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Bellwork 1/20/15

Brainstorm: write down three words/phrases


that you can connect to an image.
Example: an open book, a lamp, a flying bird.

Under each word, write down three or four


emotions or actions that you associate with that
image.
Example: open book
imagination
freedom
hiding in the library at lunch

The first poem, Suppose Columbus, has an


unusual form.
Read the poem to yourself.
What is different about it?
Can anybody read it out loud?

Some thoughts
The author of the poem "reimagines" Columbus' voyage. What are the
results of the new version of the voyage?
Silently reread line four, noticing your eye motion. How is that motion
related to what the line says and to Columbus' actual voyage from
Spain?
Why are only two ships listed in line thirteen? Only one in line fifteen?
Are there other instances where the placement of words or phrases
especially at the ends of linesis related to the events as they occur in
the poem?
This poem would make sense if read aloud to someone who doesn't have
a copy in hand. What would a listener miss, though, from an oral
reading?

Nursery Rhyme Concrete Poems


Original:
Humpty Dumpty sat on a
wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great
fall.
All the kings horses and all
the kings men
Couldnt put Humpty
together again.

Concrete Poetry Version:


H
(umpty) sat
D on a wall
H
(umpty) had a grEAT f
D a
l
l
horses
Allthekings and
men
Couldnt pu (tHump)ty
tgthr(ooe) aGAIN

r-p-o-p-h-e-s-s-a-g-r
E. E. Cummings, 1894 - 1962
r-p-o-p-h-e-s-s-a-g-r
who
a)s w(e loo)k
upnowgath
PPEGORHRASS
eringint(oaThe):l
eA
!p:
S

a
(r
rIvInG

.gRrEaPsPhOs)
to

rea(be)rran(com)gi(e)ngly
,grasshopper;

Concrete Poetry
In a concrete poem, the placement of words on
the page is related to the meaning of the poem.
Why do we call it concrete poetry? Why might the
word concrete be related to these poems?

Look at the poems on page 795-802/844-850


Lets take notes on similarities and
differences between each poem.
Together: [l(a] by E. E. Cummings and
Composed in the Composing Room by
Franklin P. Adams
On your own: [Buffalo Bill s], The Jungle
Husband, Easter Wings, and one more of
your choice

What do they have in common?

l(a
le
af
fa
ll
s)
one
l
iness

Composed in the Composing Room


At stated .ic times
I love to sit and off rhymes
Till ,tose at last I fall
Exclaiming, "I don't ^ all."
Though I'm an * objection
By running this in this here -This of the fleeting hour -This lofty -ician tower -The er's hope dispells
All fear of deadly ||.
You think these [] are a pipe?
Well, not on your eotype.

Bellwork 1/21/15
Pick one of your three image words from
yesterdays bellwork (if you were absent an example
would be an open book or a flying bird.) Write
three to four sentences about that image word. You
can write a story, describe the image, or both. Feel
free to use similes, metaphors, personification, etc.
Example: The lamp on my desk is my mothers mothers lamp. The
base is made of three differently-sized crystal blocks, stacked up
like a snowman. One time I pulled it apart to replace the old wires,
taking the snowmans head, torso, and bottom off one by one until
all that was left was its bronze, cylindrical skeleton.

Concrete Poetry
What are the rules of concrete poetry?

Poets Make Choices


What sorts of things can a poet choose?

Lets write a concrete poem!


There are several ways to attempt to write a concrete poem,
but heres one easy way:
First step: pick a subject. Doesnt matter what it is, as long
as you can visualize it and put it into a shape.
Alternative first step: pick a shape. What shape would you like to
create? Draw an outline on your paper thats big enough to fill with
at least three or four words in the widest section.

Next: Brainstorm descriptive words or phrases about your


chosen topic to incorporate into the piece.
Then: Write! There are no rules about rhyme or cadence.
Youre creating a picture; your words should reflect that.
If you drew an outline, erase it once you finish writing the
poem.

Assignment
On your own, I want you to write three concrete
poems.
Subject matter, form, etc. are all up to you. Get
creative!
All three poems are due Thursday. Make sure they
are neatly written out on a piece of paper.

Journal Entry
Think about something you've written that you
remember well. It might be a letter to someone,
an essay for school, an article for the school
newspaper, or a poem. Think also about the
choices that we've discovered poets make when
they write a poem. How did you make choices as
you were writing? What conclusions can you draw
about writers in general from thinking about the
way that you and others (including poets) write?

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