Friday, December 4, 2015

Writing a List Poem based on "A Note"

Beginning with "Life is the only way," write your own list poem using "A Note" as a model. Your poem must use the same (with minor variations) number of words and structure as Szymborska's. Use what you learned this week to compose a stronger poem.
Try to find a rhythm to the words you choose (note the number of syllables as well as the number of words). Be careful to punctuate exactly the same way and be aware of how the poet has used punctuation to divide and compare ideas. Post a copy of your poem to the blog before coming to Wednesday's class.
Be prepared to do a recital of your poem (please practice ahead of time!) and speak for one to two minutes on the process you followed and any difficulties you experienced.  Marks will be assigned as follows: quality of poem—50%; recital—25%; remarks on process—25%. Marks will be entered as a Unit Test, so do your best!

NOTE: Check your formatting carefully after copy and pasting your poem. You'll need to add spacing. Try to have your poem look exactly the same as the original handout if you can!

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Choosing a Favourite Poem

To help you find a poem, here are three online sources of quality poetry. You must find a poem from one of these three sources. Remember that we will work with the poem in group work that day, so be sure to choose well and remember your classmates as an audience. Remember to print a copy to bring to class that day.

Poems at Slate.com (each poem is read by the poet; a good way to decide if you like the way it sounds)

Canadian Poetry Online (from the University of Toronto library; a list of poets that links to poems from each one)

Poetry Daily Archive (alphabetical archive of poems by title; here you can look for an interesting title and see if you can find a poem you like)

Student Writing on Beauty: Just published today, Emma's work, "Finding Beauty" shows how to use Patrick Lane's speech to create a unique work of your own. Remember that your first drafts are due next Friday. It's well worth reading to help you understand how to proceed with your memoir.