Day 3 Free Verse

In Today’s Lesson: Goals: Focus Question To learn and recognize and appreciate free verse To begin to think deeply about ideas by annotating text after re- reading How do we make meaning of poems?

“Hanging Fire” by Audrey Lorde While I read the poem, mark up the poem with the symbols we used previously: * = This is cool! != This is important! ?= I don’t get it!

Some background (Lorde) (1934–1992) A self-described “black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet,” Audre Lorde dedicated both her life and her creative talent to confronting and addressing the injustices of racism, sexism, and homophobia. Born in New York City of West Indian parents, Lorde came to poetry in her early teens. Her first poem was published by Seventeen magazine when she was still in high school. Before she died, Lorde held an African naming ceremony in which she adopted pretty much the coolest name ever: Gambda Adisa, which means Warrior: She Who Makes Her Meaning Known.

Why read poems more than once? Poems aren’t novels; we don’t have to spend many hours reading through them That doesn’t mean you just read it and you’re done Remember poetry is compact, so we must unpack the suitcase, un-fill the jar. Reading the poem more than once, especially hearing it read out loud by different people, might help illuminate things you didn’t see or understand before Volunteer reader?

Class Discuss: What was different about this reading compare to how I read it? What more did you learn about the poem or the speaker because of this?

Some background (Poem) "hang fire" refers to an unplanned delay between the triggering and the ignition of a gun. It's a moment of pause between pulling the trigger of a gun and its actual firing. At first glance, the poem may appear to have no serious purpose other than a girl whining about her life but as we go deep, …. The emotion of this poem is serious but has a funny element in it… But how do we know? How can we know more?

Annotating the text Active readers think while they read and take notes about what they are reading and thinking. Annotating text is what you did when you used your symbols. You are now going to annotate the text by writing your thoughts while reading. The thoughts should be written right next to the text that they are thinking about (as opposed to using a separate page). Remember: as you read you should think about what you are reading: What questions come to mind? What confuses you? What conclusions are you drawing? What are you feeling? What do you imagine/see as you read the word/line/poem/?

Ways to Annotate -Underline or circle important words (words that surprise you, or words that create strong pictures in your mind as you read) -Write your thoughts/conclusions/interpretations in the margin -Write a short summary at the end -Write a question: what is confusing? What are you wondering about? -Write what you think is the most important feeling conveyed -Draw a picture of what you are thinking or imagining -Comment on a word or phrase that conveys a strong image or feeling The more you interact with the poem, the more you will gain

What new things did you discover about this poem? What is this poem about? How is this different from what you read the first time? Although you might not like the poem any more than when you first read it, do you appreciate it? Change any of your answers from the back of the worksheet as needed.

Some Conclusions: The poem has an interesting simple structure. It has three stanzas with free lines. The language used is simple and easy to understand probably because she is just a fourteen-year-old girl and she wants us to understand in the simplest way what she is going through. It gives us the comfort when reading the poem because we can relate it to ourselves as we once been fourteen-year-old girls. At first glance, the poem may appear to have no serious purpose other than a girl whining about her life but as we go deep, this fourteen year old girl is trying to called up for support and help as she is going through adolescence. The emotion of this poem is serious but has a funny element in it. It is serious as she keeps complaining about her life and needs somebody to assist her throughout the completely growing process but it is portrayed in a word of a fourteen-year-old girl.

Friday Free Write in Free Verse! Your turn! Write a free verse poem that begins with the same lines of the poem “I am fourteen”(use your actual age!) and free-write! Remember, you should have no strict form, rhyme, or pattern. It can contain these elements, but should have no set form. Need more inspiration?

Winter Poem by Nikki Giovanni once a snowflake fell on my brow and i loved it so much and i kissed it and it was happy and called its cousins and brothers and a web of snow engulfed me then i reached to love them all and i squeezed them and they became a spring rain and i stood perfectly still and was a flower

I Am… by anonymous I am eighty-seven and my skin is no longer mine as it hangs around my bones like sheets over couches. The girl I once loved, I once married lies in her grave with her sweet smile, Sunday best, and open heart. How come my eyes are so poor and my memory the worse of the two? I remember she used to sing to me but the early blue bird melodies have finally all disappeared. There is nothing I want to do than to lie with you to die with you; nobody ever stops to think About my side of it I should have been dead, too I was the driver after all. After all these years, I am loving only you.