Assignments
Check this link often for updates on class assignments.

E-Journal #1: Getting from A to B with meaning (in-class)

1. Comprise a list of about 10 pairs of words which you consider diametrically opposed. For example, one pair you could use is "no" and "yes." As you write these down, consider whether or not the pairs you are choosing are really opposites (for instance "red" is quite distinct from but not the opposite of "black"). Also remember that you are going to be structuring an entire poem around some of these pairs, so try not to get too outrageous.
2. Read and discuss Lucille Clifton's "poem beginning in no and ending in yes."
3. Pair up and share your list with your partner. Each of you should decide on one or two of these pairs (yours or your own) to structure a poem like Clifton's with either word beginning and ending the poem. The main idea is that what you write between you beginning and end words should give a new context to their usual play off of each other. Don't worry too much about the form or line breaks at this point, just use your own instincts.
4. If you have time, share the results of your exercise with your partner and discuss the contexts that initially came to mind when you discussed it. How were these words recontextualized by the writing in-between them? How does the poem "move" from A to B?

Remember to save your document as "1-opposites.doc" and drop it in your personal E-journal folder in order to receive credit.

E-Journal #2: Line break exercise/Found poetry(in-class)

1. Find an interesting piece of prose (not your own) of about a paragraph in length which you think could work as a poem and bring it to class.
2. In your journal, create three different poems from this text by practicing different methods of the line and stanza break. For the first version, do what comes naturally, and afterwards, briefly explain your logic if you can. For the other two, try using some of the various logics we've discussed in class such as breaking according to sense, syntax, shape, symmetry, breath (Ginsberg, Kaufman), music (Hall), percussion (Brooks), or to play with the silence of white space (Simic); imposing a metrical standard such as blank verse (Shakespeare, Milton); or using line breaks to create visual drama (Plath), new meanings within the line itself (Rothke), or end-stops. At the beginning of each version, write down the method you're using.
3. If you have time, share the results of your exercise with a partner and discuss the logic you used for each version. How would your partner break the lines? Which version seems the most successful as a poem (you both may not agree)?

Remember to put your name and journal number at the top of the document, and make sure you cite your passage's author. Save your document as "2-line break.doc" and drop it in your E-journal folder in order to receive credit.

Poem #1: The Pantoum

The pantoum is a 15th century Malayan form written in quatrains with repeating lines. Your assignment is to write a poem on any topic using this form. At first, this assignment might seem difficult, but once you get started, the pattern will come more naturally. Some other sources to help you include:

• Learn about the form of a pantoum at the Kalliope Online Poetry Workshop.
• For a great model, look at Noel Jones' "Scarlet Pantoum" on page 42-44 of your coursepacket.
• Read Felix Jung's interactive pantoum, "Miss Charlotte Brown, Librarian, Goes Mad" (requires Flash). This one is also a good model, and it shows how repeated lines can be given different senses by merely changing the punctuation.
• Read and hear Carolyn Kizer's "Parent's Pantoum" on the Academy of American Poets website. This one is a pantoum in the loosest sense (i.e., only certain words are repeated, not entire lines).
• Read Anne Waldman's "Baby's Pantoum" on Annie Finch's A Formal Feeling Comes website.
• Read Robert Hass' "Pantoum of the Great Depression" on the Washington Post website.
• Learn more about pantoums at About.com's Poetry Channel.

Some questions to keep in mind when reading and commenting on poetry

1. What is the event or occasion of the poem? What makes this event remarkable enough to write about?
   
2. Who speaks? What is the speaker's worldview, and what is unique about his/her perspective?
   
3. What is the poem's movement? Is there a journey from start to finish? A turn? Keep in mind here that most poems, like prose, tell stories and how we get from beginning to end is important.
   
4. What images/metaphors/similes is the author using? Are they fresh (i.e. not clichéd) an effective?
   
5. Is there a controlling metaphor? If so, is it consistent?
   
6. Is the language, grammar, punctuation, and capitalization consistent? Do the author's choices in these areas seem appropriate for the poem?
   
7. Can abstract diction be replaced by concrete diction (often making the difference between telling and showing)?
   
8. How is the poem structured? What techniques of language does the author employ (i.e., what are his/her poetics)?

Poem #3: Rhyme and Resonance--discovering music in language

This week, you will compose a poem of any length or subject using several of the techniques of rhyme and resonance we discussed in class, including alliteration, assonance, consonance (slant rhyme), exact rhyme, eye rhyme, end rhyme or internal rhyme, "masculine" and "feminine" rhyme, meter and rhythm, and the two types of onomatopoeia: cacophony and euphony (if you need a refresher, these terms are all defined in your CP glossary). You do not have to use all of these techniques; only the ones that suit you. Chances are you are already using some of them in your poems already; the main idea here is to make you aware of them. Another purpose of this exercise is to practice using rhyme and rhythm without creating work that is sing-songy or predictable.

