Watch one of the videos posted on our blog. Then, explore some of that poet's published work. Comment on your impressions of the poet's video as well as the poetry you read. Due by 2/26.
I saw the video of poet Charles Simic reciting his poem "Prodigy." My first impression was that he perhaps grew up during a time of war, as the poem revolved around the atrocities that occur during war. What I really liked about his poem was that it felt more as if he was narrating a story. He used innocent objects, such as a chessboard to signify a darker aspect of life. When I looked up some of his other poems, I noticed similar themes of relating objects to war, horror, sadness, and so on forth (ex: his poem "Mirrors at 4 A.M."). It seems as if his poems revolve around a child's point of view and a child becoming self aware. In his poem "Paradise Motel," Simic uses the image of a child watching television to explain the horrors going on through war. In "Late September," Simic describes a relatively calm setting at the beach that he then relates to death. Another one of his poems that related to death is "On this Very Street in Belgrade." In order to figure out why he juxtaposed children and death/war so often, I looked up a biography of the poet. I found out that he had grown up during World War II and experienced many of the troubles he talks about in his poems (homelessness, moving, etc). Overall, I really like how Simic combines innocence and darker aspects of life by keeping a narrative style to poetry.
I read the poem "The Funeral" by Donald Hall and I found it to be a very interesting portrayal of death and the funeral process as a whole. However, I did not particularly like the reading and I think I would have had a completely different interpretation of the poem if I had read it or if I had heard it read in a different way. Donald Hall has many other poems that address both death and nature, as they are reoccurring themes in his writing. One of his poems titled "Affirmation" that begins by saying "To grow old is to lose everything". Hall seems to have a strong melancholic view of death that is expressed in his poetry. I also thoroughly enjoy sonnets and I think it worked well for this particular poem. I think the structure of sonnets can foster more creativity and be a great way to tell a story.
I also watched the reading of "The Funeral" by Donald Hall. I agree with Jack that it was not the best reading of the poem. While I liked that the reader sort of acted the poem out with his hands, I think he read it too slow and did not enunciate the words well enough. I do like the poem itself, however. I thought it was a very real reflection of what it is like to attend the funeral of someone that you love. As I read some other poems by Hall, I noticed that he uses simple and direct language in the majority of them. He makes readers feel as though they are experiencing the events in the poem. Hall seems to be a very talented poet.
I also watched the reading of "The Funeral" by Donald Hall. And I agree I feel as though the reading really did not do the poem justice. I agree with Grace that it really captures the feeling of what it is like to attend a funeral of someone you were deeply connected to. But the reading was very slow and a bit hard to understand so it didn't draw you in as much as if you just read it on paper. One thing I noticed about Hall's style as I read his other poetry is that his poems have an imagist type of feel to them. He tends to focus on one singular moment that each individual might not have experienced themselves but the feelings the images create are universal. I noticed that Hall seems to have a fascination with mortality and has written a lot of poems about growing older or dealing with illness.
I watched the first video of the poem “Five Directions to My House” by Juan Felipe Herrera. I really liked the simplicity of this poem, as it is just 5 numbered steps to get to his house. I loved how it was kind of like instructions, but it was also his way of recalling where he comes from. There are always little things we remember that bring us back home. I liked the video itself because Herrera read it very differently than I would’ve read it in my head. He paused at all the right moments to make an even stronger impact. I noticed in some of his other poems that he uses a similar style to the one he used for “Five Directions to My House”. Some of the other poems were almost like a list, providing couplets or short stanzas of different images, which I liked. There are also poems with very long stanzas, like “Exiles”. I like how Herrera uses different styles and techniques. Even if his poems are different lengths, they all include very vivid images. After looking at some other poems, I’m kind of surprised his “Five Directions” poem is so short. Many of the other poems I looked at filled up multiple pages. I think that Herrera’s goal is to tell a story (probably from his life), so maybe that is why he tends to write really long poems. After reading these poems, I really felt like I had experienced these events and places that Herrera had written about.
I also watched this and I agree with Allie that the simplicity of the poem really stood out. I wasn't expecting it to end so quickly and the way Herrera read, left me wanting more. I believe that the shortest poems are more often than not the most profound. They are short in length, but have so many layers that require a detailed analysis to discover the meaning of the work as a whole. The simplicity of this work, and the depth of meaning reminds me of The Red Wheelbarrow by William Carlos WIlliams. I did look up some other poems by Herrera and I agree with the surprise Allie mentions about the length of "FIve Directions" compared to his other works. "Blood on the Wheel" could be considered a short story, and it does seem to tell his life story, providing an explainations to why he writes really long poems in great detail. I believe however, that "Five Directions to My House" is also a profound story from his life, if not the most profound out of all of his works. If you live in the same place for a significant amount of time, you can rattle off directions to your home without even thinking about it beforehand. It is something so familiar and simple for that person. I think this poem captures that familiarity that everyone has about getting home. The simplicity is nice and unexpected, but the meaning is profound.
