Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Sample Post

It is very difficult to settle on four poems, so I chose five:) These are the poems that are "speaking" to me at this stage in my life.  I look forward to reading about the poems that resonate with you.

The first poem that I would like to share is "To My Son's Girlfriend" by Michael Milburn.  I love how Milburn likens the parental love the father feels toward his son with a table a woodworker makes "intending to sell it but prays no buyer will recognize its worth."  I imagine myself feeling similar feelings of possessiveness and jealousy when my daughters enter their teenage years.

http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index/index.php?date=2010/03/29

Similarly, I love how Sharon Olds employs mathematical computations to describe her daughter's coming of age in "The One Girl at the Boys Party."  I hope the daughter (and mine as well) continues to use her mathematical mind even if "in her head sh'll be doing her wild multiplying."

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-one-girl-at-the-boys-party/


It probably doesn't surprise you that I would enjoy about poem about food.  In this case "Good Hot Dogs" by Sandra Cisneros.  I love the image of last line "You humming and me swinging my legs" because it portrays the pure joy and childhood innocence of the simple moments in life shared with someone you love.

https://www.utexas.edu/staff/hfsa/pdfs/HFSASummerWritingWorkshopSession4Reading1.pdf

The last two poems are similar as they speak about timing.  I love the way William Baer describes that image of the snowflake and then uses the qualities of the snowflake to describe the chance timing of this couples meeting and eventual kiss.

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/237372

In "End of April," Phillis Levin uses the qualities of a broken Robin's egg to compare to a loss felt by the speaker.  The "bird" that has left the shell "lives in my heart where, periodically, it opens its wings, tearing me apart."  Levin captures for me the feelings that we think we have put to rest, but occasionally catch us off guard.


Monday, May 25, 2015

"Poems I Love..." This week's poem assignment. Due Friday.

Spend some time reading contemporary poems.  Choose four of your favorite poems. Post the links to these poems and tell why you appreciate each of them.  Comment on a classmate's choices.

Some helpful links:
http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/p180-list.html
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/poems
http://www.favoritepoem.org/


Thursday, May 21, 2015

Robert Frost

Please post a 3-5 sentence comment regarding Frost's life, style, and the content of his poems.  What did you notice?  Reference specifics from the readings.