tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952225279447975447.post5333594283796468301..comments2023-10-18T09:32:02.914-05:00Comments on <b>a book with a view</b>: Taking a Second Look at PoetryTeri Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03999534282021701036noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952225279447975447.post-72899289274584877292009-08-04T22:02:16.645-05:002009-08-04T22:02:16.645-05:00I had my ninth graders write nonets -- those so ve...I had my ninth graders write nonets -- those so very structured poems. I received lots of complaints, but lots of great poetry :-) <br /><br />My absolute favorite -- Robert Frost.<br /><br />Wonderful blog site. Thank you.Author and Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06275313084319285562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952225279447975447.post-15111584624059373402009-07-30T10:41:16.913-05:002009-07-30T10:41:16.913-05:00Love poetry, like entering a separate frame of tim...Love poetry, like entering a separate frame of time to enjoy, savour words, thoughts and imagery. The kids can't appreciate it (for want of better description) because it doesn't fit within their 'speed' of things. <br /><br />From Gwendolyn Brooks 1917 (last 4 lines) - <br />"And remember:<br />live not for Battles Won. <br />Live not for The-End-of-the-Song,<br />Live in the along."<br /><br />..thank you for the Post.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952225279447975447.post-4140417280995274072009-07-29T20:41:25.953-05:002009-07-29T20:41:25.953-05:00SS- Thanks for your insightful comments. I agree w...SS- Thanks for your insightful comments. I agree with your opening sentiment. In an effort to encourage exploring words, sounds, and unusual connection, some poets have sacrificed meaning. The best use words, sounds and ideas in fresh ways and convey more meaning than straight writing, not less. That's why Frost is both well liked and well respected. His writing works on every level. <br />As for playing with words and ideas, many do, of course, but I'm especially fond of E E Cummings and T S Eliot. Thanks again for the post. TTYLTeri Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03999534282021701036noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952225279447975447.post-5458498600301136492009-07-29T15:37:43.523-05:002009-07-29T15:37:43.523-05:00I'm not a big poetry fan, as most of the '...I'm not a big poetry fan, as most of the 'poetry' I've read is so loose in its prose that it's almost like having an acid trip while staring into a strobe light- it loses all relation to reality and becomes empty, meaningless twistings and contortions of words, as hollow as a fully made-up word deployed without definition. I enjoy Robert Frost's works because he uses poetry as a tool to tell a story, but I almost feel ashamed to like him, knowing that I, along with many others, only reference him first because he's the only poet I know -and like- off the top of my head. Almost akin to someone telling me that their favorite author is Stephen King without explaining any particularly tastes for certain pieces among King's many, MANY works. <br /><br /> What I think I can appreciate poetry for is daring, much more often than writing- which seems to not be terribly bothered by grammatical and linguistic organizations advocating almost authoritarian methods that are slowly closing their jaws around its throat,- to go out and play with language and words without a deaf, care-free ear turned to any nearby rabid authoritarians trying to get it to follow one format or another. I think that writing can learn a thing or two from poetry in that aspect.Safety Squirrelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16007617541488596877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952225279447975447.post-79695159805719316052009-07-29T11:52:16.444-05:002009-07-29T11:52:16.444-05:00So true that poetry gets the short end of the stic...So true that poetry gets the short end of the stick these days! Our children will all miss out on something quite wonderful. And good for you to suggest the Bible to Mr. Ong! Psalms 39, which I used as my "Scripture Of The Day" in my own post,yesterday, contains some most beautiful poetic verse. And the Bible is some of the best non-fictional reading there is! <br /> http://llmoore2.blogspot.comAlways a momhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10666264649750762632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952225279447975447.post-82866417780372541512009-07-28T20:53:05.452-05:002009-07-28T20:53:05.452-05:00Joseph, by all means read your Bible first. It has...Joseph, by all means read your Bible first. It has poetry, too, you know. "...as we teach generation after generation the same thing, the stereotypes we associate with poetry are slowly but deeply embedded within it!" is very profound and insightful. May I save that quote and perhaps use it later, crediting you of course? It has implications beyond poetry.<br />I agree with your assessment of assigning poems with such strict parameters. It's an attempt to teach two things at once, but it can give a very false idea of poetry. As for creativity, there doesn't seem to much room for that these days, not in many courses, anyway. I like to offer students choices most of the time, myself.<br />I hope you enjoy your evening with the poets. I love Frost, myself. Good Reading!Teri Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03999534282021701036noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952225279447975447.post-50014175663527442922009-07-28T19:39:11.505-05:002009-07-28T19:39:11.505-05:00I agree! These days, poetry in high school is rega...I agree! These days, poetry in high school is regarded, bluntly, as lame, corny, or for the socially reclusive. The system used in many schools reuses old classics and rarely focuses on the beauty of poetry. Not that the old classics are horrible, but as we teach generation after generation the same thing, the stereotypes we associate with poetry are slowly but deeply embedded within it!<br /><br />Personally, I love poetry. I miss the days when kids would write poetry in middle school, without being chained to the wall of an assignment topic. Why do we limit ourselves to poetry dealing specifically with one topic? Students need to explore themselves with poetry. In middle school, we would write poetry on any topic we so chose, and add an artistic flash to it (perhaps a drawing in the background). Nowadays, in high school, it's common to hear "write a 12 line poem about a character from the book ___________". That method is good for training students how to focus on a topic, but it certainly neglects any outlets for true creativity.<br /><br />I think I will sit down tonight and read some poetry. Perhaps I'll even write a poem about some odd, distant abstraction that I'm thinking of during the moments shortly after I finish a compilation of Robert Frost.<br /><br />Bible first, though. =]<br /><br />-Joseph [J]Joseph Onghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05056696432974740014noreply@blogger.com