In-Class, Friday, Sept. 4: POEM

Look on page 41 of your textbook and reread the poem "Brooklyn Heights, 4:00 a.m." by Dana Farelli.

Today, we are creating similar poems, using the observations that you published on the blog as homework. We are going to imitate Farelli's style and method. (If you didn't do your homework, invent an observation quickly, and type it in a Word document. Approximately 100 words.)

STEP 1: Save Word document
Take your written observations. Copy them from the blog, and paste them in a blank Word document. Save this document on your desktop, and name it "lastname_poem."

STEP 2: Invent title (time + place)
Start with a title that mentions the TIME and PLACE of your observation. For example, if you found a dead mouse on your way to school, you could say, "On the Way to Faner, 8:00 a.m." -- don't say WHAT you observed, just where and when. Don't put any emotions in there yet.

STEP 3: Choose emotion and mood
Now, choose the emotion and mood for your poem. Our example poem by Farelli was rather sad. It was about the negative aspects of growing up, such as the loss of innocence, the loss of playfulness, the loss of ignorance of the lures of worldy vices, etc. Make sure to stay consistent within your choice (examples: melancholy, indifference, happiness, sadness, frustration, anger, loneliness, hate, factuality (just objectivity, no feelings), resignation, etc....).

STEP 4: Compose action/event
Using your homework for today, the observation, rewrite its content (action or event) in poetry form, in analogy to Farelli's content development. Say what happened, what you saw, what you experienced, what you felt. You can exaggerate. Make sure your mood comes through.

STEP 5: Use repetitions
Now go back to your content which you developed in STEP 4. Put in words that repeat exactly. You will need those for extra emphasis. Check Farelli's example and find spots where repetitions fit in your text.

STEP 6: Use the key phrase "we (or I) reminisce of...." in the middle of the poem, and repeat it at the end (last sentence)
Use Farelli's key phrase (she said, "we reminisce of days when we were..." in the middle, and "reminiscing about..." at the end of her poem). Match the ........ to your own content. If you don't like the word "reminisce," or if it doesn't fit in your context, you can choose another expression, but you will have to repeat this sentence as the last sentence of your poem, too.

STEP 7: Proofread your poem, and check for flow/fluency; smoothen it, check mechanics

STEP 8: Post or email poem
Some people are private about their poetry -- you have the choice: either email me your poem to get the participation points for this activity, or post it on the blog as a new thread, so that your peers can read it.