Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Writing 12: Focus on getting all your lovely poems ready to be published . . .

It took me four hours but I did it. I read each poem lovingly and I just have to say how impressed I am! Wow. You did it. The poems are evocative, friendly, startling, beautiful, and honest. Well done! Wow.

Now, we need to get these puppies published, eh?


PLEASE REMEMBER TO BRING IN YOUR MONEY AND PERMISSION FORM FOR THE BELFRY PLAY. $15.00.

PLEASE REMEMBER TO BRING IN ALL THE POEMS FOR BCTELA, CLAREMONT REVIEW SPRING SUBMISSION AND THE CONTEST FOR CLAREMONT REVIEW PLUS A CHEQUE FOR $25.00. IF YOU CAN'T BRING THE MONEY NOW, YOU CAN PAY ME NEXT WEEK BUT HAND IN THE POEMS.

You worked hard today. I do appreciate your efforts.

These poems are wonderful. They deserve to be published.

Congrats!!

Thursday: Hand in all the hard copies of poems for the three hard-copy venues, including the cheque made out to The Claremont Review for $25.00.

Please edit your poems carefully. I found quite a few errors in your manuscripts. Not something you want to show the world. Check capitals, hyphens, dashes, then / than, missing words, typos, etc.

Plus, a lot of you live on a street but not in a city??? Interesting.

Find out how to write out your address. Look at a piece of mail your family has received recently. That's how you do it.


There are a lot of courses and activities in the community to take part in.

This Sat. at the Bruce Hutchison library (in Commonwealth Pool) join Wendy Morton and have her write a poem for you. Perhaps, you could get involved too. 2 - 4 p.m.

Every Friday, you can visit Planet Earth Poetry. Remember, Gabe, the Writing 100 student from UVic? He goes every Friday. You can read a poem at the open mic. Believe me, your poems and YOU are ready.

Or . . . Want some training in performance poetry? See below? Ever thought of applying to become Victoria's youth poet laureate? See below:

Hello Youth Poetry Enthusiasts!

I can`t believe it is already November!  I hope this finds you all well and that your school year has been great so far.  I`ve got a handful of exciting announcement and opportunities for you.  

1. Youth Poet Laureate - Victoria is looking for a new Youth Poet Laureate!  This is an exciting leadership opportunity for poets 21 and under. Please encourage your students to apply.  Poets will perform at Victoria City Council, City of Victoria Youth Council, and they will receive project funding to put on a project of their choice.  I`ve attached the call-out. Please print and post in your schools.  

2. Raising Voices - We offer adaptable, participatory, high energy workshops to get your students excited about poetry!  With our new name (Raising Voices) we have also imported the amazing Johnny MaCrae from Vancouver to help with facilitation and bookings.  Book us and let us ignite the spark! Click here to see the bios of our facilitators: http://victoriapoetryproject.ca/our-poets/

3. Victorious Voices - We are tentatively looking at April 7-9th for Victorious Voices.  Please let me know ASAP if those dates won`t work for your school.

Thanks for your continued interest and dedication to youth poetry!  See you soon.

Cheers,

Jeremy Loveday
Director of Youth Outreach

Wendy Morton


 




WILLIE TUGLAVINA, 16

I grew up in Kangirsualjjuaq.
I have 3 brothers, two sisters.
At school, I failed grade 2.
Now, I don’t fail.
I’m going to try to graduate.
I understand Inuktitut
better than English.
I play the accordion.
My friend taught me.
I can play the guitar, the harmonica.

I can do this.



JULIA

I grew up in Kangirsualjjuaq.
900 people there.
We lived in a government house,
like all other houses.
They all look unhappy.
It’s the dependence
that brings this darkness:
I mean alcohol abuse,
drug abuse.
I want to find my dreams.
I want to be a nurse or a psychiatrist.
I want to inspire my people.
I want them to find their dreams,
their own light.

Writing 12: Sending poems out into the world

THE BUSINESS ASPECT OF WRITING TAKES PATIENCE, PERSEVERANCE, AND ORGANIZATION!!


YOU WILL NEED THE FOLLOWING LINKS IN ORDER TO SEND YOUR WORKS OUT TO THE THREE VENUES WHICH ACCEPT ELECTRONIC COPIES ONLY. FOR AERIE INTERNATIONAL YOU ALSO NEED TO INCLUDE A PHOTO OF YOURSELF IN JPEG FORMAT.

You may not double submit. Keep track of where you send what. Make individual files on your hard drive for each venue below. You must ensure that your poems are publishable. That means there are no spelling, punctuation or grammatical errors. 

You are marked by your organization, attention to detail, getting the work sent out, choosing which poems to send where. DO YOUR RESEARCH. EACH VENUE LOOKS FOR SOMETHING UNIQUE. YOU'VE READ THE CLAREMONT REVIEW SO YOU KNOW WHAT THEY LIKE. READ POLYPHONY MAGAZINE AND AERIE MAGAZINE TO FIND OUT WHAT THEY LIKE. 