I watched the last video of Billy Collins reading his poem, "The Lanyard." We watched this video in class and I loved the poem. I think the poem is hilarious, but I also think the way he recites his poems adds another level of humor, because his voice is so monotone and it just sounds very matter of fact. I love how he uses a lanyard to show how important a mother is, and how a person can never repay his or her mother. It also highlights the child and parent relationship extremely well, as parents, mothers in this case, give their children life's necessities and in return we give them such simple things, but they find meaning in them somehow. Another poem I read by Collins that I really enjoyed is "On Turning Ten." This poem also has the same kind of simple tone, but the way he describes turning ten makes it seem so dramatic. It's funny to me because the speaker is saying that turning ten is going to change his life, and basically saying that his childhood is over, which is funny because that's not the case. I vividly remember when I was turning 13, but turning 10 was never a big deal, so I think this is funny. The simple, yet dramatic tone is very representative of the 10 year old, as children this young are usually very innocent. I really like reading Billy Collins' poetry as he takes heavier or more important topics and makes them so simple and funny.
I also watched Billy Collins' presentation of his poem "The Lanyard." I agree with Montana about how Collins utilizes humor and sarcasm in order to depict a greater message. The tone he uses adds to the overall effectiveness of the poem. His poetry is extremely accessible, and it addresses daily experiences with uncomplicated language which is why I enjoy it so much. I find it very creative that he uses the simple gift of a lanyard in order to emphasize the unconditional love and irreplaceable care that a mother provides for her child. This poem is also very relatable when I think about how it compares to my life. In my family, my mother is presented with homemade cards and gifts on special occasions such as birthdays and mother's day, but she provides us kids with meals, a house, and love all year round. Another poem that I read by Billy Collins was "Silence". I enjoyed this poem because it was relatable and simplistic. It addresses the idea of silence in a way that many people feel it is like. There are many different forms of silence such as a tense silence or a serene silence. Collins does a great job depicting how humans feel these silences and assign different weights to them.
I also watched this video. I really enjoy the sarcastic commentary Collins provides in this poem. His poetry is so humerous and yet very insightful. I also like that hid poetry speaks to everyone. You don't have to be an English professor to understand it on the first try. He seems to comment a lot on the human experiance and the many ironies that occur in our life.
I also watched "The Lanyard" by Billy Collins. One thing that I really enjoyed about this video was that he used relatable topics and not so complicated words to tell to the audience. Meaning it was easy for the average everyday person so understand which I think is really helpful. I also really enjoyed how comical and humorous he makes his presentations. It gets people laughing and it helps to connect the speaker with the audience, which is always a positive thing. Like Kate said, I really think it's important to write poetry that can speak to a mass of people. It helps people who are reading it and need an outlet to feel like someone understands.
I watched the video on Kay Ryan and her poem "Turtle." According to poetry foundation, Ryan has a compact, witty style of writing with off-beat wisdom. She is a contemporary poet. Going through some of her poetry, she seems critical of certain aspects of humanity. "Turtle" is an interesting one as it shows the slow, patient life of the turtle. It starts of with Ryan degrading the turtle as "a helmet with four oars". She presents the turtle as a slow, useless, helpless creature, however at the mention of the lottery, the tone shifts. She mentions that the turtle finds peace within itself and is patient in life. It illuminates the unsatisfied mentality of humanity. We are the perfect species, yet instead of being at peace with our beings like a simple turtle, we are still looking for more. Another poem she wrote is "A Certain Kind of Eden". Just in the title, one can tell that the poem involves nature and beauty. It focuses on humanity's need to control nature through a man farming a garden. The line I found the most interesting is "You even thought you abandoned/ one or two gardens." What I like about that is that there is a good chance that those abandoned gardens were better off under the control of nature. Their prosperity relied of he world's unpredictability. One could say that the gardens are symbols for humanity and how they should live within the unpredictability of nature.
I also read "Turtle" by Kay Ryan. I was able to connect with the turtle and the sentiment of slowly but surely getting to the end goal. In my past sports, diving and gymnastics, the most minor corrections make all the difference, I felt that the turtle, in it's mere struggle to do the most minor things, related. As I looked further into this poem, it said Ryan wrote it during a time in her life where she was going through personal frustration. The moral of the poem is that perseveration and patience are the greatest virtues.
I also read "Turtle" by Kay Ryan. I was able to connect with the turtle and the sentiment of slowly but surely getting to the end goal. In my past sports, diving and gymnastics, the most minor corrections make all the difference, I felt that the turtle, in it's mere struggle to do the most minor things, related. As I looked further into this poem, it said Ryan wrote it during a time in her life where she was going through personal frustration. The moral of the poem is that perseveration and patience are the greatest virtues.
The poem I chose to read was “Five Directions to my House” by Juan Felipe Herrera. This poem was definitely not what I expected, which I think is why I enjoyed it so much. The title right off the bat sets up the poem to seem so simple, and it really is, however there is so much that can be interpreted from the 6 lines of the poem. Herrera discusses how writing this poem was very simple and he included only a few personal pieces such as the guitar and the vivid red birds. He builds off whatever comes to mind in order to create this piece of poetry that paints a complete picture in the readers minds. Herrera said that even he doesn’t know what he is talking about so that his poem is left completely to be visualized by the readers. I think another important point Herrera mentioned was that by reading poetry we are taking a little “time of our lives” to allow for creativity and free expression to flow. In his other works of poetry he strongly supports the migrant cultures. Most of his poems contain short lines, however, not all of his poems are short in length. The short lines and structure of the poems creates depth and helps readers better understand the story he works to portray. I think the authenticity and originality of his poetry really sets him apart from other poets I've read.
