Naomi Shihab Nye (1952 - present)
Naomi Shihab Nye is a poet and songwriter born in 1952 to a Palestinian father and American mother. She grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, Jerusalem, and San Antonio, Texas. Both roots and sense of place are major themes in her body of work.
Half-And-Half by Naomi Shihab Nye
You can't be, says a Palestinian Christian
on the first feast day after Ramadan.
So, half-and-half and half-and-half.
He sells glass. He knows about broken bits,
chips. If you love Jesus you can't love
anyone else. Says he.
At his stall of blue pitchers on the Via Dolorosa,
he's sweeping. The rubbed stones
feel holy. Dusting of powdered sugar
across faces of date-stuffed mamool.
This morning we lit the slim white candles
which bend over at the waist by noon.
For once the priests weren't fighting
in the church for the best spots to stand.
As a boy, my father listened to them fight.
This is partly why he prays in no language
but his own. Why I press my lips
to every exception.
A woman opens a window—here and here and here—
placing a vase of blue flowers
on an orange cloth. I follow her.
She is making a soup from what she had left
in the bowl, the shriveled garlic and bent bean.
She is leaving nothing out.
Hidden by Naomi Shihab Nye
If you place a fern
under a stone
the next day it will be
nearly invisible
as if the stone has
swallowed it.
If you tuck the name of a loved one
under your tongue too long
without speaking it
it becomes blood
sigh
the little sucked-in breath of air
hiding everywhere
beneath your words.
No one sees
the fuel that feeds you.
Poem Activity #1:
After reading Half-and-Half, in a poem, discuss two aspects of yourself (or your personality, belief, culture) that seem on the surface at odds with one another. Describe this topic through a short narrative (story) poem. Embed dialogue in your poem where appropriate.
Poem Activity #2:
After reading Hidden, start a poem with the subordinating conjunction “If…” You may use an “If…then…” statement, if you’d like. Start with a stanza describing a literal or concrete event or fact from nature. Naomi Shihab Nye uses the description of a fern placed under a stone. Your second stanza should be more metaphorical, as Naomi Shihab Nye’s second stanza is as she describes the transubstantiation of a loved one’s name into blood. Finally, end your poem with a wise observation that connects both stanzas.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Elemental poem activity
Elemental Poem
The ancient world was much simpler than the modern world. In the ancient world, people recognized only four basic elements: earth, air, fire, and water—and these elements were considered not only the building blocks of the material world but also the elements of our character or psyches. Someone who was known to be passionate was thought to be possessed of fire and to be subjects to the laws of fire. These earthly elements also had their correspondence in the heavens, and each astrological sign was—and still is—associated with earth (Capricorn, Taurus, Virgo), air (Gemini, Aquarius, Libra), fire (Leo, Sagittarius, Scorpio), or water (Pisces, Cancer, Aries).
– From Everyday Creative Writing; Smith & Greenberg
Try revisiting this simpler world by focusing on and using the ancient elements to organize a poem.
Brainstorm:
Identify yourself with one of the elements. How are you like Fire or Air or Water or Earth? Write down as many qualities of yourself as possible.
Then make a list of places where you would least expect to find each of the elements. Example:
Fire
• In the refrigerator
• On the palm of my hand
• In a laundry basket
Next:
Make a list of verbs that you would least associate with each element. Example:
• The water sneezed
• The fire slept
• The wind stood in line at the bank
Combine these brainstorming activities to write a draft of a creative poem.
Example: From Charles Jensen’s poem Housefires and Homefries
My mother sets little fires in my
Shoes. They smolder like samovars.
It’s her way of saying
stay home and wait for the glacier,
my father, man of men. His golf bag is full
of snow. His shirts have ice cuffs
and frozen collars. My parents stare
at each other until their eyes turn
to earth and ash and when one speaks
the other blows air into paper bags
and bags float like syllables spoken under water.
The ancient world was much simpler than the modern world. In the ancient world, people recognized only four basic elements: earth, air, fire, and water—and these elements were considered not only the building blocks of the material world but also the elements of our character or psyches. Someone who was known to be passionate was thought to be possessed of fire and to be subjects to the laws of fire. These earthly elements also had their correspondence in the heavens, and each astrological sign was—and still is—associated with earth (Capricorn, Taurus, Virgo), air (Gemini, Aquarius, Libra), fire (Leo, Sagittarius, Scorpio), or water (Pisces, Cancer, Aries).
– From Everyday Creative Writing; Smith & Greenberg
Try revisiting this simpler world by focusing on and using the ancient elements to organize a poem.
Brainstorm:
Identify yourself with one of the elements. How are you like Fire or Air or Water or Earth? Write down as many qualities of yourself as possible.
Then make a list of places where you would least expect to find each of the elements. Example:
Fire
• In the refrigerator
• On the palm of my hand
• In a laundry basket
Next:
Make a list of verbs that you would least associate with each element. Example:
• The water sneezed
• The fire slept
• The wind stood in line at the bank
Combine these brainstorming activities to write a draft of a creative poem.