When you have composed your poem, write at the end the techniques you intended to illustrate in your poem (we may find even more than you had in mind!).

E-Journal #3: 13 Ways of Looking--Taking on multiple perspectives (at-home)

Pablo Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon. 1907. Photograph ©1997 The Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Read Wallace Stevens' "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird" (CP 124-126). Note how Stevens uses brief, haiku-like observations made from different perspectives to create a whole picture, a technique whose visual equivalent is Cubism (illustrated here by Pablo Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon). By writing from varied perspectives, Stevens transforms an ordinary occurrence (seeing a blackbird) into an extraordinary event. Other examples of this technique are Jorie Graham's "Self Portrait as the Gesture Between Them" (in your Persona & Voice Packet) and Raymond Patterson's "Twenty-Six Ways of Looking at a Blackman" (which we will read next week). For your third journal assignment, write a poem using the same technique. Choose an object, animal, or the like and write about it from at least 13 different perspectives. Be sure to section your poem accordingly. Compose your poem in MS Word and bring it on disk to the next class. Remember to save it as "3-perspectives" to include it in your personal journal folder.

Poem #4: Origin Myth

Review the poems handed out in class that relate/create an origin myth. Note particularly the matter-of-fact tone in these poems used to create fact from fictional beginnings. Then use your imagination to create your own origin myth poem. Remember that your poem need not relate the origin of the entire world or humankind; it can relate something as simple as the origin of one person or thing (such as Sharon Olds has done in her poem "I Go Back" to mythologize her own beginning). The idea here is to get you to imagine your own world and to create your own symbology for it.

Performance poem #1

For your first performance assignment, you will perform a poem by someone else. The poem you select should be one by which you think both you and your audience could benefit. Your performance should last at least 1.5 minutes long and should be memorized (although you may have a partner on book during your performance). For some tips on memorization, read "Memorizing a Poem" in SLAM pp. 50-55. For this assignment, think of the poem as a script for performance.

You will be graded on (in order of importance):

• Your performance and interpretation of the poem. You can fulfill this by simply addressing the question, "What separates my performance from a mere recital of the poem?"
  
• Your use of performative aspects that don't involve props, costumes, or other "outside" assistance--such as voice, tone, sound, rhythm, use of space, and gesture (you will get the chance to use props or costumes in your other performances). The key here is to strive to engage the audience in your understanding and experience of the poem.
  
• The effort you have put into understanding and interpreting the poem's performative aspects. Your audience can easily tell when you've put in the time and effort to not only memorize the poem, but to understand what the poem means to you and sharing that with an audience.

You will perform your poem on Friday, 3/1. If you have any questions about what poems might be appropriate for performance, please ask.

E-Journal #4: Annotating a Poem for Performance

Using Vachel Lindsay's poem "The Congo" and Lisa Martinovic's "If I Were a Man…" (in SLAM 181-183) as guides, annotate the poem you have selected for your first performance. Your annotation can include notations for voice and tone (as in Lindsay's poem) and stage direction that we typically see in works of drama (as in Martinovic's poem); in fact, you are encouraged to use both.

To complete the assignment, do the following:

1. First, type out the entire poem in a MS Word document, including your name, the title of the poem, and the author. Make sure you copy the poem word for word--this is very important! DO NOT change the language or form of the poem in any way. Pay special attention to the author's language, use of line break, and the tone of the poem while doing so. Some students have found that typing the poem out several times has helped them better understand the poem and has helped them with the memorization process; this may be an option for you.
   
2. After you have thought about how you will perform the poem, type annotations for your performance in the right-hand portion of the page. If there isn't enough room to make a full annotation, you can place it in brackets (as Martinovic has done in her poem).
   
3. Save the poem as "4-annotation.doc" and bring it on disk to class on Monday, 2/25, to put in your journal folder.
4. Print out THREE hard copies of the poem (one for you, one for a partner, and one to turn in to me) that day. You will spend most of next week workshopping your performance with a partner.
   

The goals here are to get you to start memorizing the poem and to get you thinking about the performance of the poem so you have something to work with on Monday. Some advice: DO NOT wait until the last minute to memorize your poem-most people memorize things best by working in short bursts over time rather than cramming it in the night before. For some tips on memorization, read "Memorizing a Poem" in SLAM pp. 50-55.

E-Journal #5: Reflecting on your performances

This week's journal is not a writing exercise; instead, it provides you with an opportunity to reflect on your first performance. Some of the questions you might address are: What did you learn in the process of preparing your poem for the performance? What fears did you conquer? Which do you still need to face? Did your understanding of the poem change in the process? What performance strategies did you learn to employ or avoid? Spend between 1-1.5 double-spaced pages reflecting on your experience.