I watched "Turtle" by Kay Ryan. I found the beginning to be slightly comical, especially the first line "Who would be a turtle who could help it?" It is very random when first read, but as I looked more into it I found it to be very interesting. I think that it explains the feeling of being stuck, a "barely mobile hard roll". Ryan said when she wrote this poem she was feeling stuck in her own life, and towards the end of the poem she explains that to move on one must have patience. I also find it interesting that the turtle is a "she". Another poem I like of Ryan’s is “Spiderweb”, and I particularly like the line “It isn’t ever delicate to life”.
I watched the video of Juan Felipe Herrera reading his poem Five Directions to My House. The thing that I found most interesting about this video was when Herrera discussed the process that lead him to writing this poem. He said that he wrote this poem because he used to like the guitar and because he loved Red Tail Hawks. He describes that he began writing and then he, “let the poem go.” I thought that this was rather interesting because I figured that a poet, especially a poet laureate, would have a stronger direction in writing a poem. I do think though that this is what makes the poem so cool because there is a very natural, relaxed feeling to the poem. I also thought that it was interesting when Herrera said that in order for a poem to be successful, both the poet and the reader need to “figure it out.” I think that the reader’s perception of the poem is so important, as highlighted by Juan Felipe Herrara, because so much poetry is open ended and in need of interpretation. Although Five Directions to My House was by no means my favorite poem, I think that the author, Juan Felipe Herrera, is a very interesting poet.
I love the approach that Herrera took to writing this poem. I could really see him just thinking about red tail hawks and then writing a poem about how to get to his house, or maybe your house. I also like how complex this poem is because even though it is specific to Herrera as we are given directions to his house there is still some complexity in the directions and a little puzzle with there being five directions and six lines. Also, the flow of the poem was smooth and fluid and I could imagine myself following the directions to get to his house even though I have no idea where to go. Finally, this poem succeeds in the most important thing in poetry it needs to affect and strike the reader and personally this poem succeeded.
I also saw the video of the poem Turtle. I really liked this poem because it was so simple and I could find it really relatable. It was really interesting how she took the life of a turtle that no reader would have ever experienced and brought out values and aspects of humanity. While listening to the poem, I thought that the turtle represented a normal human because it showed how she was defeated with most all of her experiences. It seemed so helpless but also in a way humanity is helpless with all of the barriers that individuals must overcome yet are unable to in our contemporary world. I think that this poem was written to contrast our fast paced lives because the turtle was able to accept that life is not easy and that she must overcome barriers. I feel like in our world, we get really discouraged when we have to work to succeed. Working becomes a chore even if the outcome is beneficial to us. However, in this poem, the turtle goes through every obstacle with patience. I think that Kay Ryan's purpose was to contrast the turtle to humanity and call to attention how as a generation and a world, we all need to slow down and to live life in the moment with patience and not stress. Another poem of hers that I believe satirizes modern values is Lime Light. It first starts by saying "One can't work by lime light" which I immediately compared to how nowadays people are so focused of being the best and being in the "lime light". It then goes on to say how even though there are differences in some objects, none are more important than the others. I thought that this was important because in our world we are so focussed on being superior to others by being smarter or prettier or more successful but really at the end of the day, we are all the same. It then closes with the idea that even though a display may be compelling, it is the work that went into the display that actually counts. I think that one of her big points is that people should slow down and not try to advance themselves so quickly in the world and that people need to be able to reflect on themselves and act genuinely.
I also watched Collins's "the Lanyard" again. I had read this poem before we watched it in class but hearing it out loud really drew attention to Billy Collins's writing style and the message along with the attitude he portrays. Something important about his writing is definitely the bluntness to it. You sort of have to be familiar with his style of writing to really understand what he's saying. Just listening to this poem, a little kid, one who may be making his mother a lanyard, may not understand that humor and sarcasm in the poem. Instead, they might just agree with it, because their young minds, though they may have good intentions, are often naive. I think Collins is trying to point this out in his poem, along with all the important things mothers do that cannot be repaid. Another poem of his, "Another Reason Why I Don't Keep a Gun in the House" also contributes to his blunt yet meaningful style. After reading the title and the first line about an annoying barking dog, it is obvious what Collins's objective is. Still he lists events, in a poetic, metaphorical way, as they are. Even reading his poems on my own I imagine him reading them in a monotoned voice which gives his poems a sort of reality stricken feel.
