Poetry 180 PURPLE CLASS SENIORS
PURPLE CLASS ONLY!Let's see. You struggled to name ten poems that you read prior to this class. We've read at least ten already this year, and I bet that you can remember every one. You see? Your knowledge of poetry has increased exponentially.
Check out this list of 180 poems, specially chosen for high school students by Billy Collins (yup, the same one), the former poet laureate of the United States of America.
Read through some of them, find one that you immediately like, then comment on why you like it here at Schoolsville. As much as you may like the poem's meaning, make sure that you comment on its performance, too.
This assignment is due before class begins tomorrow.
Speaking of assignments, I'll remind you that your second attempt to write an original poem is due on Thursday. Feel free to borrow some of the poetic "tricks" from the "performances" on the Poetry 180 site.
posted by JTF @ 9:14 AM
24 comments
24 Comments:
I like the poem 'Radio'. It was very repetitive which added stress to important themes in the poem. I though it was funny because who would write something like that to put on their car so no one would break in? It would either make the person trying to break in pick another car, or break in because now they are interested in what is really in the car. They might think there really is something of value in the car that is at least worth checking out!
“Thanks For Remembering Us” by Dana Gioia was the first poem from the list that I really enjoyed. The poem is about a married couple receiving a bouquet of flowers to their home, but the flowers were sent without a card. The couple does not know who sent the flowers, which makes both of them begin to think the other is having an affair. The flowers beginning to die could signify the marriage beginning to fail because of a “potential” affair. In the end, the couple cannot throw away the flowers because if by mistake they were sent to their house, it is not their gift to throw out.
The first stanza of the poem is the exciting, happy part of the poem. The couple receives a gift; not knowing whom it is from. Then the second stanza shows that not only are the flowers dying, but their relationship might be failing as well. I think Gioia set the poem up well, showing the contrast between the feelings of the poem as well as what action was taking place in the poem. The poet also uses techniques such as alliteration (sickly-sweet) and a simile (“the room smells like a funeral home”).
I read the poem "Remora, Remora" by Thomas Lux. I liked this poem because it describes somewhat of a food chain and describes life. I like it because i do not even necessarily understand the poem completely but the words and phrases are so abstract they catch my attention immediately. My favorite line is one of the last lines when they describe the last feeder shark on the long end of a food chain as "the invisible point of the pyramid, the top beneath all else."
- EG purple
I love the poem, "The Summer I Was Sixteen." I like this poem because it reminds me of my sixteenth summer. I belonged to a swimming pool and went there everyday. We had almost a gang that hung out together and we were carefree and just relaxed all day. We had not a worry in the world just like the author implies that they felt in this poem. No one knows what will happen next in our world and our lives. And the author seems to suggest taking life as it comes, relaxing, and enjoying every moment of our lives.
The author describes the actions of her and those around her during her sixteenth summer. The description in this poem is both poetic and practical. She compares (using a metaphor) the sliding board to an afterthought and she compares cotton candy to sly kisses on shaded benches. The author uses color and food to describe several objects to help us depict a picture of the scene in our mind. She uses alliteration when she says, "benches beneath." The author is very descriptive and lifelike in her written portrayal of her sixteenth summer which ironically is almost identical to my sixteenth summer.
The poem, The summer I was Sixteen, immediately caught my eye when I was looking through the list of poems. As I read it, it reminded me of a fun day I shared with my group of friends at the pool of one of their houses. I like a lot of the word usage in this poem, especially the words “mirage” and “chenille”. These words are both very descriptive in the way they are used in the poem. Also, the poem is separated into five stanzas, but the sentences flow throughout all of the stanzas, they don’t end at the end of the stanza. There is an example of the power of threes- “Cherry. Elm. Sycamore.” This example of words can make you picture the girls laying under the trees in the shade. There is another example of the power of threes when they eat lunch- “Past cherry colas, hot-dogs, Dreamsicles.” I really like how the poem ends, “tossing a glance/through the chain link at an improbable world.” This is showing how the girls are just having a fun day, without a care in the world, and they think that nothing can go wrong.