Save the poem as "5-reflection.doc" and bring it on disk to class on Monday, 3/18, to put in your journal folder.

Poem #6: Ekphrastic Poem

Often what inspires us to write a poem is not language and sound, but an image or an objet d'art (a painting, sculpture, building, or the like). Poetry that describes a piece or art so intensely so as to evoke the image itself is called an ekphrastic poem (Greek for "description"). As an example, you may recall Rich's "Morning Picture" in which Rich takes on the voice of a girl in a painting to describe her surroundings and her relationship to them. I have given you five other poems as examples with corresponding images:

(click on each picture to see a larger version)
W.H. Auden's "Musée des Beaux Arts" which takes as its subject Brueghel's Landscape with the Fall of Icarus	Samuel Yellin's "Nighthawks" which takes as its subject Edward Hopper's Nighthawks	Anne Sexton's "The Starry Night" which takes as its subject Vincent van Gogh's Starry Night	Sandra Nelson 's "When a Woman Holds a Letter" which takes as its subject Jan Vermeer's The Loveletter	Wallace Stevens's "The Man with the Blue Guitar" which takes as its subject Pablo Picasso's The Old Guitarist

As with these examples, the key to creating a successful ekphrastic poem is to not only describe the image, but bring the image to life by telling a story or presenting a perspective which we wouldn't normally hear. Your assignment is to choose a painting or objet d'art and, in the style of the authors we have read, create your own ekphrastic poem. When we workshop, feel free to bring the picture with you to share with the class.

Performance poem #2

In your second performance assignment, you will perform one of your own poems. There is not time limit for your performance, although you should chose a poem long enough to engage us, perhaps even tell a story. Some of you may even want to try melding a few of your poems together if they share a common theme. As ususal, your poem should be memorized.

You may use props, costumes, music, staging, lighting, and the like, but try not to go overboard or to any expense. Also, remember not to use them as crutches--your props should be an integral part of the poem's interpretation and performance, not superfluous or "covering up" something. That is, they shouldn't be there just to be there. For example, if you decide to wear a hat for the performance, what will it signify to us, and what will you do with it (such as make a gesture by touching the brim, tipping it to the ladies, waving it in the air with a "hee-haw")? You are not, by any means, required to use any props or stage elements.

You will be graded on:

• Your performance and interpretation of the poem. You can fulfill this by simply addressing the question, "What separates my performance from a mere recital of the poem?"
• The quality of the poem you bring forth (we're not expecting Shakespeare, but we are expecting your best work).
  
• Your use of performative aspects--such as voice, tone, sound, rhythm, use of space, and gesture--and stage elements (if you choose to use them). The key here is to strive to engage the audience in your understanding and experience of the poem.
  
• The effort you have put into understanding and interpreting the poem's performative aspects. Your audience can easily tell when you've put in the time and effort to not only memorize the poem, but to understand what the poem means to you and sharing that with an audience.

You will sign-up to perform your poem either on 4/5 and Monday 4/8. If you have any questions about what poems might be appropriate for performance, please ask.

Poem #7: Slam Poem

This week, you will write a poem specifically for a poetry slam--one you feel fits the format of slam well. You should follow the rules for writing and performance (that is, it should take under 3 minutes performance time); there are no rules for form, content or style. But in addition to this, you also might want to write something that you feel might go over well at a poetry slam. In essence, part of the assignment is interpretive--what sort of work do you think might do well at a slam (e.g. narrative poetry, identity poetry, loud & obnoxious poetry, political poetry, personal poetry, or none of the above) and how might your poem this week fit that "formula" if there is one? How will the poem exist orally, and how will you engage listeners who do not have your text in front of them? When commenting on your classmate's poems, make comments as to how you think the poem might be performed--or better written so as to be performed.

E-journal 6: List

In this writing assignment, you will create a poem which work from a "list" or which creates a "list"--words or phrases which are connected or which have a sequence in some way. For example, you might make a list of Texas rivers from East to West, and write a poem which puts them in context to each other. Or you may create a list of things in a suitcase to show us something about the speaker of your poem. Feel free to branch out from or improvise upon your initial list--just make sure that there is some semblance of that initial list there in the first place (see examples in the handouts I've given you).

Save the poem as "6-list.doc" and bring it on disk to class on Wednesday, 3/27, to put in your journal folder.

Poem 8: Credo/Identity Poem

This week's poem will challenge you to write about a political issue or aspect of your identity in which you believe strongly. In the style of the authors we are reading, what issue empowers you that you would like to share with others? How do you define the "I," and how will you present/perform that "I" in your poem?