I chose to explore Juan Felipe Herrera's poetry after hearing him recite "Five Directions to My House" in the video. I really liked the simple beauty of the poem, having several images of various small bits from the ant to the hawk. The almost whimsical acts of presenting the images as directions and having six lines were also simply fun to hear. Finally, beyond the poem itself, his subsequent explanation of his poem writing process was also nice. I enjoyed how he acknowledged the poet-reader dynamic as well as how his own small joys and experiences contributed while speaking in a very approachable manner. The guitar story was particularly neat. One of the poems I looked at was "Let Me Tell You what a Poem Brings" (which even had an audio recording). Again, I heard the nice easy-going style Herrera exhibited that gave pleasure to listen to. This poem is somewhat similar to "Five Directions to My House" in that he is addressing the title with various playful things, including him saying "there is no poem." He then exhibits some of his similar ideas of the poem and meaning as he describes how "the mist becomes central to your existence." The mist could indicate several things, including artistic pleasure and purpose. I looked at a few other poems, such as "Blood on the Wheel", "This is My Last Report", "I Am Merely Posing for a Photograph", and "Enter the Void" (along with a few others on his Poetry Foundation page). Some similarities emerge, such as the addressing the audience in a relatively direct matter while generally describing first person self. While these poems are all more negative (addressing and referencing things such as the Israel-Palestinian conflict, poverty (and immigration), and others), he still retains some stylistic characteristics. In "This is My Last Report", for example, he speaks of "Glue Sniffers" amidst almost apocalyptic scenes. The coupling of these writing tendencies with an explicit personal experience (although this should apply to all poets) make him very interesting.
I watched the reading of “The Funeral” by Donald Hall. Though I agree with others that it was a bit difficult to hear the reader for part of the poem, I think that it was quite beautiful. He was reciting a poem about love and death while sitting at his kitchen table at night, and the silences and the everyday setting seemed to somehow lend the poem dignity. I liked the poem itself as well, since though it was profound, it was also quite simple in terms of language and more accessible than the renaissance sonnets we’ve seen before. Many of Hall’s other works are about love and death, but also about other things in life. His pervading style seems to be simple, yet profound, in all his poems. One poem I enjoyed was “The Things” (http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php?date=2011/06/08), in which he describes the things in his house, starting with great paintings hung and framed. However, he continues to focus on the seemingly insignificant objects, such as “tiny lead models” or a “dead dog’s toy”. To me, this poem called into question what we consider to be valuable and what we consider as junk. It seems as though the speaker believes the “masters of the trivial”, with all their memories, to be more valuable than the paintings, but they will tragically be lost as they hold no significance to others. Overall, Hall’s poems seem to connect to feelings and experiences which we’ve all had, and are direct yet subtle.
In the comments section to the video of Kay Ryan's "Turtle" I found this comment: "why did i click on this expecting more than a poem about a f*cking turtle.....". This person was obviously dissatisfied with their perceived lack of depth in Kay Ryan's poems... Obviously youtube commentaries are not the best source for credible criticism. But anyway I thought their comment was funny because when I researched Kay Ryan, I found that she considers the 'rehabilitation of clichés'. . . as part of the poet’s mission". I think she makes her poems purposefully simple to expose her themes in an easily accessible, and cheakily obvious way.
I watched the reading of "The Funeral" by Donald Hall. Although the video was somewhat entertaining, I did not really enjoy the actual recitation of the poem because the speaker's voice was hard to understand. At times he was so animated that it detracted from the actual content of the verses. When I researched Hall, I found that most of his poems center around the topics of death, loss and love. I particularly enjoyed his poem "An Old Life", because Hall uses simple anecdotes to give a snapshot into a typical morning in his life. This style of simplicity proves that poetry is best when it is real and authentic- not flowery and forced. The images that Hall conveys are seemingly insignificant, but when the are strung together they form something very pleasant and meaningful.
After watching “The Funeral” by Donald Hall I have mixed feelings about both the poem and poet. While the presentation in the video was enjoyable and interesting, the poet himself did not articulate the poem in a way that highlighted the significance to it. His voice distracted me from the purpose of the poem. This particular poem centers around the concept of love and loss in relation to death. While these topics are typically written about in a dark light, Hall crafts his poems in a way that makes them seem easier to accept and less painful to understand; a similar trait in all of his work.
I watched the reading of "The Turtle" by Kay Ryan. While the poem seems to be simply about a turtle, I believe it reflects a deeper meaning of how the speaker feels about the world. The speaker is upset that the turtle's life has been so difficult, due to the world around it. They express empathy towards the turtle by using words like "modest hopes" and "patience", as the speaker feels as though they can relate to the turtle's struggle to survive. Overall, the poem reflects a particularly vulnerable time where both the turtle and the speaker feel like giving up, but keep holding on anyways.
I watched Charles Simic's delivery of "prodigy", and was immediately fascinated with the motive behind the poem. Simic grew up in the war torn and now extinct Yugoslavia during WWII. Combining the ideas of playing chess and manipulating people, Simic recalls the harsh lessons he experienced with mortality and violence at an incredibly young age. His articulate delivery allows for the clear parallels between war, censorship,and the protection of innocence to be made. Upon investigating Simic and his work, I noticed that much of his poetry explores the idea of "people chess", and playing life. All in all, great poem, greater poet.
