1. ENG2D Block B Week 1 Ms. Westgate
Poetry
ENG2D Block B
Week 1
Ms. Westgate

2. Learning goals To understand how memory impacts and inspires writers
To understand that personal experience is only one source of inspiration
To familiarize ourselves with poetic devices so we may analyze the poetry we explore in terms of how they are crafted and what tools their creators utilized to invoke an emotional response and give meaning
To analyze a poem in terms of poetic devices, meaning, and conventions

3. Warm up poem Suli Breaks, Why I Hate School But Love Education

4. The Role of Memories in Literature
MINDS ON:
The Role of Memories in Literature

5. Where do writers get their Inspiration?
Life experiences
Stories they hear or read
Observations
Events
Their imaginations

6. Do Writer’s Only Write From Their Experiences?
Is every story Stephen King tells a reflection of his own life?
Did the writer experience everything they wrote about?
Of course not, however, they get their inspiration from their own experiences that are stored in memories
Memories are treasure troves for writers
Every story and character they create has roots in something the writer experienced whether virtually (through reading, watching, hearing other’s stories both fact and fiction)

7. Memories Are the foundation for all literature
Poetry is one genre that is often used to express personal experiences and deep emotions more than any other genre
In this Module and the next, we are going to explore some forms of poetry that are particularly reflective of the poets experiences, emotions and memories
While you read the poems presented to you, ask yourself:
Is the poet speaking from personal experience?
Is the poet sharing their personal response to an event?
What role does memory play in the poem?

8. Poetry is
A literary work in which special intensity is given to the expression of feelings and ideas by the use of distinctive style and rhythm; poems collectively or as a genre of literature
Oxford English Dictionary
Although poetry is written and read, it is most powerful when it is read aloud
Poetry has been put to music and sung since the time of bards

9. Poetry Is a genre of literature Has genres of its own like?
Concrete poetry
Allegory
Prose poetry
Odes
Romantic poetry
Narrative poetry
Lyric poetry
Blank Verse
Pastoral poetry
Epitaph
Slam poetry
Couplet
Haiku
Acrostic
Cinquain
Alexandrine
Sonnet
Anagram
Free verse
Carol
Ballad
Found
Epic
And so on

10. Poetry
For definitions of the various subgenres of poetry go to:
There are as many forms of poetry as there are emotions and feelings to express
We cannot possibly delve into every form during this course
So we will touch on a few

11. Poetic devices Go over and discuss the handout on poetic devices
Familiarize yourself with the common ones and refer to this handout as we analyze and create poems
Many of these devices, if not all, are used by authors of all forms of literature so they are important to know and understand as we analyze how skilled writers use them to create and enhance meaning, evoke emotion, and tell the stories in interesting, even provocative, ways

12. What form of Poetry Is This?
"Dr. Afua Cooper." Who's Who in Black Canada, Web. 16 Sep <

13. What is Dub Poetry?
Poetry of West Indian origin which originated out of dub music consisting of spoken word over reggae rhythms;
Generally performed without music
The rhythms is built into the poem through chanted speech with rhythmic accentuation and dramatic stylization of gesture
"Dub poetry." En.wikipedia.org, Web. 16 Sep <
Could you hear the reggae rhythm as Afua Cooper recited her poem?

14. The Assignment Read “Memories Have Tongue” by Afua Cooper
While you read it try to recite it with reggae rhythm as your beat
Identify the poetic devices Cooper utilizes
What affects do they have?
How do they enrich meaning?

15. Poetry
In Part 1, we discussed and considered how the writer’s memories shape their poems and inspire them
We also looked at poetic devices and familiarized ourselves with them
In Part 2, we will consider how the reader’s own experiences and perspectives inform how they interpret a poem
Do your experiences, memories and perspective affect how you interpret a poem?
Can you be moved by a poem written from experiences that are very different from your own?

16. Discussion Question
How can you relate to a poem that is written from an opposing perspective?
Can we read and respond to a poem without our own bias getting in the way?
Are poems open to interpretation and is it okay that we take from a poem something different than what the writer is trying to convey?
How important is it to know the background of the writer when reading?

17. Case Study: Lenore Keeshig-Tobias
Read I Grew Up once before reading about Keeshig-Tobias’ background
What do you learn about her from the poem?
"Publisher: Sister Vision Press (Open Library)."OpenLibrary.org, Web. 17 Sep <

18. Lenore Keeshig-Tobias
An interview with Keeshig-Tobias discussing her culture, her life and how they have influenced her writings
How do her memories and experiences influence her writing?
Re read the poem I Grew Up
How does knowing her background and perspective influence you as you read the poem?
Do you believe knowing the writer’s background is important? Why or why not?

19. What form of poem is I Grew Up?
Is there a clear beginning, middle and end?
Does it rhyme?
Is there a pattern?
Is there a rhythm?

20. A Narrative Poem Tells a story (has a beginning, middle and end)
Is told by a narrator or character
May include several characters
Has a conflict: in short narrative poems, “the conflict tends to involve the emotional transformation of a single character”(Edel).
Has line breaks that contribute to meaning

21. A Narrative Poem Has punctuation at the end of sentences
Enjambment – line breaks that do not coincide with sentence breaks
Has a persona – NOT THE AUTHOR – represents a fictitious character unique to the work
Uses symbols and metaphors
Uses powerful imagery

22. I Grew Up Who is telling the story? A narrator or a character?
What is the conflict?
How does it get resolved? Or does it?
What is the narrator like?
What symbols are present?
Identify some of the imagery
What is the theme or main idea?
What message does the narrator try to convey?

23. I Grew Up Is a unique style of narrative poetry
It is a Native poem that deals with the issues of identity and native culture
They address the complexities around being Native in Canada

24. The Assignment There are 2 parts:
Respond in complete sentences using concrete examples from the poem to the questions put forward
Create your own I Grew Up poem following the pattern of Keeshig-Tobias’ poem in terms of rhythm, line length, number of lines in the stanzas, number of stanzas, and the reversal in the refrain at the end

25. Part TWO of the Assignment
Create your own narrative poem about growing up
Use Keeshig-Tobias’ poem as a model
Your lines should be about the same length
It should have the same number of stanzas
It should have a refrain which is slightly inverted at the end
You can rhyme if you like
You may use humour
It must have a beginning, middle, and end
It must have imagery and symbolism

26. References
"Dub poetry." En.wikipedia.org, Web. 16 Sep <
"Dr. Afua Cooper." Who's Who in Black Canada, Web. 16 Sep < cooper/>.
Edel, Ryan. "What is a Narrative Poem?." Web. 17 Sep < online.html>.
 "Keeshig-Tobias also storyteller." nurun.com, Web. 17 Sep < also-storyteller>.
"Publisher: Sister Vision Press (Open Library)."OpenLibrary.org, Web Sep <
Suli Breaks. Digital image Web. 4 Mar 2014 < hate-school-but-love-education/suli-breaks-1/>.