Annotated Bibliography William Stafford Poetry for Students. Ed. Mary K. Ruby, Ira Mark Milne. Vol 8.

Farmington Hills: Gale 2000. 1-15. Print. Why do birds fly? Why do bees buzz? Why do poets write poetry? The poem At the Bomb Testing Site, written by William Stafford, helps to explain why poets are inspired to write poetry. In a criticism of the poem, Jonathan Barron wrote that, The poem joins Staffords anti-militarism sentiment with environmentalist viewpoints often associated with the Pacific Northwest (v 8 p 9). The critic is identifying the idea that Stafford combined his personal beliefs with those of the citizens who surrounded him in the Pacific Northwest. This shows that Staffords poem is representing his and others ideals and beliefs. By using his poetry to advocate for peace and the protection of the environment, a Stafford made himself heard through free, written word. In conclusion, poetry is written because poets require a medium with which to express their observations, their emotions, their stories, and their beliefs.

Leahey, Andrew. Jimmy Eat World on AllMusic. AllMusic. RoviCorp, n.d. Web. It has long been established that anyone under the age of 18 has at one time intended to become a world famous rock star. This is because children and adolescents idolize the musicians of their generation and obsess over their music. The band Jimmy Eat World demonstrated how influential music artists can be on a generation of youth. Jimmy Eat World has passed from the public spotlight for some time now but even in their decline, Jimmy Eat World still remained a league above the generation of emo-core torch-bearers they helped spawn (Leahey paragraph 6). The statement shows that Jimmy Eat Worlds emotional styling were idolized by the adolescents of the time. These teenagers were so impacted, that an emo craze developed. Suddenly, every teen with a garage was starting up a band. This exemplifies the idea that by simply pursuing their dreams and talents, the artists of Jimmy Eat World were able to share their inspiration with an entire generation of youth. Music professionals prevalent in popular culture have and always will, influence the youngest generation through music.

Synthesis Paragraph Poetry and music share a deep connection. Poets and musicians write their respective pieces to communicate, to convey their innermost thought, feelings, and opinions to an audience. Poets express themselves through the written word and musicians express themselves through sounds. Those sounds can be singing or simply the playing of an instrument. Playing an instrument can only convey basic emotions, anger, sadness, excitement, and others. When combined with singing, the instruments give more weight to the words. This can be found in the song The Middle by Jimmy Eat World when the lead singer says, Yeah, just be yourself. It doesnt matter if its good enough for someone else (10). At that point in the song, the drums and guitar are being played softly in the background, to place more emphasis on the soothing, personal words and not the instruments themselves. In music it is easy to find expression of emotion, just as I poetry it is easy to find the expression of ideas. In the poem At the Bomb Testing Site written by William Stafford, the idea of protecting the environment is express when the poet writes, At noon in the desert a lizard panted, waiting for history (1). In this quote, nature is represented by the lizard. However, history does not signify any connection to the past, history is used here in the context of making history. The lizard is waiting for a momentous occasion for humans. Humans have made groundbreaking discoveries and the lizard (the environment) is powerless to do anything. This connects to the idea of environmental conservation because it highlights the idea that everything that humans do has repercussions for the environment. After examining the poem At the Bomb Testing Site written by William Stafford and the song The Middle by Jimmy Eat World, it is evident that poets and musicians use poetry and music to express themselves, their ideas, their thoughts, and their emotions.