Example: From Charles Jensen’s poem Housefires and Homefries
My mother sets little fires in my
Shoes. They smolder like samovars.
It’s her way of saying
stay home and wait for the glacier,
my father, man of men. His golf bag is full
of snow. His shirts have ice cuffs
and frozen collars. My parents stare
at each other until their eyes turn
to earth and ash and when one speaks
the other blows air into paper bags
and bags float like syllables spoken under water.
Journal activity 9-18
Directions: Read the handout of selected poems from Quincy Troupe, Jr., George David Miller, and Edward Hirsch. Then choose 1 or more of the following exercises and write a draft of these in your journal.
• Poem for the Root Doctor of Rock n Roll: Music inspires us. Poetry and song lyrics share a commonality. Write a poem inspired by the musical artists who inspire(d) you. Try writing the poem to the artist or musican(s) you mention. Advanced: try to get the rhythm of their music into the cadence of your poem.
• Chicago: Write about a place. Use details and description that creates a TONE or certain type of feeling like sadness, romance, anticipation, worry, etc. Advanced: write your poem into two distinct parts (like 2 chapters of a story).
• Before I Read this Poem: poetry can expose us to an audience or reader. Some poets are more open than others. Try writing a biographical poem (a poem about you). Use metaphors and similes to help describe the abstract qualities of your personality as concrete and literal ones.
• I am Going to Start Living Like a Mystic: Write a resolution poem. Start with “today I will…” and make a promise to yourself.
• Song: Write a lyrical poem (song) for those people or a person who never gets a song written for them (or him/her)—someone whose voice is lost or forgotten in our culture today.
• Poem for the Root Doctor of Rock n Roll: Music inspires us. Poetry and song lyrics share a commonality. Write a poem inspired by the musical artists who inspire(d) you. Try writing the poem to the artist or musican(s) you mention. Advanced: try to get the rhythm of their music into the cadence of your poem.
• Chicago: Write about a place. Use details and description that creates a TONE or certain type of feeling like sadness, romance, anticipation, worry, etc. Advanced: write your poem into two distinct parts (like 2 chapters of a story).
• Before I Read this Poem: poetry can expose us to an audience or reader. Some poets are more open than others. Try writing a biographical poem (a poem about you). Use metaphors and similes to help describe the abstract qualities of your personality as concrete and literal ones.
• I am Going to Start Living Like a Mystic: Write a resolution poem. Start with “today I will…” and make a promise to yourself.
• Song: Write a lyrical poem (song) for those people or a person who never gets a song written for them (or him/her)—someone whose voice is lost or forgotten in our culture today.
Word Bank Exercise 9-16
Creating a word bank for poetry
Go to the following website:
http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180
Read poems #11-20. As you read, choose 3 words from EACH poem and make a list. (The best way to do this is either in your journal – where you will get credit; or you may keep a word document open and minimized on the bottom of your screen to collect the words).
Choose interesting or “powerful” words—words that draw YOUR attention; the best 3 single words in the poem. Avoid phrases.
Once you have a list with 30 words, use your word bank to create a poem of your own.
• You DO NOT have to use all 30 words in your poem.
• Your poem should make sense. Try to avoid sentence fragments. (Consider character, setting, theme, conflict, etc.)
• You may include as many OTHER words as you’d like.
Go to the following website:
http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180
Read poems #11-20. As you read, choose 3 words from EACH poem and make a list. (The best way to do this is either in your journal – where you will get credit; or you may keep a word document open and minimized on the bottom of your screen to collect the words).
Choose interesting or “powerful” words—words that draw YOUR attention; the best 3 single words in the poem. Avoid phrases.
Once you have a list with 30 words, use your word bank to create a poem of your own.
• You DO NOT have to use all 30 words in your poem.
• Your poem should make sense. Try to avoid sentence fragments. (Consider character, setting, theme, conflict, etc.)
• You may include as many OTHER words as you’d like.
Journal activity 9-26
Spoken Word Poetry - activity 9/26
Go to the following website. Click on the poets’ performance links (most link to Youtube.com). As you watch these poets perform their original work, note in your journal the style of their performance:
• Does the poet speak in a certain rhythm?
• Does the poet speak loudly or softly?
• Does the poet speak fast or slow?
• Does the poet pause a lot, or a little?
• Does the poet read with a lot of energy?
• How does the poet’s performance help you understand the poem?
• How does the poet’s performance improve the experience of the poem for you as a listener?
http://www.poetry.la
Go to the following website. Click on the poets’ performance links (most link to Youtube.com). As you watch these poets perform their original work, note in your journal the style of their performance:
• Does the poet speak in a certain rhythm?
• Does the poet speak loudly or softly?
• Does the poet speak fast or slow?
• Does the poet pause a lot, or a little?
• Does the poet read with a lot of energy?
• How does the poet’s performance help you understand the poem?
• How does the poet’s performance improve the experience of the poem for you as a listener?
http://www.poetry.la
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