I saw the video of poet Charles Simic reciting his poem "Prodigy." My first impression was that he perhaps grew up during a time of war, as the poem revolved around the atrocities that occur during war. What I really liked about his poem was that it felt more as if he was narrating a story. He used innocent objects, such as a chessboard to signify a darker aspect of life. When I looked up some of his other poems, I noticed similar themes of relating objects to war, horror, sadness, and so on forth (ex: his poem "Mirrors at 4 A.M."). It seems as if his poems revolve around a child's point of view and a child becoming self aware. In his poem "Paradise Motel," Simic uses the image of a child watching television to explain the horrors going on through war. In "Late September," Simic describes a relatively calm setting at the beach that he then relates to death. Another one of his poems that related to death is "On this Very Street in Belgrade." In order to figure out why he juxtaposed children and death/war so often, I looked up a biography of the poet. I found out that he had grown up during World War II and experienced many of the troubles he talks about in his poems (homelessness, moving, etc). Overall, I really like how Simic combines innocence and darker aspects of life by keeping a narrative style to poetry.
ReplyDeleteI read the poem "The Funeral" by Donald Hall and I found it to be a very interesting portrayal of death and the funeral process as a whole. However, I did not particularly like the reading and I think I would have had a completely different interpretation of the poem if I had read it or if I had heard it read in a different way. Donald Hall has many other poems that address both death and nature, as they are reoccurring themes in his writing. One of his poems titled "Affirmation" that begins by saying "To grow old is to lose everything". Hall seems to have a strong melancholic view of death that is expressed in his poetry. I also thoroughly enjoy sonnets and I think it worked well for this particular poem. I think the structure of sonnets can foster more creativity and be a great way to tell a story.
ReplyDeleteI also watched the reading of "The Funeral" by Donald Hall. I agree with Jack that it was not the best reading of the poem. While I liked that the reader sort of acted the poem out with his hands, I think he read it too slow and did not enunciate the words well enough. I do like the poem itself, however. I thought it was a very real reflection of what it is like to attend the funeral of someone that you love. As I read some other poems by Hall, I noticed that he uses simple and direct language in the majority of them. He makes readers feel as though they are experiencing the events in the poem. Hall seems to be a very talented poet.
DeleteI also watched the reading of "The Funeral" by Donald Hall. And I agree I feel as though the reading really did not do the poem justice. I agree with Grace that it really captures the feeling of what it is like to attend a funeral of someone you were deeply connected to. But the reading was very slow and a bit hard to understand so it didn't draw you in as much as if you just read it on paper. One thing I noticed about Hall's style as I read his other poetry is that his poems have an imagist type of feel to them. He tends to focus on one singular moment that each individual might not have experienced themselves but the feelings the images create are universal. I noticed that Hall seems to have a fascination with mortality and has written a lot of poems about growing older or dealing with illness.
DeleteI watched the first video of the poem “Five Directions to My House” by Juan Felipe Herrera. I really liked the simplicity of this poem, as it is just 5 numbered steps to get to his house. I loved how it was kind of like instructions, but it was also his way of recalling where he comes from. There are always little things we remember that bring us back home. I liked the video itself because Herrera read it very differently than I would’ve read it in my head. He paused at all the right moments to make an even stronger impact. I noticed in some of his other poems that he uses a similar style to the one he used for “Five Directions to My House”. Some of the other poems were almost like a list, providing couplets or short stanzas of different images, which I liked. There are also poems with very long stanzas, like “Exiles”. I like how Herrera uses different styles and techniques. Even if his poems are different lengths, they all include very vivid images. After looking at some other poems, I’m kind of surprised his “Five Directions” poem is so short. Many of the other poems I looked at filled up multiple pages. I think that Herrera’s goal is to tell a story (probably from his life), so maybe that is why he tends to write really long poems. After reading these poems, I really felt like I had experienced these events and places that Herrera had written about.
ReplyDeleteI also watched this and I agree with Allie that the simplicity of the poem really stood out. I wasn't expecting it to end so quickly and the way Herrera read, left me wanting more. I believe that the shortest poems are more often than not the most profound. They are short in length, but have so many layers that require a detailed analysis to discover the meaning of the work as a whole. The simplicity of this work, and the depth of meaning reminds me of The Red Wheelbarrow by William Carlos WIlliams. I did look up some other poems by Herrera and I agree with the surprise Allie mentions about the length of "FIve Directions" compared to his other works. "Blood on the Wheel" could be considered a short story, and it does seem to tell his life story, providing an explainations to why he writes really long poems in great detail. I believe however, that "Five Directions to My House" is also a profound story from his life, if not the most profound out of all of his works. If you live in the same place for a significant amount of time, you can rattle off directions to your home without even thinking about it beforehand. It is something so familiar and simple for that person. I think this poem captures that familiarity that everyone has about getting home. The simplicity is nice and unexpected, but the meaning is profound.