As soon as I started reading “Some Clouds” by Steve Kowit, I could immediately relate. We are so caught up in the material world that sometimes we forget what it’s like to spend a day outside with the beautiful weather. It is necessary to remove all electronics from your hand and forget about them for a while. One of the greatest feelings is turning your phone off, knowing that nobody can bother you or disrupt what you currently are doing. The speaker talks about how people that are trying to contact him will have to wait until the end of the afternoon. But then the poet reveals the true reason for why he has chosen to be sheltered from everyone else and enjoy the lovely morning. He doesn’t want people calling him to ask whether or not he has heard about what she has done. I don’t think he truly means that she has died, but she has done something that made her dead to him. He would much rather sit outside with the weather blessed upon him, and embrace the nothingness that surrounds him. The poem is strung together as one long stanza. Sentences run onto the next line, and some continue for many lines. The poet could possibly be expressing how the speaker feels at the moment, random and flustered. The speaker wants to escape all that is around him. As he sits outside he begins replaying the past over again in his mind. To direct his thoughts away from this, he sits back and gazes at the billowing clouds in the bright blue sky above him. There is no rhyme scheme. There is a simile when the poet is talking about the sun shining on the tangerines and poinsettias like “so many candles.” When something is on our mind or bothering us, one of the best things to do is separate yourself from your troubles and enjoy the nature around you.
The Poem “ The Summer I was Sixteen” really seemed to catch my attention. The poem is so carefree, like most sixteen year olds are, especially when they are caught up in the heat of the season. They live a world free of worries .It is all about having a good time and making memories that you will carry with you as the seasons change. I was sixteen once, and that summer was one that I will always remember. It was the small things that made me happy-being able to ride with my sunglasses on and the windows rolled down and without a parent sitting next to me, laughing for hours with friends about things that no one else would find funny, spending the days in the hot shining sun and the nights in the cool summer breeze. These were the things I lived for. No worrying about what assignments were do, when I was scheduled to work, or drama among others. Nothing seemed to matter. I knew no time – the date and the hour were unknown. The only thing used to indicate the time was the light of the sun or the glow of the moon. Its like in the summer you live a completely different life, one where nothing else really seems to matter, and responsibility has yet taken our youth.
I read the poem "some clouds" and I really enjoyed the poem. The poem used a lot of descriptive imagery and used colors and images well together. For example the phrase, “blazing poinsettias.” I also liked the way the poem transitions very easily from present into the past. The poem used a very creative metaphor in comparing the clouds to the death of his loved one. The author also compares the beauty of the day to and how that beauty should have warned him that his beauty was gone. It also made me think that she was in the day and she was the reason for making the day so pretty because she was no longer around. Another part of the poem I liked was when he said her ashes were over the city and even the city seemed like it no longer existed without her. Not only did I enjoy the way the poem was written, but I also liked the meaning and story of the poem. In a lot of poetry I can't understand what the message and story is but in this poem it is very clear. The poem is about dealing with death, reminiscing of the past and love. The best part about the poem is that it talks about everyday life can turn it into something pretty to read.
I immediately liked the poem "The Bagel" by David Ignatow. I first clicked on it because I thought it sounded funny to write a poem about a bagel. I thought it was amusing how he compared himself to a bagel. The poet uses good imagery like, "I found myself doubled over and rolling down the street head over heels", to compare his physical appearance to that of a bagel. His use of descriptive words alludes to the roundness of a bagel. (ex: rolled, head over heals, somersault) The poet also uses good vocabulary because I had to look up the word "portent." He compares the bagel to a marvel and he is mad at himself for thinking it's so important and running after it. I found it interesting how his mood changes through out the poem. In the third line he states that he is annoyed and at the end he says that he is now happy with himself. I liked this poem because it was cute and funny. It was short and to the point and I found it relatable. It told a funny story and was amusing and entertaining to read; I think that is an important part of poetry. Billy Collins was right, this poem reminds us that anyone can feel like a child at times.
