crazy internet poetry videos

I suppose it is fair that poets have access to vidoecameras to... not that their vidoes really need to be viewed by the general public. today I felt like I was watching the paris Hilton sex tape... something exposing the dark undesirable elements of some poor human's soul in a dirty ramdom and uncomplimentary way.

The debate was a cool idea. It is hard to express sides of an idea when you do not have a personal opinion that is the same as the thought you are forced to present. I love prose poetry personally so it was easy to debate that side of the argument. I find that prose poetry clearly conveys thoughts and the emotions behind thoes thoughts. I can write prose poetry easily and it feels like it flows out of my self. Other forms, barring haiku, are too rigid for me.

Yay for free verse!!

I love free verse! The free verse form links thoughts directly to paper in a clear line of expression. Instead of wasting time and energy fussing over rhymes and correct form the ideas can come out instantly. I like this because my thoughts come so fast that I have time to get them all down on to paper. When I am attempting to conform to poetic form I forgett where I am going with a thought and can't finish writting the poem. Overall, I like speed!

I hate classical imitations!

For the life of me I do not understand the purpose or the method of classical imitations of poems. I want classical form to stay in greek or lattin where it belongs. There are always new forms being developed. Why is it necessary to regress into the past and use antiquated and dull forms of writing when there are a thousand new options to use. There is a reason, that still stands today, why Sir Philip Sidney's readers need help to understand his poetic structure. It is too complicated to make the form useful and worthwhile!!

yay tests!!

So there were interesting poems on the midterm. Poem 3 was different from the other two poems. It was a modern storyline and not a historical topic. The use of "ity" is extensive! It is confusing having so many of the words end in the same fashion but overall the suffix creates a sense of repetition and a unique rhyme scheme.

adventures in humorous poetry

The unit on funny poem writing was interesting. It seems to be really subjective. What is funny for one person will definately not strike the exact same cord in someone else. This makes it really hard for the poet since he has to play to a wide audience.

my haiku poem

My stye is not as harsh as the collective style of my group. I like mushy poems more than hopeful death poems. No I do not need a counsellor.

Thoughts of Jason - Love Haiku

Love is new to me.
My love, you are the only
boy to touch my heart.

Haiku-emo

I like poetry's ability to set thoughts free from my mind and onto paper. Our class on haiku I particularly enjoyed because the short form makes it easy to express small quick thoughts in a creative way.

Haiku - emo

The leaves are rotting
just like my dark tortured soul
I wish fall would die.

My presentation

I was pumped on wednesday to present. I didn't get to go, so I had to wait. This was hard, but worth it. I felt calm as I went up to present on friday. Although the my presentation wasn't flawless I had fun pulling it off. Ashley was a good sport. She helped me out and did a great job in doing so. I enjoy doing assignments in an original way. I feel successful. I deserve an "A+."

Presentations are fun!!

Yay for us all! We did it. The presentations were great. I liked how deep and personal everyone got. It surprised me that everyone was so frank. The wide array of songs was interesting too. I wish there had been more visuals. For the most part everyone was good at making attemps at eye contact. That was brave and impressivve. Good job to us all!

recap

Overall, I am learning that poetry is a very complex way to use simple words to express deep meaning. Some poetic forms are set out for us already such as the couplet, sonnet, sestina, rondeau and other poems are more free forming. Some must rhyme and others may not. Also rhymes are not always as straight forward as "bee" and "tree". Poets stretch the pronunciation of words I would not think would work together and they make unexpected rhymes. Poetry also seems to be to be rather controversial form of writing. By this I mean that every persons reaction is different to every different poem. As we have seen in class this can give rise to distemper in some off my classmates. Fun!

The structure of sestinas is very interesting and quite complex. Elizabeth Bishop's sestina demonstrates the pattern well. It starts with house, next grandmother, child, stove, almanac, then tears. the next stanza starts with tears. tears was the last word in the previous stanza. Next, house which was the first line in stanza one.

Searching on google I found the following:

Stanza 1: 1 2 3 4 5 6
Stanza 2: 6 1 5 2 4 3
Stanza 3: 3 6 4 1 2 5
Stanza 4: 5 3 2 6 1 4
Stanza 5: 4 5 1 3 6 2
Stanza 6: 2 4 6 5 3 1
Tercet: Variable.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sestina

Sestina by Elizabeth Bishop

September rain falls on the house.
In the failing light, the old grandmother
sits in the kitchen with the child
beside the Little Marvel Stove,
reading the jokes from the almanac,
laughing and talking to hide her tears.

She thinks that her equinoctial tears
and the rain that beats on the roof of the house
were both foretold by the almanac,
but only known to a grandmother.
The iron kettle sings on the stove.
She cuts some bread and says to the child,

It's time for tea now; but the child
is watching the teakettle's small hard tears
dance like mad on the hot black stove,
the way the rain must dance on the house.
Tidying up, the old grandmother
hangs up the clever almanac

on its string. Birdlike, the almanac
hovers half open above the child,
hovers above the old grandmother
and her teacup full of dark brown tears.
She shivers and says she thinks the house
feels chilly, and puts more wood in the stove.

It was to be, says the Marvel Stove.
I know what I know, says the almanac.
With crayons the child draws a rigid house
and a winding pathway. Then the child
puts in a man with buttons like tears
and shows it proudly to the grandmother.

But secretly, while the grandmother
busies herself about the stove,
the little moons fall down like tears
from between the pages of the almanac
into the flower bed the child
has carefully placed in the front of the house.

Time to plant tears, says the almanac.
The grandmother sings to the marvelous stove
and the child draws another inscrutable house.

From: http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/users/03/ahead/sestina.html


I studied this poem because it was the happiest sestina I could find. I like the imagery of the grandmother and the child. I think the almanac has a role in this poem to predect the future. This relates to the relationship between the child and the grandmother. The young child is the future of the grandmother, who's already lived her life.

couplets

I never realized how much meaning a poet could pack into a "silly" couplet. Dryden hashes Shadwell to bits, "Shadwell alone my perfect image bears,
Mature in dullness from his tender years:
Shadwell alone, of all my sons, is he
who stands in all stupidity.
This scathing poem seems unnecessary and mean. It is very far away from the cute couplets I was introduced to in grade five. Dryden uses this poetic form to express his dark feelings. In "My Last Dutchess," the form is used to express the darkness of the speaker's soul. When did the couplet become a vehicle for darkness and gloom?

soggy walk to safeway

My landlady had painted. The house reeked and I was forced to leave the warmth of my room and go find somewhere where I could breathe. I chose Safeway and took "Poetic Form" with me. I was impressed with the way sonnets can open up an author's feelings or views on a issue and then take them in a loop so that you see both sides of their point of view. I like the rhyming couplets that come at the end of Shakespeare's sonnets. I think it ends them nicely. the rhyme patterns of the Pertrarchan and the Shakespearean sonnet differ some. This gives an author variety in their expression.

Ballad: Smelly Ode to Bush

(as we practiced writing balads in class today.....)


Bush has the world in his foul hand
More followers than Christ
He sold us out for war and greed
Now all must pay the price


(this will be continued next class)

Music

New songs: Light my Candle - RENT
La Vie Bohem - RENT
Rehab - Amy Winehouse

Favorite: Hump de bump - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Fuck Me Pumps - Amy Winehouse
Joyful Girl - Ani Difranco

Most played: Gimmie More - Brittney Spears

Song title that reflects me: Dani California - Red Hot Chili Peppers

success!!

The blog is complete. Now I am ready to take over the world. Oops! I mean I am ready to complete some homework.