DeleteI watched the last video of Billy Collins reading his poem, "The Lanyard." We watched this video in class and I loved the poem. I think the poem is hilarious, but I also think the way he recites his poems adds another level of humor, because his voice is so monotone and it just sounds very matter of fact. I love how he uses a lanyard to show how important a mother is, and how a person can never repay his or her mother. It also highlights the child and parent relationship extremely well, as parents, mothers in this case, give their children life's necessities and in return we give them such simple things, but they find meaning in them somehow. Another poem I read by Collins that I really enjoyed is "On Turning Ten." This poem also has the same kind of simple tone, but the way he describes turning ten makes it seem so dramatic. It's funny to me because the speaker is saying that turning ten is going to change his life, and basically saying that his childhood is over, which is funny because that's not the case. I vividly remember when I was turning 13, but turning 10 was never a big deal, so I think this is funny. The simple, yet dramatic tone is very representative of the 10 year old, as children this young are usually very innocent. I really like reading Billy Collins' poetry as he takes heavier or more important topics and makes them so simple and funny.
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DeleteI also watched Billy Collins' presentation of his poem "The Lanyard." I agree with Montana about how Collins utilizes humor and sarcasm in order to depict a greater message. The tone he uses adds to the overall effectiveness of the poem. His poetry is extremely accessible, and it addresses daily experiences with uncomplicated language which is why I enjoy it so much. I find it very creative that he uses the simple gift of a lanyard in order to emphasize the unconditional love and irreplaceable care that a mother provides for her child. This poem is also very relatable when I think about how it compares to my life. In my family, my mother is presented with homemade cards and gifts on special occasions such as birthdays and mother's day, but she provides us kids with meals, a house, and love all year round. Another poem that I read by Billy Collins was "Silence". I enjoyed this poem because it was relatable and simplistic. It addresses the idea of silence in a way that many people feel it is like. There are many different forms of silence such as a tense silence or a serene silence. Collins does a great job depicting how humans feel these silences and assign different weights to them.
DeleteI also watched this video. I really enjoy the sarcastic commentary Collins provides in this poem. His poetry is so humerous and yet very insightful. I also like that hid poetry speaks to everyone. You don't have to be an English professor to understand it on the first try. He seems to comment a lot on the human experiance and the many ironies that occur in our life.
DeleteI also watched "The Lanyard" by Billy Collins. One thing that I really enjoyed about this video was that he used relatable topics and not so complicated words to tell to the audience. Meaning it was easy for the average everyday person so understand which I think is really helpful. I also really enjoyed how comical and humorous he makes his presentations. It gets people laughing and it helps to connect the speaker with the audience, which is always a positive thing. Like Kate said, I really think it's important to write poetry that can speak to a mass of people. It helps people who are reading it and need an outlet to feel like someone understands.
DeleteI watched the video on Kay Ryan and her poem "Turtle." According to poetry foundation, Ryan has a compact, witty style of writing with off-beat wisdom. She is a contemporary poet. Going through some of her poetry, she seems critical of certain aspects of humanity. "Turtle" is an interesting one as it shows the slow, patient life of the turtle. It starts of with Ryan degrading the turtle as "a helmet with four oars". She presents the turtle as a slow, useless, helpless creature, however at the mention of the lottery, the tone shifts. She mentions that the turtle finds peace within itself and is patient in life. It illuminates the unsatisfied mentality of humanity. We are the perfect species, yet instead of being at peace with our beings like a simple turtle, we are still looking for more. Another poem she wrote is "A Certain Kind of Eden". Just in the title, one can tell that the poem involves nature and beauty. It focuses on humanity's need to control nature through a man farming a garden. The line I found the most interesting is "You even thought you abandoned/ one or two gardens." What I like about that is that there is a good chance that those abandoned gardens were better off under the control of nature. Their prosperity relied of he world's unpredictability. One could say that the gardens are symbols for humanity and how they should live within the unpredictability of nature.
ReplyDeleteI also read "Turtle" by Kay Ryan. I was able to connect with the turtle and the sentiment of slowly but surely getting to the end goal. In my past sports, diving and gymnastics, the most minor corrections make all the difference, I felt that the turtle, in it's mere struggle to do the most minor things, related. As I looked further into this poem, it said Ryan wrote it during a time in her life where she was going through personal frustration. The moral of the poem is that perseveration and patience are the greatest virtues.
DeleteI also read "Turtle" by Kay Ryan. I was able to connect with the turtle and the sentiment of slowly but surely getting to the end goal. In my past sports, diving and gymnastics, the most minor corrections make all the difference, I felt that the turtle, in it's mere struggle to do the most minor things, related. As I looked further into this poem, it said Ryan wrote it during a time in her life where she was going through personal frustration. The moral of the poem is that perseveration and patience are the greatest virtues.
DeleteThe poem I chose to read was “Five Directions to my House” by Juan Felipe Herrera. This poem was definitely not what I expected, which I think is why I enjoyed it so much. The title right off the bat sets up the poem to seem so simple, and it really is, however there is so much that can be interpreted from the 6 lines of the poem. Herrera discusses how writing this poem was very simple and he included only a few personal pieces such as the guitar and the vivid red birds. He builds off whatever comes to mind in order to create this piece of poetry that paints a complete picture in the readers minds. Herrera said that even he doesn’t know what he is talking about so that his poem is left completely to be visualized by the readers. I think another important point Herrera mentioned was that by reading poetry we are taking a little “time of our lives” to allow for creativity and free expression to flow. In his other works of poetry he strongly supports the migrant cultures. Most of his poems contain short lines, however, not all of his poems are short in length. The short lines and structure of the poems creates depth and helps readers better understand the story he works to portray. I think the authenticity and originality of his poetry really sets him apart from other poets I've read.
