ENG1141 Sears SP2022

Review of Poetic Forms and Poetic Terms

Below is a list of the poetic terms and forms we’ve discussed in course activities and lectures:

Abecdarian (to be discussed on Tuesday, March 2) 1) How to Write an Abecedarian, Part 1; 2) How to Write an Abecdarian, Part 2: Examples
Free Verse: 1) Free Verse, Part 1: Description; 2) Free Verse, Part 2: Examples on this Site; (also here)
Pantoum: 1) How to Write a Pantoum, Part 1 2) How to Write a Pantoum, Part 2: Examples on this site
Repetition
Sestina: 1) How to Write A Sestina, Part 1; 2) How to Write a Sestina, Part 2 (Descriptions); 3) How to Write a Sestina Sestina 4) Sestina Examples on this site
Spoken Word: 1) Spoken Word, Part 1: Description 2) Spoken Word, Part 2: Examples on this site

For the Poetry Quiz on Thursday, March 3:

Here is what to study for the short answer and multiple choice section of the quiz:

How many lines are in a complete pantoum?
How many lines are in a complete sestina?
Be ready to describe and/or recognize through multiple choice definitions of the following terms: Metaphor, Poesis, Simile, Stanza, Teleuton,

You will also be asked to brainstorm and freewrite on a a designated topic incorporating one simile or metaphor. (1 paragraph) This free write does not have to be a poem.

Two student sestina stanzas from last semester

As an additional follow up to Session 6 (see all follow-up links here), here are two student examples from last semester’s discussion board on the sestina. Remember you only have to do two, but you can write the full 36 lines of the sestina if you are inspired.

Example 1:

Words: bat, crime, people, mind, building, man

In the night he sees the BAT
a hero to some always stopping CRIME
his job, his calling save the PEOPLE
his only weapon, his MIND
watching atop of BUILDING
in reality he’s just a MAN

trying to be more than just a MAN
behind the walls of the BUILDING
he tries to stop the worst CRiME
some nights he can’t save the PEOPLE
those nights his greatest weapon is his greatest weakness, his MIND
in the end he’s just a BAT

Example 2:

Words: Dad, restaurant, food, fire, hands, home

Here is my dad,
working in his restaurant.
He will cook the food,
the wok on intense fire,
the drops of hot oil drop on his hands.
Late always he comes home.

Makes me wonder does he misses home?
I wonder because he is my dad.
I once saw his rough hands,
they were formed in his restaurant.
One cause, is the high fire.
Another, the heavy and amount of cook food.

Customers will order for food.
He hardly cook at home.
Does he ever hate this stove fire?
I am not blaming my dad.
I know he work hard in his restaurant.
I just want some rest to be on his hands.

And not just his hands.
A break from cooking food.
A break from his restaurant.
A break to be home.
A break for my dad.
A break from burning fire.

The discussion board is here: Session 6: Writing the Sestina

Session 6: Follow Up Links and Sestina Discussion Board

Writers,

Good work tackling the sestina today. Many students have found this work fun when viewed as a word challenge and there are many inspiring sestinas out there. I’ll list follow-up links here and the Discussion Board link at the end of this post:

Understanding the Sestina Form:

The How to Write a Sestina Sestina shown in today’s session
Description of the Sestina on our OpenLab site
Examples of sestinas on our OpenLab site, including two by Raych Jackson who we saw perform today in class
Two sestina examples from last semester students in this class
Remember: the sestina is 39 lines long. There are six stanzas of six lines each ending with a “telethon” and then a three line “envoi.”

The discussion board is here: Session 6: Writing the Sestina

For the discussion board, you only have to write the first two six line stanzas.

If you have questions: jsears@citytech.cuny.edu

Follow-up Links: Session 5

Writers,
As we discussed in class, spoken word is a lot about community and connection and I hope you felt both as we listened to and spoken words today.There is no discussion board as you spoke your ideas out loud to your peers. However, as we are beginning a discussion of the poetic form called the sestina in class on Tuesday, please read two or three of these sestinas before we meet on Tuesday:

Links to the spoken word poems discussed in today’s class are here:

Write on everyone!

Breaking the Line Discussion Board and LAF Contest

Writers,

Great work on the Discussion Board! Some of you are doing interesting things with line breaks, in particular Scanio and Janet Lu! See them on the board (and you can still post if you haven’t). The link is HERE. Remember to log in if you are trying to post.

I’ll see you soon in class at 2:30 pm! I’ll mention this also in class, but here is information about submitting work to the LAF contest and attending the event on ZOOM with poet Layli Long Soldier.

2022 Literary Arts Festival Writing Competition Final

Session 4: Intro to Free Verse Follow-Up Links and Homework

Writers,

Please remember to post the poems you wrote in today’s class on our discussion board HERE: Session 4: Breaking the Line. Use the instructions provided in class to create short free verse with line breaks. Remember that free verse is about sound, rhythm, and the feeling of improv. Have fun! We turned two sentences into poems in class. You can write more if you want but stay on the topic provided in class.

