American Poetry “Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought, And the thought has found words” Robert Frost

POETRY . . . What is it? Poetry is “a type of literature that expresses ideas, feelings, or tells a story in a specific form (usually using lines and stanzas).” Poetry can break from traditional forms and continue to be poetry with its infusion of literary elements. Slide Source: http://home.comcast.net/~vldschool/Poetry%20Terminology.ppt#256,2,POETRY

POET A poet is a literary artist who uses words to create images or messages that evoke an emotional, intellectual or other critical thoughts and responses in readers. Slide Source: http://home.comcast.net/~vldschool/Poetry%20Terminology.ppt#256,2,POETRY

Understanding Poetry Why We Developed Language- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EdWgsTUhmI Why We Read Poetry- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aS1esgRV4Rc

American Poetry Broke away from set form and meter. It didn’t have to rhyme, or have a syllable count pattern. It was FREE verse. More of an emphasis was on raw emotion. The only emotion in previous Old World poetry was Love—the divine and flawless kind. Poetry was part of a private observation

Classic Poets Classical Poets: Walt Whitman, Edgar Allan Poe, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Emily Dickenson, Sylvia Plath, T.S. Eliot, Robert Frost Mainstream, white males Typically wealthy, or with connections Subject Matter: Nature revealing a universal truth Democracy/Freedom Religion The Common Man Typical Poetic Tools: Free Verse Meter, Rhyme, Punctuation, Imagery, Simile, Metaphor, Repetition, Alliteration, Irony “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe “Oh Captain, My Captain” by Walt Whitman http://www.youtube.com/wa tch?v=jAZLDI1FtRw

African American Poets http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NX9tHuI7zVo -Life Ain’t Been No Crystal Stair by Langston Hughes Famous Poets: Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, Sterling Allen Brown, Gwendolyn Brooks Common Topics: Freedom, or lack thereof Class differences Identity Struggles Poetic Tools: alliteration, imagery, metaphor, personification, simile, rhyme, repetition, apostrophe, echo, allusion, hyperbole, and meter

Sterling Brown Poem excerpt Riverbank Blues A man git his feet set in a sticky mudbank, A man git dis yellow water in his blood, No need for hopin', no need for doin', Muddy streams keep him fixed for good. Source: www.poets.org; http://www.afropoets.net/sterlingbrown3.html Brown’s use of dialect and blues as a mantra for expressing the reality of black life in the United States.

Paul Laurence Poem “We Wear the Mask” We Wear the Mask     WE wear the mask that grins and lies,     It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,—     This debt we pay to human guile;     With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,     And mouth with myriad subtleties.     Why should the world be over-wise,     In counting all our tears and sighs?     Nay, let them only see us, while             We wear the mask.     We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries     To thee from tortured souls arise.     We sing, but oh the clay is vile     Beneath our feet, and long the mile;     But let the world dream otherwise,             We wear the mask! “We Wear the Mask” Lyrics of Lowly Life, in 1896 by Dodd, Mead, and Company. Source: http://www.potw.org/archive/potw8.html

How Things Work by Gary Soto: http://www. youtube. com/watch How Things Work by Gary Soto: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4dNO GVZTds Oranges- Gary Soto : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Lz_m z5hG2o http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikV32q t32Xg –What I learned about Life So Far Sherman Alexie’s Top Ten: http://billmoyers.com/content/sherman- alexies-top-ten-native-american-poets/ Minority Poets Mexican-American: Pablo Nerudo, Gary Soto, Octavio Paz, Luis Lopez Native American: Esther Belin, Laura Da’, Santee Frazier, Joy Harjo Common Topics: Political and social issues Historical events Spirituality and Nature Identity, Alienation Family Life Choices

Relevance of Our Un-song Poets Dunbar exemplifies the stifled voice of many peoples and the frustrated voice of many writers/poets. Voices may be stifled because of differences: political, racial, gender, economic, social, psychological, philosophical, emotional, etc. He represents the power of poetry to evoke feelings and teach people to apply a literary psychology in order to survive daily.

Children’s Poets and Comedy Too Many Daves by Dr. Seuss http://www.youtube.com/wat ch?v=rebt5INsg3o Shel Silverstein Raffi Flight of the Conchords- Hurt Feelings http://www.youtube.com/wat ch?v=EuJzSTNDUGI Commonly Use: Rhyme, Rhythm, Onomatopoeia, lyrics, simile, alliteration

Rap Rapping (also known as emceeing,[1] MCing,[1] spitting (bars),[2] or rhyming[3]) refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics Rapping is distinct from spoken word poetry in that it is performed in time to a beat Rapping can be traced back to its African roots. Centuries before hip hop music existed, the griots of West Africa were delivering stories rhythmically, over drums and sparse instrumentation. Art forms such as spoken word jazz poetry and comedy records had an influence on the first rappers Eminem- Love the Way You Lie http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=r4l-ZKNyl28 Tupac Shakur- Changes http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=Ay9BWM8lwOA

Poetry Slams Slam Poem- Why I Hate School, but Love Education http://www.youtube.com/wat ch?v=y_ZmM7zPLyI Sex http://www.youtube.com/wat ch?v=IlJFvxad1_A&list=PLeAc DzbFWwbUfyEmUwZKqWr- oqMXHiC55 Pretty http://www.youtube.com/wat ch?v=M6wJl37N9C0 Poetry Slams Poetry Slam- Various poets perform Disillusioned youth use poetry to give a voice to their frustration at being born into a broken word Poetic Devices: Rhyme, rhythm, alliteration, lyrics, beats, onomatopoeia, simile, metaphor Common Topics: Identity Social Injustice and Dysfunction Education Family Issues