 Poetry: March 23, 2011 Issue [#4297] |
  Poetry
This week: Teaching a Respect for Poetry Edited by: Crys-not really here  
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Hello! Crys-not really here here, guest editor for this week's Poetry Newsletter. Today, a personal story about poetry.
A Happy Birthday
by Ted Kooser
This evening, I sat by an open window
and read till the light was gone and the book
was no more than a part of the darkness.
I could easily have switched on a lamp,
but I wanted to ride this day down into night,
to sit alone and smooth the unreadable page
with the pale gray ghost of my hand. |
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Teaching a Respect for Poetry
I recently became aware that the fact that I love poetry makes me a bit of an outsider in the Master's in Education program I'm enrolled in. In a classroom full of former English majors and future English teachers, only three people raised their hand when the professor asked who enjoyed poetry. Three out of ten. The professor went on to ask us to bring in our favorite poems the following week. Most responded with, "I don't have one." I responded with, "Just one?"
It blew me away. Most of the students in that class were very well-versed in the classics, but could probably not name five living, modern poets. These were all future teachers in their mid to late 20's, most of them graduate students. And as far as I know, I am the only graduate of an MFA in Creative Writing program in the bunch. I've always considered myself a reader, but I'm equally a creative writer. Apparently, that makes me an anomaly.
Even the professor seemed surprised when another student offered the example of how she had to memorize a poem in college. "That seems like an odd assignment," she said. To which I replied, "I had to memorize 'Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening' when I was in fourth grade." The process of memorizing poems seems to be a common practice in MFA programs, too. To memorize a poem is to live inside it. Has no one in that class lived inside a poem before?
Which brings me to the point of my newsletter: It's no wonder that children don't have respect for poetry. If teachers reduce poetry instruction to 'analyzing' "Kubla Khan" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge or "The Wasteland" by T.S. Elliot (both great poems by the way), they're basically saying that poetry is meant to be a foreign object that needs to be decifered, not an experience that should be lived and debated. By not introducing their students to poets like Ted Kooser, Denise Duhamel, Rita Dove, or even ee cummings, they're limiting how young people see poetry. They're also making the statement that poetry should be hard, inaccessible, and not something that students should attempt on their own.
I wonder if that's what happened to the people in my class. Tonight's the night when everyone has to bring in their favorite poem. I'm really curious what they will be.
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Anyone see the super full moon the other night? How amazingly big and bright! In honor of the full moon, here are some poems about the moon and the sky. Enjoy!
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Have an opinion on what you've read here today? Then send the Editor feedback! Find an item that you think would be perfect for showcasing here? Submit it for consideration in the newsletter!
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I love getting feedback! I will take this opportunity to catch up on some feedback I've received from past Poetry newsletters. I hope you'll write in and let me know what you think about metaphors. Please remember to use the "Submit Feedback" section below. Thanks!
Feedback on May 19th Newsletter:
I am Newbie and still not familiar with everything around here.So I happen to read your newsletter on free verse and it ts very helpful to me because though I try to write poetry (I hope they can be called poetry)I had no proper education on the subject.So the comments and your experiences will be highly valuable to a person like me. I hope you will be able to explain more about basic rules of writing poetry if u can spare your precious time. Thanks. CREEK 
Feedback on September 8th Newsletter:
I am so glad that you have written this newsletter. I just came across it because I have been noticing a lot of poems that have been put onto this site that have not used punctuation and have tried to help the writers by letting them know why punctuation is a key part of poetry. -Eric Noga
I like your views on puntuation and poetry. I agree wholeheartedly.  -warriormom
Feedback on December 10th Newsletter:
I don't think right, that is why I am not a poet, never was never will be. -hbar
Once a poet always a poet, I did not write anything for more than 20 plus years, life happened, raising kids, working and doing other things. I was retired in 2006 due to an illness and the poetry came flooding back. I think once you settle down, the poetry can find it's way through the muck and mire it's always there, it never goes away. Great article. -ransomme
Good day, Crys. With respect to the inclusion of reader comments to a previous piece on punctuation in poetry, I think two respondents (Brian and Turps-turps) were so accurate and powerfully stated, they should be reiterated in future pieces. Clever use of punctuation in poetry is the subtle seasoning which can elevate mediocre morsels to delectable delights. -DRSmith
Some time ago I proposed to a Fortune 500 Company that they create a position for a Corporate Poet. After I defended the proposition that this was an oxymoron, then explaining it was not for an advertising copy writer, the proposal got serious discussion in the board room before they voted it down by a narrow margin. I still think big business could use the benefit of a poet's mode of thinking about issues. -Doug Rainbow |
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