I read the poem "Tuesday 9:00 AM" by Denver Butson. I liked this poem because it portrays people who are suffering in the most basic form. For example, the man who is on fire could be infuriated over a bad fortune or the lady who is drownings' life could be on a downward spiral with no obvious way out. I like how the poet creates a horrific scene that is played out every morning but not as obvious because people put up walls. The poem is written in free verse carrying a tone that is not the typical rambling of free verse. The poet carries the poem with a tone that would remind one of a crazed person. LW purple
cartoon physics
i liked it because it was comical and light. they talked about how little kids can watch cartoons where you can draw doors on rocks and enter or run off a cliff and not fall till they realize their mistake.
buiscuit
i love dogs. They are energetic, loving, and trusting.
fast break
Figures there's a poem about basketball. But i liked it because it was all one sentence keeps moving.
lift your right arm
i hated this poem. the person that wanted the other person to give them orders angered me. It's as if they have no mind of their own and no desires of their own.
One of the poems I liked was "Halloween" by Mac Hammond. Besides Halloween being one of my favorite holidays I also really enjoyed this poem. I thought that the author used great description when they were describing pumpkin carving. You can actually picture what is going on perfectly. He even continues to explain which shapes the eyes and nose are to give you a more vivid picture. I also like how the author tells you that the sculptor is a warlock "who drops penny candies into their bags." You can picture this person performing this act in their halloween costume. The last sentence of this poem seems almost contradictory since it states that the children pretending are the ones who are real. To me, this means that on Halloween only the children who get dressed up are the ones who look real since everyone else is in costumes as well. Those who do not pretend or get dressed up do not seem to be real on this one night. This poem portrays a dark, cold mood using words such as butcher knife, gooey mess, grim design, down-turned mouth, hideous teeth, and shadows. Overall, this poem shows the deep, scary meaning of Halloween.
The poem I that zapped my attention right away was Key to the Highway by Mark Halliday. This poem talks of remembering an old memory about his pals. There were a few boys in a car with no destination-- just a cassette tape playing Layla & Other Love Songs by Derek and the Dominos. The man in the poem is thinking about what a god night it was that night a long time ago. It seems as if he wishes he could have it back. I like this poem a lot because I can relate. I have lost friends in the past and wonder either where they are now or where they will end up. This poem is more a story which is why it caught my attention. He even remembers actual dialogue and all the songs that were playing which makes it seem so much more real. The poem itself is nicely written. As I see it, the poem is written like a prose poem. Seeing this, the lines are written into poem-like. The lines of the poem are relatively the same size making it almost look like a paragraph like poem.. filled with dialogue. I noticed something else about this poem. The man tells us that "even though it was dark outside, he could feel the music with much dignity." This is an example of personification. The poem describes thoughts that the man has. He says it is obscure to be thinking of this night like this. And of course earlier in this poem,"A key to the Highway" he talks about singing that song. The last lines ends with: "I wonder where we were going that night; i don't know, but it seemed as if we had the key to the highway." I like when poems get you in the end. I believe the last line is one of the best.
My favorite poem that I read was "To a Daughter Leaving Home". I really enjoyed this poem because of the special meaning it has to me now as I am leaving to go to college. My mom and I have a very close relationship and I can picture back when I was a little girl and my mom was teaching me how to ride my bike. The meaning of the poem is that a mother is looking back at when she was teaching her daughter how to ride a bike. I think the true meaning behind this is that it was hard for the mother to let go of her daughter after holding on to her and protecting her for so long. She is reminiscing at that time and all the same feelings are coming back to her as she is leaving for college and is all grown up. Not only does this poem have a great sentimental meaning but it also puts on a great performance. For example, the poem is one big run on sentence with commas after some lines which represents the mom trying to hold on to her daughter and she finally lets go at the end of the poem with a period. Also, the length of the poem is long vertically which could represent the daughter getting taller as she grows up through the years. I also love the use of all the verbs in the poem such as: wobbled, rounding, pulled, screaming, flapping, and waving. Overall, I think this poem was put together very well compositionally and emotionally.
I like the use of repetition in #5, "Lines," by Martha Collins. It's intriguing all the different ways we can use one single four-letter word. the sentences are very brief, sticking mainly to fragmented phrases. You can't help but read this quick & fast like it's a drill of some kind.