E-journal exercise 7: Collaborative work

After brainstorming with your group members themes or topics for a group poem, select one. Your journal assignment is to individually produce at least a page and a half of material on that topic at home. The work you produce for this assignment need not be linear or need to fit together entirely, since you will be splicing it into your group members' work in the next assignment. Think of this assignment as producing a "pool" of language, images, and sounds on a topic which your group will select from in scripting your group piece.

Save the poem as "7-group.doc" and bring it on disk to class on Monday, 4/15, to put in your journal folder. Also, bring hard copies for yourself and each of your group members on Monday so that you can work on scripting your piece.

Poem 9: CollaborativePoem (for third performance)

This week, we will workshop your scripts for a group piece. Using the writing you produced for journal 7 and other writing you've done on your own or as a group, piece together a script much like those in SLAM, p. 220-232. This will require meeting out-of-class at least once, so make sure you coordinate a meeting(s) with your group members early. Although you may appoint one person to be the typist for the poem you turn in, remember that everyone's writing must be included. You will also probably want to read it aloud a few times to sync up your lines and repetitions.

Remember this is an opportunity to make your poem multi-vocal, so you will probably want to experiment with having more than one person speak at a time. You may want to have someone singing or making sound effects in the background, or you may say certain words in succession or together.

In performance, you should aim for the poem to be at least a minute and a half per person. That is, if you are in a group of three poets, your performance should be at least 4.5 minutes long. Remember that every person in your group must be significantly represented in both writing and performance. Finally, props, costumes, music, etc. are all fair game for your final performance-just make sure they are not superfluous.

Your group poem is due on Wednesday, 4/17, in this week's poem folder. At Friday's workshop, I will ask each group to read their poem aloud so we may offer comments.

Position Paper

We have discussed several different debates about poetry in performance: how to define it, what performance styles or writing techniques are good, how (or even if) performance poetry fits into the academy. For your final critical writing assignment, you will create a 3-4 page position paper outlining your take on one of these many debates. Think of this as an argument either for or against an aspect of performed poetry that you encountered this semester.

Some topics you might engage are:

1. What is your conclusion about the difference between a poetry reading and a performance? How has your experience in this class confirmed or changed your thoughts on this issue?
2. What is slam poetry's relationship with the academy? What should it be?
3. Evaluate performed poetry: what criteria would you set forth to proclaim good poetry in performance? What, in your opinion, can make a decently-written or -performed poem "bad"?
4. What is the role of personal identity and politics in performance poetry? How does the "I" of the page translate to the "I" of the stage, and how is this used as a political vehicle? Should it be used as a political vehicle?
5. Does slam poetry, as many poets in Slamnation suggest, create a "more democratic art"? If so, what does this assume about other types of poetry? If not, are there other ways to make poetry more accessible to public audiences, or is poetry inherently an exclusive art?
6. What are your opinions regarding the current commercialization of the spoken word (such as through the Def Poetry Jam, the presence of poetry slams in films and TV shows, or album sales)? What are its problems and benefits, and does one set outweigh the other?
7. Speculate on the appeal and the future of slam poetry. Will audiences grow tired of it or will they continue to flock to local poetry slams? Why do audiences find it engagingin the first place?
8. Choose your own topic (please verify it with me first before writing it).

You may reference a few scholarly sources in your paper if you choose to, but remember that this is not a research paper. Instead, you should craft an argument using your own experience as a writer and performer in this class as evidence. In this regard, you will probably want to discuss the results of specific exercises you did in this class, performance poetry events you've attended, or your own process of writing/performing to support your opinion.

You will be graded on the persuasiveness of your argument, your use of personal evidence to make your case, and the clarity of your writing. Your paper should be free of typographical and grammatical errors.

The paper is due on Friday, May 3 at 5PM in the box outside of Parlin 408. Late assignments will not be accepted.

Final Portfolio and Self-Evaluation

Your last class assignment will focus on revision of and reflection on your creative writing this semester. You will turn in:

1. A packet containing at least 8 of the 9 poems you composed this semester, significantly revised, accompanied by...
2. A two-page self-evaluation reflecting on your writing and your experience performing this semester. Consider in this statement what you think your strengths are and the areas you feel still need improvement. You might also consider what your goals as a writer/performer are, what the goal of your revision project is, and how you see the two fitting together.

I encourage you to be creative with how you organize the project; for example, you might give a title to your collection or organize them in a particular order to tell a story or highlight a theme. Superficial improvements beyond a cover sheet are not necessary; instead, focus these energies on improving each poem. I will consider the effort you put into the project as secondary to the quality of the revisions you submit.

Be sure to include a 9x12 SASE if you would like your portfolio mailed back to you with comments.

DUE: Wednesday, May 8, in Parlin 408 by 5PM in the box by PAR 408. Late assignments will not be accepted.