It’s been quite some time since I’ve taught Creative Writing, particularly poetry. I usually do a short stint in the summers here at the ALC, but poetry is usually relegated to the final couple days.
It’s not that I dislike poetry. It’s just that I like to wait until I can motivate the ALC kids to write before thrusting poetry on them – since poetry tends not to be the true love of 16 year old boys.
This year I tried something different. I decided to start with poetry. If the 16 year old boys hate it, at least we can get it out of the way and I don’t have to dread forcing it upon them in the final week. Plus, I’ll have a sub for the final four days, and I didn’t want to dump poetry on them.
But I couldn’t have been more wrong about this group's dislike for poetry. They have really taken to it.
Yesterday, I had them come up with words that they thought of when they heard the term “poetry.”
Of course, the first word out of one kid's mouth was “fairies.”
I said that’s what I thought once too. But it’s not all “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day” type of poetry. Then I told them how many people tend to recite that sonnet at their wedding; however, it is believed (or at least I recall from my under grad Shakespeare class) that Shakespeare wrote that particular poem about another man.
That woke them up!
Fortunately, there were others who enjoyed poetry – one kid shouted out “Edgar Allan Poe.” Another “Imagery.” Yet, another “Rhyming.”
To say I was pleasantly surprised doesn’t even come close.
From there we started writing our bio poems. The format is listed at the end of this entry.
Then we started on the pantoum, which I have already blogged about.
That went very well. Today they will revise it, type it up, and submit it.
Plus, I want to introduce them to “Found Poetry,” which is where the title for the post originated. I got the idea out of an old English methods text called Bridging English. Found poetry? I had forgotten all about that. So it’s kind of Found poetry squared for me.
The authors of the text suggest ‘finding’ poetry in news articles. Then the student simply takes the article and arranges it as a poem.
We’ll try this today and tomorrow. One of my favorite columns that I always reference in Creative Writing is the News of the Weird column from the Thursday editions of the Star Trib (http://www.newsoftheweird.com/).
That should make for some very interesting poems.
Here is an example I found in the text, which I had marked but had forgotten all about.
Parents
Linda failed to return home from a dance Friday night.
On Saturday
she admitted she had spent the night
with an Air Force Lieutenant.
The Aults decided on a punishment
that would “wake Linda up.”
They ordered her
to shoot the dog
she had owned about two years.
On Sunday,
The Aults and
Linda
took the dog into the desert
near their home.
They
Had the girl
dig a shallow grave.
Then
Mr.s Ault
grasped the dog between her hands and
Mr. Ault
gave
his daughter
a .22 caliber pistol
and told her
to shoot the dog.
Instead,
the girl
put the pistol
to her right temple
and shot herself.
The police said
there were no charges
that could be filed
against the parents
except possibly
cruelty
to
animals.
This was ‘found’ from this headline
“Coed Kills Herself To Spare Pet Do Doomed By Father” from an AP story from Phoenix, AZ.
Now I’m somewhat reluctant to use this poem because the one thing I hate whenever I mix teens and poetry is that god-awful angst ridden (not to mention cliché ridden) poems about death and suicide and drama.
But the news of the weird stories often have a humorous slant to them, so that might help lighten the tone and move students away from blathering on about the perceived drama in their lives. Although that could be a good point to discuss how poetry focuses on the every day events – and it doesn’t always have to be about dramatic issues.
Bio Poem Format –
Line 1: Your first name only.
Line 2: Four traits that best describe you.
Line 3: Sibling of . . ./ or friend of . . .
Line 4: Lover of . . . (people or ideas)
Line 5: Who feels . . . (3 items)
Line 6: Who needs . . . (3 items)
Line 7: Who gives . . . (3 items)
Line 8: Who fears . . . (3 items)
Line 9: Who would like to see . . . (3 items)
Line 10: Resident of (your city), (road name)
Line 11: Your last name only
Here is an early bio poem I found from my second summer teaching at the ALC.
Kurt
Funny, gregarious, center of attention, random-abstract
Sibling of Kevin and Barb
Lover of Kristie, Casey, Koko, music, writing, and horror flicks
Who feels old, young, and absent minded
Who needs love, my family, sun, my lap top, and my kids
Who gives laughs, assignments, and encouragement
Who fears growing old, losing my father, credit cards
Who would like to see my mom celebrate her 70th birthday with my dad, the Bengals win the AFC Central, my master’s complete, a great white shark, and a new house.
Resident of RLF, 413 7th St NE
My how much has changed.
Mom and Dad are gone. We have that new house. I earned my master’s. Kenzie is now on the way. My Bengals even won the AFC Central. Through the losses, life has been wonderful.
Here is an updated bio poem
Kurt
Random-abstract, home body, child like, and absent minded.
Sibling of Kevin and Barb
Lover of Kristie, Casey, KoKo, Kenzie, Einstien, Mischa, Joker, and Kozy . . . and Harry
Potter, Halloween, trips to Grand Forks, Legos, Christmas, desserts, our
house, and lazy summer days.
Who feels loved, out of place with a tool in my hand, and currently too tight in my clothes.
Who needs love, my family, Kristie's laugh, Casey's sheepish grin, KoKo's laugh, Kenzie’s ultrasound picture on my laptop, our
backyard, and my kids.
Who still gives laughs, assignments, and encouragement
Who fears Casey going off to college and KoKo soon after, filling my father’s shoes, the
world Kenzie will have to face, and renovation projects.
Who would like to see Kristie going back to school, Casey paintballing more, KoKo
becoming an artist, Kenzie healthy and happy and our house full of friends and family.
Resident of RLF, 311 4th St SW
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