Poetry is just the evidence of life. If
your life is burning well, poetry is
just the ash.
– Leonard Cohen
Who are you from
=
People
Backup Plan: write down the following: Most important family member,
random person you see in town who fascinates you, mentor (not in your
family), someone from your childhood no longer in your life who was
important.
Where are you from
=
Places/Settings
Backup Plan: favorite room in your house, favorite place outside of your
house, classroom in this building that feels comfortable for you, most vivid
travel destination, place you used to play as kid.
What are you from
=
Experiences
Backup Plan: time you disappointed someone, pull out something from your
backpack and write out three memories associated with it, a moment you
were scared, a moment you felt really alive, something you remember from
last weekend.
?
“Who You are From” Developing
Prompts: Figurative Language
1. Choose one of the “who’s” from your archeology
journal.
2. Similes – about the person or one of his/her
characteristics
A. _______________ is like… (some kind of food)
Example: Dad is like a hard-boiled egg OR Dad’s laughter rises like the
steam off of coffee.
B. ____________ is like… (some kind of sound)
Example: Mom is like the squeak of a rocking chair or
Example: The way she looks at me is like the breaking of glass in the
storm.
Modify that simile with either an adjective or phrase
Example: Mom is like the squeak of a well-worn rocking chair
Mom is like the squeak of a rocking chair that is made of soft
birch
C. _________________ is like… (an unnamable color)
Example: My nana has knees the color of right underneath Heaven. –
Zora Howard
D. _______________ is like… (something from one of your textbooks)
Example: He is like the future conditional tense in French.
3. Extending and developing: Take one of your best starts
and write for five minutes. You might continue extending
the metaphor or move into telling a story related to your
simile. If you get stuck, just start describing the person from
head to toe or try out some other similes (compare to a
season, song, smell, formula, etc.)
the swan is beautiful, But not like Lorie at 16, when Everything was
possible—no More like Lorie at 27 Smoking away her days off in her dirty
kitchen, Her kid with asthma watching TV, The boyfriend who doesn't
know yet she's gonna Leave him,
•
•
•
The Swan at Edgewater Park
Ruth L. Schwartz
Isn't one of your prissy richpeoples' swans Wouldn't be at home on some
pristine pond Chooses the whole stinking shoreline, candy wrappers,
condoms
in its tidal fringe Prefers to curve its muscular, slightly grubby
neck
into the body of a Great Lake, Swilling whatever it is swans
swill, Chardonnay of algae with bouquet of crud, While Clevelanders walk by
saying Look
at that big duck! Beauty isn't the point here; of course
the
swan is beautiful, But not like Lorie at 16, when Everything was possible—
no More like Lorie at 27 Smoking away her days off in her dirty kitchen, Her kid
with asthma watching TV, The boyfriend who doesn't know yet she's
gonna Leave him, washing his car out back—and He's a runty little guy, and
drinks too much, and It's not his kid anyway, but he loves her, he Really does, he
loves them both— That's the kind of swan this is.
“What You are From” Developing
Prompts: Imagery
1. Choose one of the “moments” or “experiences” from
your archeology journal.
2. “Splice” just five seconds of that moment – the five
seconds of that moment that are the most interesting.
A. Sight (you can list these out)
What you see directly in front of you.
What you see (or can imagine seeing) in the background
(INCEPTION-style)
What you can almost see on your periphery
B. Sound (you can list these out, too)
What you hear directly in front of you.
White noise directly in the place you are.
The sounds in the distance.
Where You are From Developing Prompts:
Nouns, Adjectives, Figurative Nouns
The Things Emily Carries LIST OUT NOUNS
Yu-Gi-Oh cards.
Chewing gum wrappers.
School handouts.
rubber bands.
A stuffed dog.
blood stains.
Two rocks.
Pencils.
Avril Lavigne.
Asthma inhaler.
A feather.
pink ribbons.
Someone's phone number.
Add Modifiers
Six Yu-Gi-Oh cards.
Chewing gum wrappers.
School handouts, two weeks overdue.
Three rubber bands.
A five-inch-tall stuffed dog.
Four small blood stains.
Two smooth, gray rocks.
Four pencils with no lead and no eraser.
Avril Lavigne.
Asthma inhaler.
A feather.
Fourteen pale pink ribbons.
Someone's phone number scribbled on a Heath Bar wrapper.
MAKE EMOTIONS OR EVENTS INTO NOUNS
Six Yu-Gi-Oh cards.
Chewing gum wrappers.
School handouts, two weeks overdue.
Three rubber bands.
A five-inch-tall stuffed dog.
Four small blood stains.
Two smooth, gray rocks.
Fourth-grade intrigue.
Four pencils with no lead and no eraser.
Righteous indignation.
Stories.
Avril Lavigne.
Asthma inhaler.
A feather.
Fourteen pale pink ribbons.
Playground news.
Someone's phone number scribbled on a Heath Bar wrapper.
Eight secrets.
Head lice, once.
Plans of her own.
Instant Feedback
1. On a blank piece of paper, write down three “lines” that seem
to have potential.
2. When you get your first peer’s paper – star the piece of
language that is most interesting to you.
3. Second peer’s paper, same thing. Star the piece of
language that is most interesting. This can be the same one
already starred.
4. Third peer’s paper – put on your analytical hat and for
one piece of language on that sheet, try out one of these
sentence starters:
Based on this line, this poet seems interested in
exploring…
While this line is most literally about___________, it
seems to also be suggesting something about….
5. For your final peer’s paper, take one of their lines and add on two more
lines that seem to be in the spirit and style of their line.
Next Steps (Aka Your Homework)
1.
Forty-five minutes of writing work on your own poem. Build forward from what you have and/or
try out some more poetry prompts (http://www.pw.org/writing-prompts-exercises).
2.
Forty-Five minutes. Select a professional poem to work with analytically. This can be a poem you
have read before but cannot be one you have worked with in an academic class (e.g. No “We
Never Know” or “My Papa’s Waltz”). My two favorite sites for finding poetry are poetry180.org
and poetryfoundation.org (you can search by topic, poet type, year published, etc.!)
a. Print your poem
b. fill up the entirety of the white space with some or all of the following:
Key facts about this poem:
questions with arrows pointing to specific parts of the poem (e.g. Why does she include an enjambment
here? What’s up with this word in the title)
let someone else have the poem and write ideas
drawings or translations of key words or lines
Global Sentence: Author name seems interested in exploring ________
Interesting facts about the poet or poem that you find out
Global compound sentence: Author name seems intetrested in exploring _____________ AND
__________.
critic’s quotations or ideas about the poem or poet
global complex sentence: While AUTHOR name seems interested in exploring __________,
she is
also exploring _______________________________.
Definitions of key words
The speaker of this poem is most likely….