Segue Project & Drafting

Please continue your segue projects. You will be required to have three turns for each "cycle." That's six poems completely.

When you have written your poems put them together with your partner. Keep them in order and give your cycle a title and author credit to you and your partner.

You may also spend your time in lab revising and drafting your previous poem and poem cycle. For the poem cycle, you may take any of the poems or all of them and create a second draft. Keep track of the # of drafts each time you work on a draft.

Drafting schedule (suggested):

Character poem:
1. Compose first draft
2. Correct punctuation/grammar/syntax by putting it into prose
3. Add imagery
4. Add line breaks
5. Add sound elements/meter/rhythm

Poem Cycle:

1. Compose cycle
2. Choose any of the following crafting elements to focus on: line, sound, rhythm, imagery

Segue Poem Cycle:

1. Drafting

Sound & Poetry

Today, we are going to cover sound and rhythm in poetry. There's a lot here and many terms and literary devices you will need to know. I'd suggest you pay close attention (even with computers nearby) as you will be tested on this soon.

After reading Mary Oliver's discussion about SOUND, please look at the following links (you may use your headphones). For each, try to notice sound imagery, rhythm and cadence.

Robert Frost: The Sound of Trees
Robert Frost: Nothing Gold Can Stay
Edgar Allan Poe: The Bells

After viewing, please continue to work on your segue poems. If you have not yet turned in your poem cycles, please do so. You may also work on second-fourth drafts of your poems, paying close attention to imagery, punctuation, stanza use, line length, word choice, and now, sound devices. Make sure you note changes in your draft #'s.

Fascinatin' Rhythm: Music in Poetry

Prosody is the study of sound and word choice in poetry.

Poems originally emerged from songs and music. Lyric poetry, for example, started as a "poem" spoken with the beautiful plucking of a 3-stringed harp called a lyre.

We hear poetry sung or spoken daily when we listen to the radio or to our favorite band.

Poems often have a distinct rhythm or pattern to their rhythm.
The rhythm of poetry includes: beat or syllable count, meter, and something called scansion

Rhythm (also called beat, metrics, versification, etc.) is the comparative speed and loudness in the flow of words spoken in poetic lines.

Words in poetry are selected, not just for content, but also sound or “musicality” of a line. Placement in a line is also important.

Large units of words make up sentences and paragraph in prose; smaller units make up phrases or cadence groups. In poetry this is metrical feet.

Words are not read in isolation, but in small groups (cadence groups).

Ex. When lilacs last// in the dooryard bloom’d
And the great star// early droop’d
In the western sky// in the night.

Metrical Feet:

Two classifications of poetry: open forms; closed forms.

A closed form (traditional poetry), cadence groups form a pattern.
An open form (free verse, mainly), cadence groups do not form a set pattern.
Poetry in open forms tends to stress meaning over versification.

Syllables: individual units of rhythm in a word or line.

Stress: this class. Also, the emphasis placed on a syllable in a word.

Unstressed: lighter stress, not so heavy as the stress above.

Metrical feet:

1-foot = monometer
2-foot = dimeter
3-foot = trimeter
4-foot = tetrameter
5-foot = pentameter (the meter used in sonnets and blank verse lines; very common)
6-foot = hexameter
7-foot = heptameter
8-foot = octameter
9-foot = nonameter
10-foot = decameter

2 Syllable Feet:

Iambic: stress is on the second of two syllable words: ex. reTURN, beCAUSE, atTACK, etc.

Trochee: reverse of the Iambic, stress is on the first of two syllables: MOTHer, SISter, BORing.

Spondee: Both syllables are stressed.

3 Syllable Feet:

Anapest: stress is on the last syllable of a three syllabled word. Ex. Chevro-LET, rockandROLL

Dactyl: stress on first syllable followed by two non stressed. Ex. BU-da-pest, FOR-tu-nate

Other lovely poetic terms you need to know concerning rhythm & line:

Caesura: (plural: caesurae) a pause separating cadence groups (however brief) within a line. If the pause is a result of the end of a line pause, then this is end-stopping.

Enjambement (enjambment): If a line has no punctuation at the end and runs over to the next line, it is called run-on or better yet, enjambement (enjambment).

The Poetic Line

A quick and easy guide to line breaks:

The longer the line, the slower the action or the movement of the poem.

Use longer lines when you want the reader to slow down or the speaker in the poem is taking time to breathe.
Longer lines can also indicate ranting

The shorter the line, the faster the action or movement of the poem.

Use shorter lines when you want the reader to speed up or the speaker in the poem is in a hurry or excited.
Shorter lines can also indicate a simple mindset or persona.

Combine line lengths to speed up or slow down. When combined, the shorter lines become heavier and weighty with meaning. You are putting emphasis on the shorter lines because they stand out on the page from the longer ones.

