Before class on Tuesday, November 9, do the following:

READ and WATCH:

During class, we will…

  • Discuss voice & style in poetry and Chin’s poem/reading.
  • Talk about writing poetry:
    • Have you written poetry before?
    • What was your experience?
  • I’ll introduce the homework and we’ll look at a few of the prompts.

During and after class, students will…

  • Put two published poems you found under “Poems! Poems! Poems! (you can either copy and paste the entire poems or just copy and paste the URLs, if they are online). Just hit “reply” and paste!
  • Go to this website. It’s a site that has writing prompts for poetry. Each prompt has a poem. There are several, so survey the prompts and then choose at least four you’re attracted to.
  1. Read the prompt and poem carefully. Read the poems first for enjoyment, then examine how each poet “does it.” What’s their style? Formal, conversational, something in between? What’s their voice? How do they express their unique self?
  2. Next, I want you to match the poet’s style and voice with your own words (not copy, of course, but try to follow their word choices–if they use slang, use slang, if they have rhythm or rhyme, use rhythm or rhyme). See if it works. If it does, great, but if it doesn’t, don’t stress. Look at other poems and prompts.
  3. You need to compose four poems. The first draft of your poems need to be ready by November 18!

By 11:59 PM on Thursday, November 11, students need to do the following:

  • Read your classmates’ favorite poems under and comment on at least two of them.
    • In the “reply” section, state what you think the style and voice are for each poem.
    • For example, how would you describe the voice and style of Staceyann Chin’s work? How about Shakespeare (as Hamlet)? There’s not necessarily one “right” answer here—describe it the best you can!
  • Keep writing your own poetry using the Poets & Writers website.
  • Revise your second short story and post it by 11:59 PM on Thursday, November 11. Title it Full Name, Short Story 2 (Revised) and save it under the category Short Stories.