ONE MORE THING

"It is difficult
to get the news from poems
yet men die miserably every day
for lack
of what is found there."

--William Carlos Williams
-

GETTING IN THE GROOVE OF POETRY...

Hello Everyone!

It was a much more lively class yesterday. Thanks to everyone who showed up and participated in the class discussions. Sorry to Morgan and Jessica who didn't get a chance to present. You'll get first go on Tuesday.

HOMEWORK FOR NOVEMBER 3, 2009

1 ****WRITE A 10 LINE POEM, with 10 syllables per line (5 beats). If you weren't in class yesterday, read the section on the sonnet in the book to better understand how syllables per line work. (Two syllables make up a beat.) To make it easier (trust me it will make it easier) below is a list of words that I'd like you to use in the poem. For example, the first line of your poem should contain the word 'fire;' the second line 'do,' third line 'far' etc. Give this a try. Just start writing and let the words and images flow. Also, this does not have to rhyme. Do not try to rhyme if it doesn't come to you naturally. My favorite poems do not rhyme. The only requirements are that your poem have ten lines and ten syllables per line.
Here are the words for each line:


POEM ASSIGNMENT

1, FIRE
2, DO
3, FAR
4, RISE
5, LOVE
6, STAND
7, APART
8, TAKE
9, HILLS
10, ROSES


Still confused? Email me at lcupolo@gmail.com


2, Read the poems for Tuesday's class (at left). Make notes in your journals about meaning, meter (that means the set up of the stanzas and the lines and beats per line), and imagery/metaphor.

The rain continues to be gruesome today but it will brighten up tomorrow. Hope you have a horrific and happy Halloween! Be safe!

Who's up next, and the sonnet...! Yahoo

Hi Everyone,
Today was kind of a low energy day in the classroom. I'm just getting over a cold/flu that I had all weekend and it's raining again and I gave back your papers....so I'm sure that is a lot of it. I feel like we need to 'jazz up' our energy about these poems and talk more. The world is not divided up into "poetry people" or "non-poetry people." We are all people hoping to appreciate good writing.
We need to embrace what Robert Frost says about the poem:

Poetry is a way of taking life by the throat.
-Robert Frost


Listen to the sounds of the words and the language used and the arrangement of the lines and muster some wonder about the craft and talent it takes
To put a poem together.

For Thursday,please read the prescribed poems at left and make journal entries for each of them.

Also, read the sonnets section, pg 856 - 862.

1, Write journal notes on "Acquainted with the Night" in regards to its meaning and form
2, Choose one other sonnet to write about in your journal. Choose lines that you like and explain their meaning.

Poems for Tuesday October 27, 2009

Please read the following poems closely and write your reactions in your journal in regards to the poem's style, meaning, verse, diction. Try and have questions prepared for students who are presenting.

1, Frost, "Fire and Ice," --Amanda Voyles
2, Frost, "The Road Not Taken," -- Andrew Walkley
3, Sir Walter Raleigh, "Life" -- Justin Falk (will post this poem at left)
4, Percy Shelley, "Ozymandias" -- Chase Jones
5, Poe, "Annabel Lee" -- Jessica Wargo

For Thursday October 22, 2009

Read all the poems on the left. Read them twice.

Then, for EVERY poem, in your journal:

1, Write your immediate reactions to the poem. Did you like it, hate it, understand it, etc.

2, Record words, phrases, lines, that had an effect on you. Positively or negatively.

NO CLASS TODAY!!!!

Hi Everyone,

I've canceled class today. I'm feeling awful. I have emailed many of you whose address I have.

I was really looking forward to today's class. We were going to listen to Bob Dylan AND study the lyrics.

I will try and post the songs on my blog:
1,It's Alright, Ma
2,Spanish Boots or Spanish Leather
3, The Times they are A Changin'

Please check the blog over the weekend!!

ALSO, VERY IMPORTANT
ON THE LEFT COLUMN OF THIS POST is the schedule for poetry presentations. PLEASE FIND YOUR NAME AND NOTE THE DATE OF YOUR PRESENTATION.

1, If your name is scheduled for Thursday, October, 22, please email me at lcupolo@gmail.com to confirm that you received this email and will be ready to present after break, one week from today.

2, If your name is not on the list, please email me (lcupolo@gmail.com) and talk to me about your poem or why you haven't signed up.
.

Have a great break!

ahhhh, Poetry

Here is the first lesson in case any of you missed it or want to review it.