ReplyDeleteI watched "Turtle" by Kay Ryan. I found the beginning to be slightly comical, especially the first line "Who would be a turtle who could help it?" It is very random when first read, but as I looked more into it I found it to be very interesting. I think that it explains the feeling of being stuck, a "barely mobile hard roll". Ryan said when she wrote this poem she was feeling stuck in her own life, and towards the end of the poem she explains that to move on one must have patience. I also find it interesting that the turtle is a "she". Another poem I like of Ryan’s is “Spiderweb”, and I particularly like the line “It isn’t ever delicate to life”.
ReplyDeleteI watched the video of Juan Felipe Herrera reading his poem Five Directions to My House. The thing that I found most interesting about this video was when Herrera discussed the process that lead him to writing this poem. He said that he wrote this poem because he used to like the guitar and because he loved Red Tail Hawks. He describes that he began writing and then he, “let the poem go.” I thought that this was rather interesting because I figured that a poet, especially a poet laureate, would have a stronger direction in writing a poem. I do think though that this is what makes the poem so cool because there is a very natural, relaxed feeling to the poem. I also thought that it was interesting when Herrera said that in order for a poem to be successful, both the poet and the reader need to “figure it out.” I think that the reader’s perception of the poem is so important, as highlighted by Juan Felipe Herrara, because so much poetry is open ended and in need of interpretation. Although Five Directions to My House was by no means my favorite poem, I think that the author, Juan Felipe Herrera, is a very interesting poet.
ReplyDeleteI love the approach that Herrera took to writing this poem. I could really see him just thinking about red tail hawks and then writing a poem about how to get to his house, or maybe your house. I also like how complex this poem is because even though it is specific to Herrera as we are given directions to his house there is still some complexity in the directions and a little puzzle with there being five directions and six lines. Also, the flow of the poem was smooth and fluid and I could imagine myself following the directions to get to his house even though I have no idea where to go. Finally, this poem succeeds in the most important thing in poetry it needs to affect and strike the reader and personally this poem succeeded.
DeleteI also saw the video of the poem Turtle. I really liked this poem because it was so simple and I could find it really relatable. It was really interesting how she took the life of a turtle that no reader would have ever experienced and brought out values and aspects of humanity. While listening to the poem, I thought that the turtle represented a normal human because it showed how she was defeated with most all of her experiences. It seemed so helpless but also in a way humanity is helpless with all of the barriers that individuals must overcome yet are unable to in our contemporary world. I think that this poem was written to contrast our fast paced lives because the turtle was able to accept that life is not easy and that she must overcome barriers. I feel like in our world, we get really discouraged when we have to work to succeed. Working becomes a chore even if the outcome is beneficial to us. However, in this poem, the turtle goes through every obstacle with patience. I think that Kay Ryan's purpose was to contrast the turtle to humanity and call to attention how as a generation and a world, we all need to slow down and to live life in the moment with patience and not stress. Another poem of hers that I believe satirizes modern values is Lime Light. It first starts by saying "One can't work by lime light" which I immediately compared to how nowadays people are so focused of being the best and being in the "lime light". It then goes on to say how even though there are differences in some objects, none are more important than the others. I thought that this was important because in our world we are so focussed on being superior to others by being smarter or prettier or more successful but really at the end of the day, we are all the same. It then closes with the idea that even though a display may be compelling, it is the work that went into the display that actually counts. I think that one of her big points is that people should slow down and not try to advance themselves so quickly in the world and that people need to be able to reflect on themselves and act genuinely.
ReplyDeleteI also watched Collins's "the Lanyard" again. I had read this poem before we watched it in class but hearing it out loud really drew attention to Billy Collins's writing style and the message along with the attitude he portrays. Something important about his writing is definitely the bluntness to it. You sort of have to be familiar with his style of writing to really understand what he's saying. Just listening to this poem, a little kid, one who may be making his mother a lanyard, may not understand that humor and sarcasm in the poem. Instead, they might just agree with it, because their young minds, though they may have good intentions, are often naive. I think Collins is trying to point this out in his poem, along with all the important things mothers do that cannot be repaid. Another poem of his, "Another Reason Why I Don't Keep a Gun in the House" also contributes to his blunt yet meaningful style. After reading the title and the first line about an annoying barking dog, it is obvious what Collins's objective is. Still he lists events, in a poetic, metaphorical way, as they are. Even reading his poems on my own I imagine him reading them in a monotoned voice which gives his poems a sort of reality stricken feel.
ReplyDeleteI chose to explore Juan Felipe Herrera's poetry after hearing him recite "Five Directions to My House" in the video. I really liked the simple beauty of the poem, having several images of various small bits from the ant to the hawk. The almost whimsical acts of presenting the images as directions and having six lines were also simply fun to hear. Finally, beyond the poem itself, his subsequent explanation of his poem writing process was also nice. I enjoyed how he acknowledged the poet-reader dynamic as well as how his own small joys and experiences contributed while speaking in a very approachable manner. The guitar story was particularly neat.
