APPLES & SNAKES - POETRY LESSONS MADE EASY
Name of Artist: Jacob Sam-La Rose
Workshop theme: Details – Feelings
Length of workshop: 1 hour
Target age group: 9 + (KS2, KS3 & KS4)
Jacob’s Inspiration for Details
I wrote Details for two specific reasons. On a personal level, it was a response to
something that happened to me, when I'd tried to meet with my father. But I was
also driven to write it because I was working with a group of young writers that
didn’t want to write from their own experience, because they didn't want to
"expose" themselves. I wanted to write something that could give them a way of
examining things they'd been through, or things that they'd felt, without
compromising their privacy.
Details
I've kept his address,
the fact of house number and street
in a book, among others.
The day I'm due to fly back home,
I make the journey, bus and "D" train,
to dress the fact in details.
Walking beneath the railway bridge,
a rusted lattice of steel, the sidewalk
breaks into loose dirt.
It's a quiet afternoon, warm
from hours of strong, slanting sun.
Across the street, half scared
that the numbers might end
before I find him, his door
is easy to pick out.
The porch, cool.
The bell rings, muted through the
door.
For a moment I imagine
he'll open, and I won't know
what to say. How the years
of expectation will finally burst through
and I won't know how to move.
White netting in the window
shivers, as if touched
by a breeze, but doesn't pull back,
guarding the room behind.
I settle in the shade,
press the bell again
and wait.
© Jacob Sam-La Rose
Jacob Sam-La Rose – Details – Lesson Plan
Commissioned by Apples & Snakes Ltd. www.applesandsnakes.org
page 1 of 2
Showing and not telling
Most of the poems I like work so well because they show you something rather
than simply tell you what that thing is. Describing my poem, I could simply say
"there was a time when I went to New York, and tried to meet my father, but
didn't get to see him". If I left it at that I wouldn't get the feeling across, or give
the reader any sense of the moment. Alternatively, if I wrote about everything that
happened on that day, I'd lose the force and focus of the poem.
Classroom exercise 1: (suitable for ages 9 up)
Think about a person that means a lot to you, or that you have a strong feeling
about. How do you feel about the person? A simple like/dislike? What other
feelings are there?
Try to gather details about the person that suggest the way you feel without
actually saying what the feeling is. Your details can describe anything about the
person. For example, if you like a person, what is it about that person that you
like? If you feel safe around someone, what is it about them that makes you feel
that way?
Write one line for each detail, building up a list, which will form your poem. If you
get more than 12 details, try to pick out the best ones.
TIP: you don't have to say WHO the person is - it's best if you don't. Allow your
details to speak for themselves.
TIP: remember, the best details are often the ones that appeal to the 5 senses things that you can taste, touch, see, smell or hear. If one of your details describes
a feeling, what would that feeling look like if you could see it? What would it feel
like if you could touch it? What would it sound like if you could hear it? (and so on)
Classroom exercise 2: (suitable for ages 12 and up) (For older students,
the exercise above could be used as a warm-up or introduction to this
exercise)
Think of a person you have a strong feeling for, or against! Think of a moment
when you were with the person but didn't want to be there, or wanted to be with
them and couldn't. If you can't think of a real moment, try to imagine how it would
feel and what you might be doing.
Make a list of details related to the moment. Remember - show but don't tell. Paint
a scene with only the details you need. Imagine you're an artist, using a pencil to
sketch an object. Try to draw the moment with as few lines as possible, just
enough to give a good sense of the moment you're thinking of.
Use these details as the basis for your poem. Pick out only the details that are
essential for the moment you're trying to sketch, and always remember the feeling
you're trying to communicate. When your details come together, do they suggest
the right feeling, or are they just describing what's happening?
Your poem can be a list poem, as in the first exercise. Alternatively, you're free to
develop the poem in different ways - just remember to stick to the essential
details.
Jacob Sam-La Rose – Details – Lesson Plan
Commissioned by Apples & Snakes Ltd. www.applesandsnakes.org
page 2 of 2