This works the same way in reverse. A longer line will have emphasis in the midst of a lot of shorter lines.

LINE BREAKS and SPACE

The ends of your lines will emphasize the last word in the line of poetry.
Usually, the last word in a line is a noun. (Most lines end with nouns.)
Poetry without punctuation usually has nouns as end words in their lines so as not to confuse readers. (Most readers stop at the end of a line.)

In poetry that HAS punctuation, make sure you read to the period--do not pause at the end of a line or you will be confused.

Lines can also often end in a verb.
(lines ending in verbs stress the action happening in the poem)
Or an important word that the poet wants to stress

Space, in general, is used to show ‘emptiness’, scattered or fragmented thoughts, parenthesis, and pausing.

Seque Poem Collaborative Project

Seque poem draft:

Write a poem about absolutely anything. So far we have focused on the importance of character (your persona or mask), imagery, and now line. Consider these issues when writing your poem.

A poem should try to say something about the human condition. Remember that the human condition is not always about death and negative feelings. There is that thing called joy as well.

Like the poem cycle "Seques" your poem will begin a correspondence between you and another student poet. Today write the first poem. When you have completed your first draft, print your poem (make sure you have a title and you # your draft [Segue Draft #1], and save).

Hand your poem to another student...someone you want to correspond with. Poets who are slow will have fewer choices in this matter. In any case, you will partner with a poet. Remember who you have sent your poem to, so this poet can give you a poem back.

What to do when you have been handed a poem:

1. Read the poem you have been handed.
2. Think about the poem you have been handed.
3. BRAINSTORM a creative response using the poem you have read as a model or jumping off point for your own ideas.
4. COMPOSE a poem in response to the poem you have been handed. Write and save your poem draft. I suggest saving it in the same file as Seque: Draft #1.

For now, that's all.

HOMEWORK/ON GOING ASSIGNMENT:
DRAFT #3 of your CHARACTER POEM:

In draft #3 add imagery. Use figurative language to make your abstract ideas concrete. Use allusion, personification, onomatopoeia, simile, metaphor, symbol, allegory, alliteration, assonance, consonance, or kenning. Don't know the word? Look it up and learn the term. After adding imagery to your poem, making sure there is a clear image that is conjured in the mind of a reader, put your poem back into lines.

Poem Cycle (1st Draft) & Seque Poem

Please complete your poem cycle today. I will not interrupt you. Your poem cycle should be anywhere from 3-9,000 poems.

FINISHED? Please do the following:

Seque poem draft: Write a poem about absolutely anything you want it to be about. Whatever you choose, the poem should try to say something about the human condition. Remember that the human condition is not always about death and negative feelings. There is that thing called joy as well. This poem will begin a correspondence between you and another student poet. For now, you just want to write the poem. Don't worry about anything beyond that.

Still finished? Please complete draft #3 of your character poem. Call it draft #3. In draft #3 add imagery. Use figurative language to make your abstract ideas concrete. Use allusion, personification, onomatopoeia, simile, metaphor, symbol, allegory, alliteration, assonance, consonance, or kenning. Don't know the word? Look it up and learn the term. After adding imagery to your poem, making sure there is a clear image that is conjured in the mind of a reader, put your poem back into lines.

HOMEWORK: Please read about LINES.

A Word About Imagery; Poem Cycle & Segues

After our discussion & quiz, please continue to work on your first draft of your poem cycle.

HOMEWORK: Please read the poem cycle: Segues for next class.

Revision, Poem Cycle & an Introduction to Imagery

Today, let's start by looking at a few poem cycles by poet Patrick Phillips. As we read, please note the way Phillips uses active and specific verbs to carry the weight of his poems. As always, look for poetic devices, particularly imagery. Pay close attention to the LITERARY definition of this word. That's the one we want.

Draft #2 of your Character Poem (poem #1): Using your character poem draft #1, do the following:
a. copy and then paste your poem after the first draft (or before it). Change the draft # to 2.
b. Turn this poem into prose. Remove line breaks, add capitalization at ends of sentences, put in sentences. You can keep you original line break capitals if you wish or indicate where you originally broke the line by adding a slash mark ( / ).
c. Correct your grammar. Remove fragments. Note whether your sentences are simple, compound, complex. Do they form a pattern or meter? Examine your syntax.
d. Comb the draft and add active verbs if you can. Remove vague, blah language with specific, detailed language.

Poem Cycle:

1. Choose a fictional, historical, or literary figure of whom you can trace a period of time (for example a lifetime). Ex. Jesus or your father. Brainstorm some options before you jump right in. Make a list of potential topics in your journal.

