Poetry, beautiful poetry!

Daily Update Today's class was a celebration of the more personal side of poetry (and art)--the side where no one is asking you to find literary devices or do deep academic analysis. I wanted to discuss how poetry can be personal and meaningful and moving and profound--something that speaks to us as individuals, as part of life, of being human.

We started out discussing the homework for today--the little snippet of a poem titled "The Golf Links." I enjoyed your analysis of the poem and your reactions to it. That's a great example of a poem that has quite a lot of meaning packed into four short, simple lines.

Following our discussion of "The Golf Links" we looked at seven pieces of art, ranging from painting to sculpture to photography, from several different "schools" of artistic thought. I'll post the pieces below if you weren't in class. We talked about our initial reactions to the art--why we liked/didn't like the pieces and why.

After our art chat, I played a short clip from the film "Invictus," where Nelson Mandela--played by Morgan Freeman in the film--reads the poem "Invictus" by British poet William Ernest Henley. This is an example of a poem that inspires or moves me--not only because of the poem itself but also because of Henley's experiences writing it and Mandela's experiences reading it. It's a remarkable poem in a lot of ways, I think.

I know this already seems like a lot to have covered in one class period, but we still had five or six minutes left to play a game called "Exquisite Corpse" in celebration of April as National Poetry Month. The poems you created as a class were quite interesting! I've also posted them below.

Homework Reminder The final draft of Essay 3 is due on Friday. Be sure to STAPLE your first draft (with my comments) to the final draft. Additionally, you also need to bring a clean second copy of your final draft with all identifying information removed. This is for a department-wide assessment of English 103 and 104. It should be the same essay, just without your name appearing anywhere on it. Bring this on Friday as well, or I will continue to harrass you about it until you do!

Also, I offered you an extra credit opportunity: for 5 points of extra credit, bring (by Monday at the latest) a copy of a poem that inspires or moves you--one that you particularly like or has a special meaning or significance to you. This should be a poem other than one we've read in class this semester. Enjoy!

Art selections from class:

Claude Monet, Water Lilies 1916

Rafaello Monti, Veiled Lady c. 1860
Jackson Pollock, Lavender Mist 1950
Marcel Duchamp, Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2 1912
Ansel Adams, The Tetons and the Snake River 1942
Edvard Munch, The Scream c. 1893

Exquisite Corpse Game--The Poems

The hot sun rose in the black sky.
The hot dog pants in the cold house.
The angry boy punch his crazy mom.
Malad tears quacking to the happy face.

~~~

The beautiful sun screams loudly in the night.
The classroom is a boring place.
A cold night, a silent night, a scary place.
The yellow bird sang on the tall tree.

~~~

A lone wolf runs with a furious pace.
The deformed duckling waddles into the dark abyss.

~~~

The happy man ran up the majestic mountain.
The cold day was windy and blowing trees.
Tepid sunlight rains beautiful bliss.
That crazy person that painted that ugly painting.

~~~

Empty duckling running to the aqueous duct.
The rude girl laughs at the crippled woman.


And there you have it! You are all poets (other than whoever wrote "The classroom is a boring place"--and yes, I really do know who it was!). See you on Friday!