ReplyDeleteOne of the poems I looked at was "Let Me Tell You what a Poem Brings" (which even had an audio recording). Again, I heard the nice easy-going style Herrera exhibited that gave pleasure to listen to. This poem is somewhat similar to "Five Directions to My House" in that he is addressing the title with various playful things, including him saying "there is no poem." He then exhibits some of his similar ideas of the poem and meaning as he describes how "the mist becomes central to your existence." The mist could indicate several things, including artistic pleasure and purpose.
I looked at a few other poems, such as "Blood on the Wheel", "This is My Last Report", "I Am Merely Posing for a Photograph", and "Enter the Void" (along with a few others on his Poetry Foundation page). Some similarities emerge, such as the addressing the audience in a relatively direct matter while generally describing first person self. While these poems are all more negative (addressing and referencing things such as the Israel-Palestinian conflict, poverty (and immigration), and others), he still retains some stylistic characteristics. In "This is My Last Report", for example, he speaks of "Glue Sniffers" amidst almost apocalyptic scenes. The coupling of these writing tendencies with an explicit personal experience (although this should apply to all poets) make him very interesting.
I watched the reading of “The Funeral” by Donald Hall. Though I agree with others that it was a bit difficult to hear the reader for part of the poem, I think that it was quite beautiful. He was reciting a poem about love and death while sitting at his kitchen table at night, and the silences and the everyday setting seemed to somehow lend the poem dignity. I liked the poem itself as well, since though it was profound, it was also quite simple in terms of language and more accessible than the renaissance sonnets we’ve seen before.
ReplyDeleteMany of Hall’s other works are about love and death, but also about other things in life. His pervading style seems to be simple, yet profound, in all his poems. One poem I enjoyed was “The Things” (http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php?date=2011/06/08), in which he describes the things in his house, starting with great paintings hung and framed. However, he continues to focus on the seemingly insignificant objects, such as “tiny lead models” or a “dead dog’s toy”. To me, this poem called into question what we consider to be valuable and what we consider as junk. It seems as though the speaker believes the “masters of the trivial”, with all their memories, to be more valuable than the paintings, but they will tragically be lost as they hold no significance to others. Overall, Hall’s poems seem to connect to feelings and experiences which we’ve all had, and are direct yet subtle.
In the comments section to the video of Kay Ryan's "Turtle" I found this comment: "why did i click on this expecting more than a poem about a f*cking turtle.....". This person was obviously dissatisfied with their perceived lack of depth in Kay Ryan's poems...
ReplyDeleteObviously youtube commentaries are not the best source for credible criticism. But anyway I thought their comment was funny because when I researched Kay Ryan, I found that she considers the 'rehabilitation of clichés'. . . as part of the poet’s mission".
I think she makes her poems purposefully simple to expose her themes in an easily accessible, and cheakily obvious way.
I watched the reading of "The Funeral" by Donald Hall. Although the video was somewhat entertaining, I did not really enjoy the actual recitation of the poem because the speaker's voice was hard to understand. At times he was so animated that it detracted from the actual content of the verses. When I researched Hall, I found that most of his poems center around the topics of death, loss and love. I particularly enjoyed his poem "An Old Life", because Hall uses simple anecdotes to give a snapshot into a typical morning in his life. This style of simplicity proves that poetry is best when it is real and authentic- not flowery and forced. The images that Hall conveys are seemingly insignificant, but when the are strung together they form something very pleasant and meaningful.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching “The Funeral” by Donald Hall I have mixed feelings about both the poem and poet. While the presentation in the video was enjoyable and interesting, the poet himself did not articulate the poem in a way that highlighted the significance to it. His voice distracted me from the purpose of the poem. This particular poem centers around the concept of love and loss in relation to death. While these topics are typically written about in a dark light, Hall crafts his poems in a way that makes them seem easier to accept and less painful to understand; a similar trait in all of his work.
ReplyDeleteI watched the reading of "The Turtle" by Kay Ryan. While the poem seems to be simply about a turtle, I believe it reflects a deeper meaning of how the speaker feels about the world. The speaker is upset that the turtle's life has been so difficult, due to the world around it. They express empathy towards the turtle by using words like "modest hopes" and "patience", as the speaker feels as though they can relate to the turtle's struggle to survive. Overall, the poem reflects a particularly vulnerable time where both the turtle and the speaker feel like giving up, but keep holding on anyways.
ReplyDeleteI watched Charles Simic's delivery of "prodigy", and was immediately fascinated with the motive behind the poem. Simic grew up in the war torn and now extinct Yugoslavia during WWII. Combining the ideas of playing chess and manipulating people, Simic recalls the harsh lessons he experienced with mortality and violence at an incredibly young age. His articulate delivery allows for the clear parallels between war, censorship,and the protection of innocence to be made. Upon investigating Simic and his work, I noticed that much of his poetry explores the idea of "people chess", and playing life. All in all, great poem, greater poet.
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