2. After you choose the subject that feels best for you, spend some time researching or fleshing out your character. If this is a historical or literary character google the person's bio or research a bit. If this is a fictional person, create a character sketch.

3. After completing step one of the writing process (brainstorming/generating ideas), begin your cycle. Each poem (at least 3) should pick a significant moment in the person's life and write from there. Try to capture a moment, as opposed to a long scene.

4. Compose a first draft.

HOMEWORK: Please read Mary Oliver's chapter on Imagery for next class. It is likely we will have a surprise quiz.

Character Poem Cycle Project

Please turn in your first draft of your poem that you were to complete as homework from last class.

We've been talking about poetry cycles. Believe it or not, a poet can write a "story" with the appropriate plot elements like rising action, climax, denouement. A poet usually connects their work thematically (all poems deal with one or two themes), or through a central character or setting.

Let's read Anne Sexton's poem cycles: "The Death Baby" and "The Jesus Papers."

These poems are, again, considered cycles. There is more than one poem that comprises the whole. This sort of thing allows a writer to examine different scenes, placing their characters in various locations, or dealing with separate but connected events--just like you do in writing fiction.

A good rule of thumb is that if you have more than one scene in a poem, consider dividing it into "chapters" or "scenes" just like a play script or film script. One problem for young poets is that they often try to write about too much, too broadly. Don't do that. Or use a cycle. That's their strength.

Writing: Create a character or pick a historical "realish" character. Center a group of poems around this person. Write at least 3 first drafts of a connected theme or character. Just like a fiction story, develop the plot of your cycle. Choose a poem that might be considered your rising action, climax, denouement, etc. Use Gwendolyn Brooks or Anne Sexton as models or examples of style.

Due: Friday, September 17.

Starting off with poetry; Advice in starting; Gwendolyn Brooks

Please turn in your first draft of your baseline piece. Make sure you write DRAFT ONE somewhere on the heading. Each time you add/edit or revise your work this year, you will change the # of the draft. It is important that you keep track of each draft and its development.

Where to find ideas? Let's have a discussion.

A note about beginnings:

Beginnings can be daunting to a writer. There's that blank page and a whole lot of potential. Just like a baby, your writing (story, play, poem, etc.) needs encouragement; it needs nourishment in the form of lots of words, character development, description, and ideas that help it grow. If you don't spend time with your baby, it'll never grow to be the "adult" piece. It will grow up needing therapy, and never get a job (i.e., published), sitting in your bedroom drawer or computer folder until its in its thirties. Not a good start.

Sometimes the first few lines or pages of a longer work is really just the scaffolding that holds up the idea. The REAL beginning might happen in another draft.

Don't worry: once you work with a piece, you'll ultimately find the right opening. In any case, an opening for a poem or story is a reader's "entrance" into the piece. Just like your home, you don't want your front hallway or foyer to be cluttered with furniture and junk that guests have to risk breaking their neck over. It should be an inviting space, promising lovely new sights and people to meet who dwell inside.

Enough with that metaphor.

The most important thing to remember is that writing is a process. It is a promise you are making with your reader. An opening should hook or grab a reader's attention. Poetry and fiction and scripts alike.

Today's class:

After reading this advice and taking that nasty quiz I just gave you, please get into groups of 2 or 3. Together read about Gwendolyn Brooks. She was a Pulitzer Prize winning poet. She knows what she's doing, so she's a good role model for us as young poets.

Please read the poem: "A Street in Bronzeville." OMG! This poem is made up of eleven poems! Taken together it is what we in poetry circles call A POEM CYCLE. The poems are thematically linked. In some cases, dealing with the same characters or personas.

Brooks based this poem on her own experiences and those of her family. Here's a little help with references and lines:

The Madam: Beauty schools or colleges were run by women. It was one of the standard occupations for women in America before 1980. The others were secretary, teacher, nurse, and housewife. Not a broad (forgive the pun) occupational list. Madam, by the way, also is a term used for a woman who runs a brothel.

Hunchback girl: bad posture indicated bad behavior. One's carriage, especially for young women, should be proper, straight (yes, there's another meaning there for Gwen), and appropriate. All things in their place.

Charity children: the poor. Bad woman: a 'ho. A tramp. A...you get the idea. Makeup or "paint" was used by women who wanted to attract men for some reason.

Hosanna is a prayer, a praise to God.

Lincoln: Gwendolyn Brooks was from Chicago. The community of Lincoln Park includes Lincoln Cemetary (and Lincoln Park Zoo). The cemetery is on Blue Island. It was a "black only" cemetery in Chicago.

After you read these with your partner and discuss them, let's talk about the cycle as a class.

Then: Poetry.

Write a poem. Write a poem centered around a specific character or person. Real or imaginary. Write. Create a draft. Complete the draft. Call it draft #1.