DEADLINES ARE IN BOLD BELOW:

Jessamy Stursberg National Poetry for Youth   Formally called the League of Can. Poets Youth Prize

This contest is one of the most prestigious of the bunch. Send two poems here. Choose poems that are easy to follow, offer surprise and use language uniquely. You can check their site to read previous prize winners to get an idea. They like phantoms, prose poems, poems about youth etc SEND THIS OFF TODAY. 

http://www.mcps.k12.mt.us/highschool/bigsky/aerie/international/submissions.html

This magazine is published by a high school in Montana. They like short pieces which startle and delight. I have copies of the magazine for your perusal and they also have samples on their website. SEND THIS OFF BY TODAY. 

Polyphony HS Magazine

Polyphony HS Magazine is published out of Polyphony High School in Chicago but their editors are students from high schools throughout the world. In fact, you can apply to become an editor if you LOVE to edit!!  You must create an account on this site. Some of you will have accounts from last year so you'll need to remember your account info.  SEND THIS OFF BY THURSDAY. 

Claremont Review Contest: Submit 3 poems (hard copies) No name on your poems. Attach a contest entry form to your poems. Write neatly on the form. Attach a cheque made out to The Claremont Review for $25.00.  These poems will be considered for the fall issue 2014.  Save these poems under a file called Claremont Review Contest. HAND IN TO ME BY THURSDAY THIS WEEK. 

Claremont Review Submission: Put your name on these poems.  Attach a self-addressed envelope. I will put a stamp on them. I have envelopes. These poems will be considered for the spring issue. ENSURE THAT THESE POEMS HAVE NO ERRORS! GET YOUR FRIENDS TO READ AND READ AND RE-READ YOUR ENTRIES. CHECK FOR IT'S / ITS  THEIR / THERE / THEY'RE  Not having all caps at the beginning of each line. Dashes are dashes and hyphens are hyphens. a.m. and am can be distinguished. No bolded or underlined titles. All works are left justified. Titles are over the poems. Your name appears under the poem. You save these poems under the file Claremont Review Submission on your hard drive as they will ask you for an electronic version if they decide to publish you. HAND IN TO ME BY THURSDAY THIS WEEK. 


BCTELA contest: Two poems. No name on the poems. Attach the BCTELA form to the poems. Check that there are no errors. Save these two poems under a file called BCTELA submission 2014.  HAND IN TO ME BY THURSDAY THIS WEEK. 

WED: Poet and Entrepreneur Wendy Morton will be in the school to teach us how to write poems for people. 

I handed out the form below which must be completed and submitted by Thursday. 

KEEPING TRACK:  Read slowly and carefully. Learn.

COMPLETE THE CHART AND SUBMIT TO ME BY ________________________________________

NAME: ________________________________________________________________

TITLE OF VENUE
WHAT THEY LOOK FOR
TITLES OF MY SUBMISSIONS
JESSAMY STURSBERG NATIONAL CONTEST FOR YOUTH
2 poems, sent electronically. They look for language poems, surprise, structure, pantoums, prose poems, villanelles, glosas, list poems, or poems about youth or family or a rant
1.     ___________________________________________ 
2.     ___________________________________________

THESE POEMS CAN BE THE SAME ONES YOU SEND TO BCTELA OR TO POLYPHONY OR TO AERIE BUT NOT TO THE CLAREMONT REVIEW.
Aerie International
Submit electronically and include a photo in jpeg format. Follow their directions carefully.
1.     ________________________________________________
2.     ________________________________________________

THESE POEMS CANNOT BE THE SAME ONES YOU SEND TO POLYPONY OR THE CLAREMONT REVIEW.
Polyphony H.S. Magazine


Edited by students. They are very picky. Send them the poems which are absolutely clear and easy to follow. You must make an on-line account to submit.
1._____________________________________________________
2._____________________________________________________

THESE POEMS CANNOT BE THE SAME ONES YOU SEND TO AERIE OR THE CLAREMONT REVIEW.
BCTELA CONTEST: PROVINCIAL
DO NOT PUT YOUR NAMES ON THE POEMS. ATTACH THE POEMS TO THE COVER SHEET I GAVE YOU. FILL IN THE SHEET NEATLY.
1._______________________________________________________
2.________________________________________________________

THESE TWO POEMS MAY BE THE SAME ONES YOU HAVE SENT ELSEWHERE.
CLAREMONT REVIEW SUBMISSION
FREE TO ENTER
SEND 2 TO 4 POEMS

YOU KNOW WHAT THEY LIKE.  SEND A VARIETY OF STYLES AND SUBJECTS.
THESE POEMS CANNOT BE THE SAME ONES YOU SEND TO AERIE OR POLYPONY OR JESSAMY STURSBERG.

PUT YOUR NAMES ON THESE POEMS. FILL OUT THE SUBMISSION FORM AND THE SELF-ADDRESSED ENVELOPE AND ATTACH IT ALL TOGETHER WITH A PAPER CLIP. NO STAPLES.