We reviewed work by:

Perdomo, Willie. How Beautiful We Really Are (video)
Olivarez, José. Getting Ready to Tell My Dad ‘I Love You,’ It Rains.
Williams, William Carlos. This Is Just to Say

We also discussed line breaks, free verse, and similes.

Write on and remember to post!

A Very Sad Love Poem (written by all of you!)

All,
Thanks for posting on our OpenLab Discussion Board! It’s a bit of an anti-Valentine but fun to read! You all came up with some interesting similes (an important poetic term). Here are some lines put together from each pair (or, read the full poems from everyone on the discussion board HERE:

I feel horrible. She doesn’t
Love me and I wander around
The house like…..

…like she wasn’t
There, trying not to make a sound

…like I’m her least favorite food

…like a lost mouse looking for a crumb of bread or cheese
Squeak!

…like she doesn’t even give me a chance to talk.
This unrequited love is gone,

….like a lost dog with no place to run
feeling trapped with the thoughts of loneliness

…like it doesn’t really matter…
Because who really are we?
Just a spec of dust lost
within the galaxy

…like a zombie, shuffling
from room to room looking for food
that I can stuff my face with
and forget about my problems.

…like a sulking sloth but I try to look happier when I am around her.

…like what there is plenty of fish in the sea.
…like Hold on, put your cup down, drink freely, holla at me if you need me, baby

…like a dog in a shelter who watches

..like every other pet gets picked
but me.

(Before class, remember to read “Getting Ready To Tell My Dad ‘I Love You,’ It Rains”)

Session 3: Discussion Board and Follow Up Links

Nice seeing everyone today in class. For homework, do the following two things:

Post the poem written in class on the discussion board. Only one person per pair needs to post, but be sure to list both names on the board. The link to the discussion board is here: https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/groups/eng1141-sears-sp2022/forum/topic/session-3-discussion-board-shared-composition/
Read Jose Olivarez’s poem “Getting Ready to Tell My Dad I Love You, It Rains” for our class on Tuesday. This post also has the poem we read in today’s class, “Mexican American Disambiguation.”

See you in class on Tuesday, Feb. 15!

Discussion Board Notes

Writers,

Thank you for submitting posts to our last discussion board. A quick roundup:

Some of you wrote about dinners with enough details to make us all hungry; others wrote about movies and dreams. There is a letter to an entire football team! There are gratitude lists, (including a hats off to teachers willing to write recommendations). A thoughtful exploration of why writing about what we always involves risk. Another writer discusses the painful experience of being bullied.

As these were written in response to the idea of keeping a “Writer’s Notebook,” keep in mind that writing is act of courage. Like Joan Didion suggests, we sometimes write in order to discover what it is we need or have to say. As writers, we write to discover ideas. We don’t know where we’ll end up. (More on that in today’s discussion of poetry.)

The responses you gave each other also were valuable. Writing is very much about listening to and reading what others write. We’ll write more in class today at 2:30 pm! If you haven’t had a chance to post or to respond to another writer’s post, here is the link to the discussion board:

Discussion Board: Writers Notebook Prompt 1

See you at 2:30 pm

ENG 1141 Session 2: Follow Up and Homework

Writers,
Thanks for writing and reading your words in today’s class. Before I see you on Thursday, please (1.) post on our discussion board (instructions below) and (2.) read two poems.

Homework

1. Post your free write on the Discussion Board: Writer’s Notebook Entry 1. The instructions (which were also given in class): respond to one of the Writer’s Notebook Prompts on the prompts for Journaling on our OpenLab site. You can post what you wrote in class or write a new response.

- The discussion board: Discussion Board: Writer’s Notebook Entry 1
- The two sheets with journaling prompts to choose from are HERE and HERE (from class) Respond to only one prompt.
- Respond to the person who posted before you.

2. Read the following in preparation for our class on poetry on Thursday:

- - Billy Collins Introduction to Poetry
  - Soldier, Layli Long. Obligations 2
  - This poem is optional: Amanda Gorman The Hill We Climb (video and text)

That’s it for homework. Below are links to resources used in today’s discussion. These are not assignments, just links for further reading:
Jalal al-Din Rumi, “Don’t Go Back to Sleep”
What is a Writer’s Notebook? Three Sources
Baldwin, James. Paris Review Interview: No. 78
Butler, Octavia. “Furor Scribendi”
Didion, Joan. “On Keeping a Notebook”

Write on! Email with questions: jsears@citytech.cuny.edu

ENG1141 Sears SP2022

Review of Poetic Forms and Poetic Terms

Two student sestina stanzas from last semester

Session 6: Follow Up Links and Sestina Discussion Board

Follow-up Links: Session 5

Breaking the Line Discussion Board and LAF Contest

Session 4: Intro to Free Verse Follow-Up Links and Homework

A Very Sad Love Poem (written by all of you!)

Session 3: Discussion Board and Follow Up Links

Discussion Board Notes

ENG 1141 Session 2: Follow Up and Homework

The OpenLab at City Tech:A place to learn, work, and share

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The OpenLab at City Tech:A place to learn, work, and share

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Accessibility

Copyright

Creative Commons