Today we shared our narrative poems in a poetry cocktail party atmosphere which was interrupted by Ms. Stenson's lovely son, Cole, who arrived with a plant for his mother. Thanks, Cole.
We used prompts from a Patrick Lane poem. If you were absent, borrow the prompts and do the quick write. Ask me for a copy of the poem for you to read. We commented on his extraordinary use of language.
Next, we wrote a list of things we like to smell, touch, taste, look at, listen to
eg: driving down highway 17 in Dad's sporty with the top down
Joni Mitchell's Blue on the stereo
honey-drunk bees in the plum tree
coffee, large, two sugars, black
We talked about all the things a poet can do with a list.
For example, slap a title on it and you create a list poem
Put this title on the items above and the title provides a shape and context for the reader that was not there before: The Day You Left, The Day Mama Died, After Goodlake's. etc. Try list poems. They are wonderful.
You could also turn the list into couplets but add things you don't like on the second line, ie.
Honey-drunk bees in the plum tree,
Dad, sleeping it off, on the grass.
Coffee, large, two sugars, black.
In Columbia, the whips fall upon the fields.
Do you get the idea?
Finally, we introduced the concept of anaphora (repetition of words or phrases)
We wrote a few phrases on the board. Students chose one or created their own and added them to their list and then they chose a title from a list and added that.
Ex.
I never new I loved . . .
Because . . .
Give me . . .
If only I wasn't so weak . . .
That afternoon . . .
This morning . . .
Because you said to wait . . .
Try it . . .
The Day Mother Died
I never knew I liked honey-drunk bees, Dad, sleeping it off,
on the verandah. I never knew I liked driving the Dad's sporty,
top down, highway 17. I never knew I liked coffee, large, two sugars, black.
Use these exercises as a way to excavate/uncover ideas, memories, characters, connections, metaphors you haven't thought of yet.
Friday: Bring three copies of a poem you want to have edited. Make sure there is a title and that you are following our criteria:
1. Concrete, sensory details
2. A sense of surprise in language use, structure, space on the page
3. Details, details, details
4. Context--we know who is speaking, the setting, the conflict,
5. Avoid cliches: the hot sun, the loyal dog, the sad mourner, the blue sky
6. Care about your poem--put in the effort. Be willing to work on it.
WE LOVE UGLY BABIES.
