth Koch. This poem imitates the style and tone of William Carlos Williams’ own poem “This is Just to Say.” 

 

“This is Just to Say” and “Variations on a Theme by William Carlos Williams” embodies a false sense of apology. In both poems, the author repeats the words “forgive me” but then adds a phrase that makes it seem like he does not feel remorse for his actions. Ms. Peterson described this poem as the epitome of the word “but” because the narrative says sorry, however, he also adds a sentence that contrasts that apology.

The purpose of reading both poems is to understand the laissez-faire style that William Carlos Williams writes in, as well as reinforcing the idea of “sorry not sorry,” in order to draw inspiration for our own poetry. 

Teamwork:

After reading the poem, “Variations on a Theme by William Carlos Williams,” we were put into breakout rooms. We were instructed to create our own versions of “This is Just to Say” poems, and see how many we could formulate with our groups in five minutes. The team with the most poems, earns 25 points. 

In my group, we were able to come up with seven poems that mimicked the style of William Carlos Williams’s poem. The ones that we created are listed below:

1. I took your bike, whoops I needed the fresh air 

2. I dropped your phone, I have butter fingers 

3. Sorry I ate the cake, it was just too delicious 

4. Sorry I stole your credit card, I just wanted some money

5. I punched your brother, he was being a jerk

6. I cut down your apple tree, it was too ugly

7. I kicked a kid out of the room, he was irritating me 

This task helped us begin to formulate our own poems in a way that was fun and engaging. Through this assignment, we were able to better understand “This is Just to Say,” and the poetic style utilized. 

Using Imagery in Poetry:

Our class learned about the importance of imagery in poetry. Imagery conveys feelings and emotions without outwardly saying it. Stating “I’m angry” doesn’t influence readers as much as vivid descriptions. One of the most important aspects of poetry is that it can help us understand our own feelings; these feelings may be hidden, or not realized until we read poetry that resonates with us. 

We looked at examples of imagery that expresses emotions, and causes the readers to feel what the author was feeling.

the clouds collapsed,

they’re touching the ground

trying to come alive,

but they can’t.

                  Images from a landscape are used to indicate hopelessness,

My heart was warm,

Like the swelling waters of the ocean,

Just basking in the first rays of morning sun

Natural images (ocean and sun) are used to express joyfulness 

I felt the end of something great,

Like when you take the last bite of birthday cake,

And all that’s left is a few powdery crumbs on your frosting streaked dish

Images of birthday cake are used to create feelings of melancholy and sadness

In the first example, words such as “collapsed,” and the sentence “... trying to come alive, but they can’t” creates an image that represents hopelessness and despair. In the second example, the words, “warm” and “swelling” indicate that the mood is uplifting and cheerful. Saying “... basking in the first rays of morning sun,” demonstrates how happy the author felt. In the third example, the author includes the phrases “... the end of something great” and “the last bite” to formulate an image that shows a sense of sorrow or longing for the past. 

Spirit Reading:

We read the poem “Fast Break” by Edward Hirsch. We annotated the poem, looking for literary devices, as well as 1-2 examples of imagery that we thought supported the main theme of the poem.

For the literary devices of the poem, I annotated the lines:

1. “A hook shot kisses the rim and hangs there…”

1. This line represents personification because the basketball is described as “kissing the rim,” which isn’t realistic. The author gives a "human-like" feature to an inanimate object.

2. “... in slow motion, almost exactly like a coach’s drawing on the blackboard,”

1. This sentence utilizes simile ー the author compares the basketball shot to the plays that the coach planned on his blackboard. This demonstrates how perfect the basketball shot was. 

For the imagery, I chose the lines:

1. “Both forwards racing down the court the way that forwards should…”

1. This line creates an image that depicts the two forwards working together in order to get the ball down the court. This line also connects to the central theme of the poem, which is: working together to achieve a common goal.

2.  “... moving together as brothers passing the ball.”

1. This line describes the relationship and collaboration between the players. The use of the word “brothers” is to emphasize the bond between the basketball players. 

Teamwork:

In the breakout rooms, my group discussed the literary devices that we found in the poem. Fiona talked about the simile that she found: “... orange leather from the air like a cherished possession” which compares the basketball to a valuable possession. Eddy also mentioned that personification was present in the first stanza of the poem when it said, “A hook shot kisses the rim and hangs there…”. This is an example of personification, because the author attributes the human action of kissing, to the basketball shot. I talked about the imagery that I found in the poem, and provided reasoning as to how it connected to the theme. In addition, Kevin brought up his own examples of imagery that he found in the poem, which included, “swiveling back to see an orange blur floating perfectly through the net.” This sentence describes the image of the basketball finally reaching the net after all the hard work that the players had to do. 

Class Discussion:

After our breakout rooms, we had a class discussion about our respective group conversations. We were able to share our thoughts regarding the literary devices and examples of imagery that we found. 

Will started off the conversation by sharing the example of personification that our group found. Katrina added on by talking about the metaphor that her group had found in the sixth stanza, when the author compares a basketball player to a nail stuck in the ground. Eddy mentions the simile that our group discussed, where the author compares the rebound shot to a prized possession for the basketball players. 

