Poetry Blog #7 and Socratic Seminar: "Painting a Room" by Katia Kapovich

Did you guess our latest poet is a chain-smoking Russian? Ms. Kapovich and her poet husband emigrated to the U.S. in 1990. They live in the Boston area.

Ms. Kapovich is a totally bilingual poet; she writes her poems in both Russian and English. Kapovich said, "My soul speaks in Russian, but I can write about some things more easily in English. It gives me distance. It's important for a writer to have distance. You can't write about something and be in it at the same time. It's like being underwater. Reality has qualities of salt water. It pinches our pupils and makes our eyes red. We need a mask in order to see clearly."


Blog Directions:

Her poem, "Painting a Room" is filled with allusions to important events/experiences in Soviet history.

Ask your history teachers to tell you about historical event(s) in March 1989 and to explain her references to bread.

Blog about those allusions and other literary elements in the poem.

Consider how her quote above connects to this poem. She said, "We need a mask to see clearly." Do you agree with this statement?

Socratic Seminar Questions (Due Block the week of February 19th):

1) How do the images of a painted room, a window and bread act as symbols? What do they symbolize? How do they advance the theme?

2) The character's emotional state in this poem is ambiguous. In what ways is this ambiguous? (How do you know she has conflicting emotions?) Cite quotes from the poem to support your inference.

3) Discuss the literary elements of imagery and metaphor and how they effectively communicate theme.

4) Write a question and response of your own addressing sights, sounds, diction, theme or any of the parts of explication flower...

Poetry Blog #6: "Ego-tripping(There May Be a Reason Why)" by Nikki Giovanni

On her website she is described as being proud of being "a Black American, a daughter, a mother, a professor of English." She is vocal about civil and individual rights.

Want to hear a version of the poem by the musical group Blackalicious? Click on this link.

This poem is filled with allusions. How do they enhance the meaning?

Notice how Giovanni deliberately violates the rules of capitalization in her poem. Why do you think she does this?

Blog about these items along with the your comments on other literary features of the poem.

Poetry Blog #5 and Socratic Seminar: "Bringing My Son to the Police Station to be Fingerprinted" by Shoshauna Shy

I was originally drawn to this poem simply by the title. However, after reading it, I was fascinated by the author's use of imagery to create character.

I've tried to learn more about the poet, but little information can be found on the web. She is involved in a project to place poetry in unusual places to make it more readily available for people to read. One of her projects was to attach a laminated page of poetry to rental bikes.

Blog Directions: Read through the poem several times. Explicate the literary elements. What is the theme? How does the imagery create the theme?

Socratic Seminar Questions (due during block next week):

1. How and why does the poet use the various shades of yellow in the poem?

2. Describe the various conflicts. How does imagery reveal the relationship between the mother and the son?

3. Discuss the literary elements used by the poet. What is the theme of the poem? How has the poet used the literary elements to effectively communicate the theme?

4. Create one question and write its response. Bring your question to the meeting.

Poetry Blog #4: "Fifteen" by William Stafford

Our poem today is one of Ms. Krueger's favorites.
We just studied a grown woman's perspective on decisions made by a 13-year-old girl. Now we have the poem, "Fifteen" written by William Stafford about decisions made by a 15-year-old boy.




Blog Questions (Must be posted by Tuesday):

As you read the poem, pay attention to the poet's use of:
diction
personification
pronouns

How do these features help you to see the speaker's transformation?

In your opinion, what is the mood of this poem? Use lines, words, images, etc. from the poem to support your answer.

Why do you think that author repeats the line "I was fifteen" throughout the poem? What effect does it create?

Poetry Blog #3 and Socratic Seminar: "Bike Ride with Older Boys" by Laura Kasischke

Here's another poem I have selected. When I came across this poem, I had no idea that I was familiar with any of Ms. Kasischke's work. However, after reading about her, I realized that she was the author of The Life Before Her Eyes,one the most intriguing books I have read in the past 5 years. It opens with a Columbine-type shooter confronting two best friends. He tells them he will only kill one of them, and then asks them, "Which one of you should I kill?" One girl responds without hesitation saying, "Kill me." The story then moves on telling the life of the other girl in flashforwards and flaskbacks. I won't give anymore of the story away.


Poetry Blog Instructions: Begin by reading some background information about Ms. Kasischke at the Ploughshares website. Next, go to the Poetry 180 website to read through the poem. Now explicate the poem and blog about the literary features and theme.

Socratic Seminar Questions:
Prepare a detailed response to the following:

1. When the 37-year-old woman in Kasischke's poem thinks back on her life, how does she view this incident from her 13th summer? Does she have regrets? Does she feel she missed an opportunity, lost a chance, or received a blessing in disguise? Cite quotes from the poem to support your answer.

2. What does this poem say about the choices one makes? Cite quotes from the poem to support your answer.

3. Discuss the literary elements used by the poet. What is the theme of the poem? How has the poet used the literary elements to effectively communicate the theme?

4. Prepare one of your own questions and the response to bring to the discussion.

Poetry Blog #2: "We Real Cool" by Gwendolyn Brooks

Here's another poem , "We Real Cool" by Gwendolyn Brooks, that at first glance appears to have a simple message, yet on further analysis one discovers much is communicated with so few words. Blog about the the literary elements and how they communicate the author's theme. After responding to the poem, click on 'watch the video' made by an art student in Boston who talks about how important this poem is to him. You will come to a page with John Ulrich's photo. Click on the photo to activate the Real Audio video clip.

Want to hear Ms. Brooks read the poem the way she meant it to be read? Go to this PBS Favorite Poem site. Click on the Real Audio link at the top to hear the segment where she discusses and reads the poem.