I have no idea what #32, "Publication Date," by Franz Wright means, but I love the sound of it. I find it silly, though I might be missing a crucial explication-point that will make me see the poem entirely different. I'm honestly not sure. It's really not what I can tell from a poem, but what escapes me when I read a poem that intrigues me so much. Having an emotion about something you have no idea what it is something I've only experienced with poetry.
#38, "Cartoon Physics, Part 1," by Nick Flynn is something I can relate to, having watched a lot of cartoons. Children really don't need to know all the mysteries of the universe, let them stick to their safe pretend worlds & cartoons for a while. I find the paragraphs odd, separating mid-sentence, and sometimes being only 1 line in length.
My favorite poem that I read was "To a Daughter Leaving Home". I really enjoyed this poem because of the special meaning it has to me now as I am leaving to go to college. My mom and I have a very close relationship and I can picture back when I was a little girl and my mom was teaching me how to ride my bike. The meaning of the poem is that a mother is looking back at when she was teaching her daughter how to ride a bike. I think the true meaning behind this is that it was hard for the mother to let go of her daughter after holding on to her and protecting her for so long. She is reminiscing at that time and all the same feelings are coming back to her as she is leaving for college and is all grown up. Not only does this poem have a great sentimental meaning but it also puts on a great performance. For example, the poem is one big run on sentence with commas after some lines which represents the mom trying to hold on to her daughter and she finally lets go at the end of the poem with a period. Also, the length of the poem is long vertically, which could represent the daughter getting taller as she grows up through the years. I also love the use of all the verbs in the poem such as: wobbled, rounding, pulled, screaming, flapping, and waving. Overall, I think this poem was put together very well compositionally and emotionally.
I read At the Un-National Monument Along the Canadian border by william Stafford. I don't understand why he makes the conclusion that he makes by mocking something good, the un (although the UN has [or had] favortism), and soldiers who died for a good cause, or civilians who died in the fighting, although the title is truthful and honest. In the first two ines, he mocks the places where battles took place, where instead of thoes places serving in memory of people who died fighting for a good cause, or civilians who died in the fighting, and the monument contrary to its purpose, does not serve to honor it, but to mock it, because it did not happen there, so maybe, the monument mocks the event too. The third and fourth lines mock it saying that this was a grass roots effort, saying that the people are the ones who let forgetfulness take the momory, but at the same time it's true, because when the war is over, there is no monument for the dead who lie on the ground, but again it mocks the the people who died, because in some places, not there is not even grass on the groud. In the fifth line, technically, he says that the sky is the limit so we maybe people will be able bring peace to the world. There is a vast contrast in the first stanza, between the sky and the ground. Maybe the sky is said to be heroic because it accepts the people who died, but at the monument site it's like a gaurd who sees no point in it's job because it has no use there.
In the second stanza the birds can have double meaning, they are either silent because they reverence the monument, or because not even they care. In the seventh line, they seem to me to carry the sould of the people who died to heaven. The eighth line summarizes the first stanza because it tells the truth without sarcasm, and the last 2 lines are more concrete and realistic. IK purple.
I liked "The Meadow" by Kate Knapp Johnson. It's about someone waiting for their "withness", a word the author created to describe their other who would never leave them. I like the juxtaposition of her waiting for them at an open window, watching snow collect, and also going far and wide to look for them. I also like the meter and rhyme scheme of the poem; it's kind of off-set so that it feels like it wants to rhyme but it doesn't quite. mw purple.
