Friday, December 4 - Delving In, A Close Reading

1) Silent Reading or Last Chance to do Poetic Terms Quiz

2) A Close Reading (Check out Discovering Literature, pp. 482 - 484, for tips on how-to, including a student example.)

3) In Class Example - The Fish by Elizabeth Bishop, p. 615

4) The Delve- In Model - not for everybody... but a model that can help you to see ways to add depth to your paragraphs. It's an easy way to say more.

5) The Poem Analysis Assignment - Due as a part of your poetry booklet Friday, Dec. 11th.

• Read the following poems and select ONE to study, analyse and write about.

Fern Hill, p. 626 - an idyllic classic

anyone lived in a pretty how town, p.628 - an e.e. cummings masterpiece

The Windhover, p. 633 - a uniquely powerful look at faith

I Go Back to May 1937, p.664 - a brutal confessional poem about parents

• Line by line consider the poem - take in the poem as a whole.
• Determine the speaker, the setting, the tone, the diction (types of words used), figurative language, the theme. Refer to your Questions to ask of a Poem handout.
• Brainstorm or List or Doodle or photocopy the poem and write all over it (I recommend this) - find the pre-writing tricks that work for you.
• Organize your central idea, your thesis statement - know this first before you start writing.
• Prepare a multi-paragraph explication of the poem you have selected. Yes, I wrote, EXPLICATION - it sounds like some Biology term... it sort of reminds me of dissecting a frog... but this won't smell as bad nor harm any small creatures. I think.

I have Tuesday (we will definitely go this day) and Thursday (if we need it) booked in the library.

Thursday, Dec. 3rd - Spoon River Readings

1) Silent Reading or do the poetry terms quiz if you missed that day.

2) Introduction to the Spoon River Anthology.  You can read all 244 dramatic poems here if you so desire. We will only look at a few in class. Terms - Monologue, Epitaph.

3) What makes for a great oral reading? First, take a moment to understand a poem's cues. Then watch three videos from the Favourite Poem Project. Develop our criteria ___/24

In groups read and present on one of the Spoon River poems. Discuss speaker, tone, diction (word choice), theme...
4) Write your own Epitaph Poem... about yourself, a public figure, a historical figure, anyone you know.

Home work: Begin the hunt for the poem you will read at our "poetry cafe" next week.

Wednesday, December 2nd - Parody Poems

1) Silent Reading

2) Announcement - Yup - I changed my mind... I tried and tried to find a way to talk about the dream state and poetry with a close look at Kubla Kahn but it all just sounded too preposterous even for me to tolerate. Instead, let's talk about Parody. But ,before we do, let's make some changes to the poetry project and the criteria... (will up date this with new document soon).

3) Dover Beach (p.597)   and  Dover Bitch.

4) Love is Not All and Ya, Love is not Meat.

5) Parody Poem - (instead of dream poem) Select any significant literary poem. Determine its qualities. Who is the speaker? What type of words are used? What is the tone? Theme?

Now write a parody of that poem. Mock the tone, address the presumptions of the original speaker. Be playful and witty.

Put the rough copy in your journal. The good copy will come in with your poetry booklet.

Tuesday, December 1st - A Lyrical Education

1) Silent Reading

2) Review - Yesterday? Remind me to review paradox.

3) Poems today are actually the lyrics of a song:

I am a Rock by Paul Simon (Simon and Garfunkel)

4) Read: The Other Education, an editorial about the importance of the musical "education" that we give ourselves.

5) Round Robin Discussion - What kind of musical education are you providing for yourself? If someone picked up your Ipod and listened, what would they learn about you and maybe even about your values?

6) Time to work on Poetry Project.You can peruse Discovering Literature for a favourite poem, for instance.

7) Homework: Try to remember your dreams and write them down in your journal or somewhere...

Monday, November 30th - True Confessions

TOC - You will need to print off and then photocopy the poetry project handout. If you have any trouble, please ask Tami Jerome, the librarian, to assist you. Enjoy the day!

1) Silent Reading

2) Sharing - anyone care to share their absurdist poem or story from their journal?
   Listen to Matt B's And Mike T's song from the Death of a Salesman Project (in computer).

3) Confessional Poetry - Click here for some notes and ideas to discuss.
                                  Daddy by Sylvia Plath - p. 914 - Read and discuss.
                                  (Remember the Q's to ask of a poem.)
                                  Others that could be read and discussed (in groups?):
                                  Anger by Linda Pastan, p. 556
                                  Quake Theory by Sharon Olds, p. 733
                                  On My First Son by Ben Jonson, p. 683
                                  The Boy Died in my Alley, p. 835

4) Poetry Project - the next two weeks of your life will be poetic. Welcome to the Personal Poetry Project.
Go over handout. I'll provide more detail tomorrow.

5) Today's Journal Work - Brainstorm around a profoundly transformative moment in your life - whether the stuff of tragedy or comedy... sketch out some ideas and begin to play with the right words to draft step one of the personal poetry project - the Autobiographical Poem.

6) Homework - bring in some favourite lyrics to consider tomorrow.

Friday, November 27th - Absurd Nonsense

1) Poetic Devices Review Quiz and creative journal check

2) Some of my most favourite poems make no sense at all. Or do they?

The Emperor of Ice Cream by Wallace Stevens

Jabberwocky by Lewis Carrol

3) Journal Work - 20 Little Poetry Projects (paper handout) or Absurdist Story (write a story that, much like a dream or stream of concious writing, makes sense mostly on an intuitive level).

Did you know that the absurd can make you smarter? Read this article and then check out the Kafka story.


HOMEWORK - Bring in a bunch of your favourite music lyrics on Monday. Catch up on your journal work.
Coming Soon - An in-depth study of a poem of your picking...

Wednesday, November 25 - Little Poems

1) Announcements - Quiz on Friday, Tomorrow is a day off...

2) Little Poems Study

This is Just to Say - p. 491
The Red Wheelbarrow - p. 614

You Fit Into Me
You fit into me
like a hook into an eye

a fish hook
an open eye
Margaret Atwood

I'm nobody! Who are you? - p.804

3) LEAF Poems - Journal Assignment (and class display)

Write as many four word poems (each word beginning with the following letters L E A F) as you possibly can. Write them in large and bold letters on green paper. Cut it into the shape of a leaf. Put your name on the back. Use a dictionary or thesaurus for ideas. Put your favourite two into your journal.