HOMEWORK: Complete your poem draft. Please read the article handout on "preparing poetry" for next class.

Baseline Piece (Writing Project #1)

Write.

You choose the format, the style, the genre. Use the guidelines below. Please note the due date for DRAFT ONE.

1. Write a poem, short story, scene/script, or creative non-fiction piece.

2. You can write about anything you want, using characters, setting, theme, plot and everything else you create.

3. DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE FIRST STEP IN THE WRITING PROCESS!
I suggest you brainstorm some ideas first. You may wish to create a character list, or list possible settings or conflicts. You may wish to draw a picture of a scene or character in a situation. You may wish to create a mindmap or use a favorite story or poem as inspiration or as a model for your own work. Use techniques we used last year in our journals to help you.

4. Length: as a guideline try to write at least 20 lines or more for a poem, 2-3 pages for a fiction or non-fiction narrative piece (double spaced), and 3-4 pages for a script (in script format--remember to skip lines between speakers or indent properly). For poems, if you finish early, try writing another (and another). Keep yourself busy writing. Remember that you have to be present to keep your date happy!

Use the lab time to complete or nearly complete your work. I will notify you about time left in class. If you do NOT complete your work today in class, you should take the file home (print or send yourself an attachment in email or copy the file to a jump drive) and complete it. Bring in DRAFT ONE as homework. We will be using what you write in our next class. Draft one due Thursday, September 9 (beginning of class).

HOMEWORK: Please read the handout about generating ideas. Review the 5 steps of the writing process (hint, hint). Complete your baseline piece.

Enemies of the Artistic Process & Agenda

Glad to see you back! I hope all of you had a productive, safe, and enjoyable summer. Well, gosh, let's get back to work!

After a few housekeeping details about this course and the school, we will read Mary Oliver's advice to writers. Then, after that, we'll take a look at this:

Enemies of the Artistic Process

Writing is difficult. But knowing who or what is keeping you from completing your writing can be helpful. Read about the various types of "enemies of the artistic process" and then complete the writing exercise below IN YOUR JOURNAL!

The Procrastinator
• Don’t put off tomorrow what can be accomplished today.
o He says:
• “You can just write tomorrow or the day after or the day after….”
• “You should write after you get all your other work done.”
• “You have too much to do right now to write.”
• “Write after your life gets back to ‘normal’.”
• “Hey, what’s that over there…coffee!”

The Victim
• Bottom line: stop making your lack of a creative life the fault of someone or something else other than yourself.
o He says:
• “My family doesn’t understand or appreciate me.”
• “My teachers are too demanding and fill my life with stress.”
• “My friends demand all my time and attention.”
• “I’m going through a tough time and can’t think to write.”

The Talker
• Don’t talk excessively about it until it’s done. Writing is, by nature, a lonely art.
o He says:
• “Hey, I’ve got a great idea for a story—want to hear it?”

The Critic
• Every artist (even a successful one) has to deal with this guy sooner or later.
o He says:
• “That’s a stupid idea.”
• “This is going nowhere.”
• “This sucks!”
• “You can’t write!”

The Judge
• For everything there is a season.
o He says:
• “You should be doing something more meaningful with your time.”
• “How dare you sit there and write when there’s stuff to be done!”
• “Your family and friends need you more than your art!”

The Perfectionist
• Nothing in this world is perfect. & To err is human.
o He says:
• “It’s not good enough.”
• “I’ll never be a writer!”
• “No one will like my story/poem!”
• “I can’t show this to anyone or they’ll think I’m stupid.”

ASSIGNMENT: When you write, who would you say is your biggest enemy? In your journal, write a "hate" letter to your chosen "enemy". Go ahead and "blast" them, tell your enemy that you are not going to take their "crap" anymore. Be creative!

Then believe your letter. Don't let the enemy win!

The 5 Step Writing Process

The Writing Process

All writers go through a similar writing process. The five basic steps are examined below:

1. Coming up with an idea: Generating raw material, freewriting, Journal exercises, Reading, Experience, Choosing the gem among the rocks, (expanding and exploring the idea), Getting stuck and moving on.

2. Writing the first draft: Composing and structuring, Experiment with technique, Decide on a genre, Decide on the best structure to tell the story. Write.

3. Revising: developing meaning, Rereading your work to look for a deeper meaning, Sharing your work in a readers’ circle/workshop, Getting feedback and response, Revision: transforming, rearranging, expanding, cutting.

4. Editing: Fine cutting (cutting unnecessary words and paragraphs), Line by line editing, Reviewing word choice, Proofreading for errors.

5. Publication: Preparing the manuscript for public perusal, Sending your manuscript out to publishers, The rejection letter/the acceptance letter, working with an editor/agent/publisher, Publication.

Welcome back!