Next, we talked about the imagery that we found, and its connection to the theme of teamwork. Marooha shared the imagery that her group had found: “swiveling back to see an orange blur floating perfectly through the net.” She said that this sentence created effective imagery that shows the ball finally floating through the net, and how the players all turned to watch it. Ayah talked about the first stanza of the poem, when the basketball misses the hoop and doesn’t make it in. She said that this represented a form of helplessness, but the ending of the poem contrasts it by showing how hardwork and collaboration eventually paid off. Lastly, Justin brings up the imagery that his group discussed, which was “an underhand pass toward the other guard scissoring past a flat-footed defender.” This line of the poem describes the plays that were being made by the basketball players; it specifically talks about how one player passed the ball to the guard who was able to make his way past the other team. This shows how the players were able to work together in order to get the ball down the court. 

Homework:

For homework, we were instructed to formulate our own poems about a pastime (i.e. activity/hobby) that we enjoy. The instructions that we were given were as follows: 

• Structure your poem as free verse (poetry without a fixed pattern or rhyme), but consider how you want to divide your lines (meaning stanzas).

• Choose precise words (diction). 

• Consider imagery and other devices (metaphor, musical sounds, simile, etc.)

• Your poem should be at least 20 lines long.  

• You MUST create a Title, which reflects the topic of your poem.

• You MUST include a corresponding image or piece of artwork.
  
  

5 RL Spring: Poetry in the 21st Century

Aim: How has poetic expression evolved in the 21st century?

Do Now: WHOLE CLASS DISCUSSION

With the class, discuss the following: Do you believe technology and the 21st century are ruining literature as we know it? Why or why not?

Vanessa helped start our class discussion by sharing her opinions; she thought technology enhanced literature, because technology platforms allowed more people to access writing/reading. Ayah agreed with Vanessa, and said that more people are compelled to explore literature because of its easy accessibility on the internet. Tuba added that it is now easier for authors to have their work seen by others because they don’t need a publisher or agent; instead, they can put their work on social media and have it popularized there. 

Spirit Reading:

We read about an “Instagram Sloganeer” named Rupi Kaur who gained popularity through social media platforms. She writes poetry collection books, including Milk and Honey (which you can see a video of her reading here: Rupi Kaur | reading from Milk and Honey), and The Sun and Her Flowers (you can see her read one of the poems on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” here: Rupi Kaur Reads Timeless from Her Poetry Collection The Sun and Her Flowers). 

Her writing is an example of how technology and literature can intersect. Poetry can be found on several different mediums, including Instagram and Twitter. 

Poetry can also be found in modern-day song lyrics. Some examples can include:

• thank u, next - Ariana Grande

• Look What You’ve Done - Drake

• Someone You Loved - Lewis Capaldi 

Definitions:

1. Epic Poetry ― a genre of classical poetry; a long narrative poem that is usually about heroic deeds and events that are significant to the culture of the poet

2. Micropoetry ― a genre of poetic verse which is characterized by its extreme brevity. In other words, a micropoem is a short poem

The description of micropoetry provided:

Micropoetry is a collective term for a variety of different forms of short poetry. As a poetic artform, it doesn’t really have any rules. Although it does consist of certain forms of short poetry with fixed rules such as haiku, tanka, senryu and gogyohka. There are also no real character length limitations either. The limits are set by the medium with which they are being shared, and also that invisible line where micropoetry becomes a regular length poem. This is why the majority of poems are less than 140 characters (twitter limit), with a maximum of 160 characters (mobile phone limit). 

NOTE: Twitter has now increased to 280 Characters so we will accept poems of this length.

This definition helps us to understand how micropoetry compares to epic poetry. Depending on the platform you choose to share your micropoem on, the limits in terms of words/characters varies. This is important to remember when creating our own micropoems, because if it becomes too long, it is no longer a micropoem. 

#micropoemchallenge

We had to create a micropoem based on the word pool that we created for our homework assignment (labelled “Word Pool (Homework)” on Google Classroom). The goal of this #micropoemchallenge was to write a poem that fit within the limitations of Twitter characters and/or the aesthetic of an Instagram design format. 

The instructions provided were:

1. For Twitter: only 280 characters 

1. (challenge mode: 140 characters for original Twitter restrictions)

2. OR For Instagram: in a design format (short & concise, relatable for your audience)

1. (challenge mode: try to make it aesthetically pleasing or intriguing, appropriate for Instagram) 

ABOUT 1 OF THE FOLLOWING TOPICS:

• #highschool

• #freshmanyear

• #teenagelife 

I chose to use Twitter, and the hashtag #freshmenyear for this challenge. My micropoem is below:

Reflection:

Through these lessons, I was able to better understand micropoetry, and how I could use other poets as inspiration for my own writing. In the first lesson, we studied “This is Just to Say” by William Carlos Williams, and learned to formulate our own versions based on his stylistic choices. We observed the message of “sorry not sorry” which was exemplified throughout Williams’s poem. We also learned how to include imagery, as well as other literary techniques, in poetry. This included identifying the use of similes, personification, metaphors, and imagery within William Carlos William’s poem. The second lesson reminded me that poetry can be found everywhere, including social media and music. In particular, we learned about the poet, Rupi Kaur, who gained recognition by posting her poems on Instagram. This helped me recognize that poetry is not something to fear, but instead, a form of expression that I should embrace. The reason we conducted these lessons was to develop the skills necessary to prepare us for the Poem Anthology Project. The information that I’ve learned from these lessons will help me in the future as I begin to develop my own poems. Understanding that creativity can stem from past experiences, fun pastimes, and global events, has helped me recognize themes that I want to incorporate into my poetic works.