Found Poetry ELA 10-2

What is a found poem? A found poem is a collection of bits of text, taken from prose, and shaped into poetry. These bits have something that makes them unique, and they work as stand-alone poems. Found Poetry is not something you write entirely yourself - you find the bits and reshape them into a new text.

found poem – an example Edmonton Grey Cup champions Regina - The Edmonton Eskimos captured the 91st Grey Cup, securing a solid win over the Montreal Alouettes Sunday. Ecstatic fans poured onto Whyte Avenue Sunday night to celebrate the team's first Grey Cup in 10 years. A rally to welcome the champions will be held Tuesday at City Centre Mall. It was sweet revenge for Edmonton, who lost the championship to the Alouettes last year, in front of a hometown crowd. "It's great to bring the cup back for the city of Edmonton, and for a great group of young guys," Tom Higgins, winning his first Grey Cup as a head coach, said. "We're champions for the rest of our lives," Jason Tucker said, after being named the game's Outstanding Player, with seven receptions for 132 yards and two touchdowns. Ben Cahoon, the league's Outstanding Canadian during the regular season and who made a spectacular one-handed catch in the second quarter that led to a touchdown, was named the Outstanding Canadian of the game. The Eskimos took an early lead, with a touchdown three minutes into the game. And while Montreal managed to tie the game twice in the second quarter, they never had the lead. Most of the game's action took place in that second quarter, with a total of 38 points scored. Early in the fourth quarter, Edmonton quarterback Ricky Ray dove into the end zone, putting the Eskimos up

found poem – example continued With less than a minute left in the game, Sean Fleming added three points for insurance. The Alouettes were forced to punt seven times in the second half. The third quarter's sole point came when Montreal kicker Matt Kellett's 70-yard punt went through the end zone for a single, leaving the Alouettes two points behind the Eskimos. The first half – more accurately, the second quarter – was thrilling football. Edmonton led 7-0 after the first quarter, drawing first blood with a Mike Pringle touchdown. They then scored a second TD three minutes into the second quarter, on a 41- yard catch by Tucker. But the Alouettes got back in the game with just over five minutes remaining in the half, when a beautiful one-handed diving catch from Cahoon set up a short touchdown pass to Pat Woodcock. The Als then tied the game with a Sylvain Girard touchdown. A fumble by Pringle had put the ball back in Montreal's possession and despite an almost-fumble from quarterback Anthony Calvillo, the Outstanding Player then managed to toss it to Girard in the end zone. The Eskimos then made their third touchdown, again to Tucker, putting them ahead But with less than a minute to play, Cahoon hit the end zone to tie the game. However, the half wasn't over. The Eskimos got the ball at the 25-yard line, after a Montreal fumble, with 28 seconds remaining, allowing for the field goal and the lead. Web Posted Nov :18 AM MST

Edmonton Grey Cup champions Edmonton Eskimos captured 91st Grey Cup solid win over Montreal Alouettes sweet revenge lost to Aloutettes last year in front of hometown crowd Eskimos took early lead touchdown three minutes into the game Aloutettes forced to punt seven times thrilling football team’s first Grey Cup in 10 years ecstatic fans “We’re champions for the rest of our lives!”

Deconstruction The original text, in this case, was a sports story on the Edmonton Eskimos winning the Grey Cup in November I chose the passages that I did to reflect the score, their “sweet revenge” over the Montreal Alouettes, a brief summary of several plays and the crowd reaction. The poem ends with a quote from one of the players. I could have chosen to put in more detail regarding plays and scores, but that would have made the poem more of a sportscast than an emotional celebration of their victory. (By extracting different details that focussed on Montreal, the poem could have been a sad tribute to that team.) The theme of this poem would be that sometimes a professional sports franchise has to wait many years to win a major title, but when it does, both players and fans are jubilant. This theme is also supported by the original sports story, as the Eskimos had not won the Grey Cup for ten years, which thrilled both them and their fans.

Deconstruction continued The visual with this poem is an illustration. The graphic is beside the text, symbolizing what was waiting on the sidelines for the Eskimos and their fans at the end of the game. The graphic itself represents the Grey Cup, while the celebratory confetti flowing out symbolizes the ecstasy the Eskimos and their fans felt over the win. The colours of the graphic are bright and cheery, suggesting the exhilaration of all involved. The graphic is also suggestive of the party atmosphere that would have spilled over into the city of Edmonton.

the assignment Read the poem, "My Guilt". Create a found poem of at least 20 lines, using pieces of text from "My Guilt" that will capture the main idea of the poem. Follow the model shown in the Grey Cup example in the Word document. Illustrate your poem with one graphic, taken from the linked Microsoft Clip Art site. Write at least two paragraphs discussing the choices made in creating and illustrating your found poem.