WEEK THREE: Mind Poetry

1. WEEK THREE: Mind Poetry Review and Introduction To Open-Form

2. Why Poetry? • No restrictions and all the freedom a poet wants • No pressure of perfect grammar and sentence structure • No worries of verbalizing feelings or complex logic • “Josh’s Sorry Notes” • Control over the words in one’s head • Having others understand better through the written word

3. Prose versus Poetry Poetry: Example Stanza: Voices clashing, clawing my ears; Silence? Chaos clashing and clawing my ears Prose Example sentence: The irritating clashing of voices from both the older generation of students and those of the small children being watched here always seems to distract me from my work.

4. Baby-Steps Your Baby-Steps with Poetry • Attend the workshops, allowing yourself to be exposed to poetry. • Take the workshop activities or lessons and continue with poetry. • Create your own poetry outside of the workshops. Web Definition : Small, tentative steps towards a goal.

5. Psalm Fast Re-cap • A verse (stanza) is made up of two lines • The first line is normally longer than the second • The first line has to be a normal statement • The second line can either • Rephrase the statement in a creative way (flowery) • Further the initial meaning of the statement (detail) • Oppose the statement (extreme/ironic contrast) • No rhythm, no Rhyme, hardly any flow

6. Ballad Fast Re-Cap • Written in a four-lined stanza (quatrain) • Rhythm Lines 1 and 3 (meter/syllables per line) : DUH-duh, DUH-duh, DUH-duh, DUH-duh. • Try tapping the rhythm out while you say the words in your line • Rhythm Lines 2 and four : DUH-duh, DUH-duh, DUH-duh. • Less syllables this line • Rhyme Scheme: Traditional ABCB • Written in natural speech (doesn’t have to be flowery) • Other : (ABAB) (AABB) • The content of the poem is about a story (an experience)

7. Open-Form Playing with language No Rhythm No Rhyme Natural Speech Mostly allows the mind, not the poet to write Imagery – Most Important If there is rhyme or rhythm, then there has to be a purpose No “Form” does NOT mean it is easier. Every aspect has meaning, or should have meaning

8. Example:Flowers Making a Bouquet I watch them, my eyes skimming their faces— Busy, nurturing the words of thought. A cough, a laugh, bustling with chatter, Then work—fingers bouncing Or pencils dancing to their rhythm. Grins of ideas take root, Animating their face unlike any other emotion— pure, unique — Completely their own to decide upon, A blossom from an unknown origin. Sighs of failure, proceeded by Frustration—dissipates into the next seed from the gardener, Another attempt at planting the Masterpiece behind the iris. So much creating, ideas weaving, Forming floral crowns over their heads, Every bud of life a brilliant characteristic of the plot— Uniting into the final bouquet. No Rhyme No Rhythm Hidden meanings Natural Speech Use of punctuation

9. Poem-In-Your-Pocket: April 18th Over Break • Open-Form • Ballad • Psalm • Creating your own poem • Turning it back in before the 18th • Having your poem printed on a mini piece of paper, folded. • That paper will be duplicated, then passed out with the others to random students

10. Poetic Posters Use a Psalm Use a Ballad Create a Ballad that will start poetic awareness for National Poetry Month! • Create a Psalm that will start poetic awareness for National Poetry Month Use Open-Form • The poster will have your poetic lines • Make it stand out—Glitter/Ribbons/Etc. • Create an Open-Form poem that will start poetic awareness for National Poetry Month

11. Due to Spring Break Next Workshop To Be Determined