I enjoyed the poem "Animals" by Miller Williams. I think that almost everybody can relate to it. Most people have had a pet or pets. When they think of that pet, they automatically think of that specific time in their life. Eventually they die and are replaced. The author provides a different way of looking back at the past. I like the way in which the poem is written. The first two lines explain the whole poem. The rest of the lines are supporting the theory of animals representing change. There is no rhyme scheme or meter. Each line goes farther back into the past and makes the reader reflect on how their life has changed since their last animal. Some animals might symbolize a sad or hard time in one's past, others might symbolize the happiest times. I think the poem has a somber tone, considering it involves change and death. The line "when things were different" reminds me more of
"when things were better". I think the last line, "you had almost forgotten", is kind of a reminder to hold on to precious memories because they can be so easily forgotten. AL Purple
Poem: Smoking by Elton Glaser
This poem uses great imagery to portray the act of taking a drag out of a cigarette. There are numerous similies used throughout the poem ("red as a warning light" , "like a shako of horses"). The poem is all one run on sentence separating thoughts by commas and only adding a period at the end. All the lines in the poem appear to be close to the same length except for the second to last line (centennium). It is also interesting how the word centennium has its own line, yet this word is not present in the dictionary. Some alliteration is used ("pull and pump") along with some repetition ("draws back, drawn down"). This poem starts out with the beauty of sparking a lighter and viewing the flame. The speaker then moves onto the actual lighting of a cigarette. However, when you reach the end of the poem, the speaker begins comparing smoking to negative things. He/she obviously knows the negative effects smoking has on the body. The speaker probably realizes the dangers of smoking but doesn't stop due to an addiction. Just like many smokers today, the risk is well known and out there yet people still can't stop.
DM RED
My Favorite poem is "Grammar" by Tony Hoagland. To me this poem breaks away from the normal poems that follow the rules like rhyme scheme. This poem is a free verse poem that takes a story and tells it in a weird way. He did this by trying to describe a girl’s relationship with a guy by using grammatical terms. Giving the poem a different and creative feel. This poem also incorporates nature and bee’s attraction to smell and lights. Just as people are when they see something pure and beautiful. Another reason why I like this poem is because even though everyone in the class wants to have that glow that light above their head, they still clap. They still clap because they know one day they will all have that light. The format of this poem is nothing special just broken down into three paragraphs, no weird shapes or shortened lines. It is Just a simple structure.
I read the poem tuesday 9:00 am by Denver Butson. I like it because he turns an ordinary scene like waiting for the bus to into mayhem and chaos. First a man is reading the paper and suddenly burst into flames, this got my attention right away. I also liked that it was like a game of rock paper scissors. The man on fire could have been saved by the women who was drowning, if she was able to pour the water on him. The frozen women could have been saved by the man on fire if only he stood near her. Finally the bus driver could have saved the women who was drowning but he was being tortured by the man who just got of the bus. The poem makes me think that each person has something wrong with them. For example the man on fire is so mad that everyone at the bus stop can notice. The girl that is drowning might be deeply upset, so she is crying so hard it seems like a water fall. The women who is frozen knows that she should do something to help the girl who is frozen but she can't find it in her to say something. This is why she wants to stand near the man on fire, so she can find something to care about that much. And she can't move because she does not care about the girl too much. The bus driver is too worried about another passenger, which could mean he is thinking about a family member or a friend and doesn't not notice the other problems. I think that the author's message is that sometimes people's problem within themselves get in the way of helping others.
I like the poem “Nights,” by Kevin Hart. It has some sort of rhythm but I’m not sure if it’s iambic or trochaic meter, with each line containing eight syllables, which is challenging to do. The speaker tells of some nights, which I can relate to. He is thinking about tomorrow, though he is so tired, as he explains, “My hands – I rest my head on them/ My eyes—I rest my mind on them;” but he knows that he’ll have to start out on his path tomorrow, whatever it may be. I can relate because I always find myself somewhat thinking about tomorrow and things I have to do and places I have to go. He also compares the past of his life through his dinner ware (such as a chipped dinner plate and a cracked glass) showing his changes in life, as well as the path he must take.
I read the poem “Do You Have Any Advice For Those of Us Just Starting Out?" by the poet Ron Koertge. It was a very interesting way to describe how one should go about writing. It starts out by telling the reader that inspiration doesn't come from the desk, but rather from mother earth. Koertge is trying to tell the reader that beauty is not necessarily found within the realm of humans. Escape the enclosed rooms and run away from the tennis courts. The poem's last few stanzas are what sealed the deal for me. The child in the library who is using books, not for reading, but as blocks to build a tower is conveying the message that not everything has a fixed purpose. It's saying that every little thing on this planet is interesting, one just needs to take the time to look closer. The ending uses the child laughing and being told to be quiet as a metaphor for how we should all write. Write what you want, not what everyone wants to hear.
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