Ahhh, Poetry

S o u n d Is Everything

Alliteration

·  "The soul selects her own society."
(Emily Dickinson)
or

“Peter Piper picked…”

Assonance

"It beats as it sweeps as it cleans."
(Slogan for Hoover vacuum cleaners)

"I must confess that in my quest I felt depressed and restless."
(Thin Lizzy, "With Love")

Onomatopoeia

  "One of these days, Alice. Pow! Right in the kisser!"
(Jackie Gleason, The Honeymooners)

  "Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh what a relief it is."
(slogan of Alka Seltzer, U.S.)

Rhythm                      Rhyme

Meter

Enjambment

          Sonnets

Repetition

Syllable count

 Euphony          cacophony

Stressed and unstressed syllables

METAPHOR

Michael Stillman (b. 1940)

In Memorian, John Coltrane

Listen to the coal

rolling, rolling through the cold

Steady rain, wheel on

Wheel, listen to the

Turning of  the wheels this night

Black as coal dust, steel

On steel, listen to

These cars carry coal, listen

To the coal train roll.

Listening to a Voice

My Papa’s Waltz

My Papa's Waltz

The whiskey on your breath
Could make a small boy dizzy;
But I hung on like death:
Such waltzing was not easy.

We romped until the pans
Slid from the kitchen shelf;
My mother's countenance
Could not unfrown itself.
The hand that held my wrist
Was battered on one knuckle;
At every step you missed
My right ear scraped a buckle.
You beat time on my head
With a palm caked hard by dirt,
Then waltzed me off to bed
Still clinging to your shirt.

Short Story ESSAYS due on Tuesday!

First of all,

THANK YOU TO THE 14 PEOPLE WHO ACTUALLY SHOWED UP TO CLASS ON THURSDAY!

I may have been a little hard on your essays, but I think you'll do better because of it.

HElpful hints about writing an essay:
1, Be sure to read your work out loud. Or read it out loud and to someone else. You'll HEAR a lot of the repetition in the lines and also the extra words that need to be cut out.
2, If you haven't yet. please feel free to send me your essay for a quick once over and hopefully I can GET back to you quickly.

3, Use enough quotes to support your thesis, at least 3 and as many as 9! Make sure the quotes match the claim you are trying to make. 
Good luck!
COME TO CLASS ON TUESDAY AND BRING YOUR FINAL AND BEST PAPER!

POETRY BEGINS on Tuesday, like it or not, and I think you'll like it.
**It will be the same format in many ways, in that I'll assign poems and you'll READ them closely and journal about them and then we'll talk and do group work. But at the beginning of each class we'll have 4 to five presentations.

* IF YOU still have not talked to me or emailed me about your poem or poet, I'll have to assign you a poem. If you don't want that, come and talk to me!

*If WOULD LIKE TO VOLUNTEER TO be in the first group to PRESENT YOUR POET AND POEM  I'd really appreciate it. Please email me or talk to me after class on Tuesday.

Can't wait to read your final papers!

MATH is NOT my STRONG POINT

DEAR STUDENTS,
It OCCURS to me that 400 - 600 words is not nearly enough to make a good argument for your papers. I thought 400-600 words was 3 to 5 pages, and 3 to 5 pages is ACTUALLY what I'll require for the paper. You'll require it too because I'm sure you've noticed how difficult it is to prove a point with so few words.  I'm so sorry for this late change to things.

We'll talk about it in class tomorrow too.

Draft of Essay is DUE tomorrow!

Hi Everyone,
- A draft of your 1st essay is due tomorrow and we'll do in class peer editing.  
- Please work as hard as you can on these. Remember, the more time you spend on the essay, the better it'll be, the better your mark.

 - Also, I will bring in a host of poems that we'll read and examine.

Please email me if you have any questions. lgcupolo@memphis.edu

For Tuesday, October 6, 2009

What a great class! Even though most of you hadn't pre-read the excerpt from "Peace" by Richard Bausch, you did well at asking him questions. It was a good discussion and very thought provoking.

Since you guys talked me into it, I'll give you until Thursday next week to have a draft of your essay completed. However on Tuesday I want to know what story/stories you are going to be writing about and what question you'll answer.

1, For part of the class we will talk about some of the important elements of writing a good essay and how to structure an essay. Bring your books with you.  

2, We'll also discuss the story "An Ex-Mas Feast" by Uwem Akpan (find it online here, at left)

Have a great weekend!