1.__________________________________________________
2. _________________________________________________
3. _________________________________________________
4. _________________________________________________
CLAREMONT REVIEW CONTEST

$25.00 (FOR 3 POEMS, 1 STORY (WHICH WE WILL DO LATER)
YOU GET A ONE YEAR SUBSCRIPTION FOR ENTERING

HARD TO TELL WHAT THEY LIKE BECAUSE THE JUDGES ARE DIFFERENT EVERY YEAR SO SEND A VARIETY.
THESE POEMS CANNOT BE THE SAME ONES YOU SEND TO AERIE OR POLYPOHONY OR JESSAMY STURSBERG.

DO NOT PUT YOUR NAMES ON THESE POEMS. ATTACH TO THE ENTRY FORM.

1.     _______________________________________________
2.     _______________________________________________
3.     _______________________________________________


Monday, November 4, 2013

English 12: Writing the Memoir: Bring all of your ideas!!

 Homework: Finish the draft tonight. If you want me to edit it, have it on my desk by 9 a.m. You need to create a front and back cover as well. Look at the front cover of your USSR book. What are its design features? What is on the back cover?

Don't worry about the press release as we have run out of time.
We start our poetry unit tomorrow and a novel for USSR but the novels will not be available until Monday. If you would like to get a copy now, visit the library and ask for Catcher in the Rye.

HOW DO I START?

Here are some sample openings to published memoirs:
How to start my memoir

Writing this 1500 word memoir is the preparation you need to be ready to achieve a 6/6 on your section D--creative composition on your provincial exam.

You have written several pieces all year. Go back, cut and paste, focus on style. Focus on keeping your reader's interest.

As you write about an event in your life, you also get the privilege of reflecting on the incident, what you learned, what regrets you have, what you wish you could do now, the people in your life, the betrayals, the support, the losses, the gains.


Writing 12: Email your manuscript before you print it out!!

Good luck writing and re-writing tonight.

BE SURE TO RE-READ THE HOW TO SET UP YOUR MANUSCRIPT SHEET THAT I GAVE YOU.

  • DO NOT UNDERLINE OR BOLD YOUR POEM TITLES
  • CHECK AND RE-CHECK SPELLING, PUNCTUATION, CAPITALIZATION
  • CUT REDUNDANT WORDS: HOT SUN, LOYAL DOG, BALLERINA DANCER ETC
  • END ON AN IMAGE
  • REVIEW THE CRITERIA FOR THE POEMS!!!
  • INCLUDE A BIO
  • INCLUDE YOUR CONTACT INFO
Also, tomorrow we will be sending your work out to publishers.
Have all your poems available electronically.

Arrive with the following poems printed (extra copies)
  • 3 poems for The Claremont Review Contest and $25.00
  • 2 to 3 poems for The Claremont Reivew submission
  • 2 poems for the BCTELA 
  •  
  •  
All of the other contests are electronic.
YOU NEED A JPEG PHOTO OF YOURSELF TO SUBMIT TO AERIE INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE.

The manuscript is worth 50% of your mark. It is worth your time. 

English 10: Your typed, edited essay introduction is due . . .

If you were absent today, be sure to contact a homework buddy as you missed THE most important lesson of the year: HOW TO CHANGE A QUOTATION LOG INTO AN ESSAY.

Tues: Bring two printed copies of your introduction. One to hand in for marks, the other to use to write your body paragraphs during class tomorrow.

Bring a laptop if possible. I have 13 computers in the room.

Have an electronic copy of your introduction available as well so that you can copy and paste the body paragraph topic sentences from your introduction to your body paragraphs.

Tonight: As you edit, re-read the sample introductions I gave you in the two packages. Use vocabulary from our list. Focus on sentence variety, strong verbs and synonyms. Repeat the thesis in the final line with an emotional tone. Don't forget to italicize the title of the novel.

Double space.
Thanks for being such an amazing class!

Friday, November 1, 2013

Hi Susan,
 Block 1- I was late for this block as the ADS called me at 6:01 and 6:10 am to cancel me for today. Apperently this happened to another TOC in the building too. The IT guys are trying to figure out what happened, but no solution yet.
 Anyways! Got to school at 9:25 and a counsellor was looking after the class; I told Christine they were to watch TKAMB so that's what they were doing when I got here, but they have 10 mins left on the DVD. Wasn't quite timed right like it would have been otherwise. Abby and Antonia worked in the library. Vince worked on his quiet logs;  however, Nolan did not want to. They know logs due Monday, markers and printing prior to class. They were told and it is also written on the board.
 I reminded them about field trip money as did the counsellor( sorry, don't know her name.)

 Block 2: Writing 12. Reminded them of field trip money. I couldn't find your poetry folder to return their work... sorry. Wrote all the writing instructions on board re: it's and its, cut out wordiness etc and told them to write it all down for reference.
  Small class but they all worked well.

 Block 3: subbed for Allison
 Block 4: They've all pleaded ignorance on the rubric lol so I've photocopied a bunch and handed them out again!! Another small class, but they worked well in the lab.

               Cheers,
                            Hilary