Week 8: Reapers & My Arms

Reapers by Jean Toomer
This brief poem is written about people sharpening their scythes and cutting down the grass in the field. I had to look up what a scythe was and found that it is similar to a sickle just longer. Imagining the poor rodent caught in the path of the tool was a little sad and actually made the act of cutting grass seem sinister. What other poor animals have fallen prey to the reaping?

My Arms by Paul Guest
This poem is written about a man and his inability to use his own body to preform tasks. toward the end of the poem he mentions that the woman in his life can now help him with his daily occupations. I researched the author of this poem online and found out that he was born the same year as me (1983) and that he led a totally normal life until age 12. When he was 12 he was in a bicycle accident that left him a quadriplegic. After researching the author I reread the poem and was able to fully understand it.

Week 8: Chapter 5 & 7 3-2-1 Response

3. Chapter 5 speaks of the sound (and look) of sense and chapter 7 describes metaphors. The sound of a poem is the way it falls on the readers ears, the look is similar to the sound as it determines how the poem will be viewed when the reader sees it. The way poets use alliteration by repeating certain consonant sounds in their writing, can paint an audible picture for the reader to follow. Onomatopoeia usage in poetry is fun and can add sound effects and interest to the poem. According to the text, metaphors and figurative speech are a way to create a poems density and reveal how the poets mind works.  The different ways to use metaphors in poetry allow for more imagination in writing it.


2. Being able to change the way a poem is written visually can create interest from a reader. I never thought to change the way things are physically laid our on paper to change the way they were read. Using personification to make inanimate objects come to life is a fun way to make the reader feel the things you are describing about them.


1. A question I have for my peers is "Is it difficult to digest poetry written with a lot of metaphors?" I find that I have a difficult time deciphering the true meaning when too many are used in the poem.

My baby arrived!

You might have noticed I wasn't in class yesterday, this is why!
Miss Charlotte Jean, born at 10:52 am 11/19, 7 lbs 7oz 21 3/4 inches long.

I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving :)

Week 7: Traveling through the dark and The next poem

Traveling through the dark by William Stafford
This poem was very sad to me, but yet I don't know if I wouldn' t have done the same thing. This poem is a perfect example of how a poet can write a short story in less than 20 lines. If he had cut the fawn out of the doe, who is to say that it wouldn't have died anyway? I still had a heavy heart after reading it, this piece did touch me.

The next poem by Dana Gioia
This is a poem written about writing a poem. I think it pokes fun st poems that are lengthy and boring and also talks about how it is difficult to get across emotion without sounding cheesy. the best part of this poem is the last lines which tell you even though the writer dislikes the things she has written about, she just did it to the reader. It is funny and a little ironic.

Week 7: Chapter 2 & 11 3-2-1 Response

3.  In chapter 2 verse is described and in chapter 11 devising and revising are explained.  The verse of a poem is how the poem looks, and subsequently how it is supposed to be read. the different formats and line breaks can guide the reader in where to take a breath and which lines and words are emphasized. Using different formats when writing poetry, such as the love sonnets, can change the way a poem is read. Focusing on the poetry you have written and rewriting and revising it is essential to make sure the very best words remain. When you review the poetry you have written, you can decide how to shape it so that it works best to portray exactly what you intended. By revising and devising your work you can prepare it for submission and hopefully publication. In some cases a poem written about one thing can have an entirely new meaning by changing a few key words or the perspective of the narrator or point of view of the poem. 


2. Knowing where to implement line breaks can be very confusing.  Along with using the line breaks it can sometimes change the meter of the poem for better or worse. Creating a community for your writing and submitting your work seems very difficult to me. The idea of "community" implies that you must search out a group of people to share your poetry with. I think poetry is very personal, even though i do not take it seriously. I have difficulty sharing with classmates let alone finding strangers to read and possibly criticize my words.


1. A question I have from this weeks reading is "Would you ever want to be a published poet?" I wonder how many of my classmates would actually enjoy writing for a living? i know that Baker is not necessarily a college that one would go to to become an English major, but how many students have discovered their love for it after taking classes like creative writing? It is always possible to transfer to another school (like Wayne State) and further their education and strive to be an English major, but how many do?

Week 6: Response to Chrysanthemums & The Other Cold War

Chrysanthemums by Spencer Reece-
In the poem it tells about a boy who has been badly burned and is going through debridement which is the surgical removal of dead tissue. I think the poem is written from the view point of a nurse or medical assistant who takes their mind off the horrors and sadness in the hospital by focusing on other things. In this story they focus on the living chrysanthemums outside the window to have a brief mental escape from the drama inside the hospital.

The Other Cold War by Adrian Blevins
In this poem the girl is talking about how she can tempt and hurt boys so easily. It says that she doesn't know how she possesses this power to turn the m and and them turn away from them so easily and break their hearts.   How she went from being an innocent baby to a hormonal teenager. I think the imagery in this poem is great, the moon, and the dixie cup comparisons being my favorite.

Week 6: Poetry Ch. 6 & 10 3-2-1 Response

3. In chapters 6 and 10, subject matter and finding the poem are discussed. The subjects or objects you can choose to study when writing poetry could be right around you at all times. The text suggests looking at objects around you and imagine how they perceive certain events as opposed to writing in first person about it. Using imagery in poetry helps to describe the setting, feelings, or actions without using many lines. It is much faster to use descriptive adjectives to get across these things than by doing it in the literal sense, as one would in a novel or short story. Imitation and Models are talked about in chapter 10. It is said in the text that you can become a better poet by reading other poets. It is less of being a copy cat and more about using poets for inspiration. By reading and interpreting the works of others, it is easier to understand rhythm and meter for your own poetry.


2. Choosing the subject when writing poetry is very difficult for me. If it is assigned to me then it is very easy, but if i were to try and wrote prose on my own, I don't think it would ever be successful. Also, I think it is difficult to copy other poets when it is hard to understand their work. I don't particularly enjoy poetry so I find it difficult to be serious when writing it. I guess these aren't really questions on the chapter but rather observations about my feelings toward the art form.


1. A question I have for my peers is "how do you write poetry that rhymes without feeling really cheesy?" It seems like every time I put pen to paper and have to rhyme it comes out very sarcastic or sing song-y in a bad way. How do people write rhyming poetry seriously?