Poetry Prompts

Please read the poems in the packet of poems I gave you last class. As we read these poems out loud or as we listen to the poet reading his/her own poem, note how the performer uses voice, rate of speech (speed), and pauses to effectively communicate an idea.

• You are probably familiar with list poems from middle and elementary school classes. The examples "The Delight Song of Tsoai-Talee", "Here" and "Bad Boats" use a literary technique called ANAPHORA--the repetition of the first part of a line or phrase in a sentence. Try using anaphora in a poem draft.
• "One Art" by Elizabeth Bishop is an example of a villanelle. A villanelle is a poem that is made up of 5 tercets (3-line stanzas) followed by a quatrain (4-line stanza). The first line of a villanelle is repeated as the last line in stanzas 2, 4, and the third line in the last stanza.
• The last line of the first stanza is often repeated as the last line in the 3, 5, and last line of the poem. NOTE: you may use the last phrase of this line, as Bishop does, instead of the entire line, if you wish.
• Using capitals for the refrains and lowercase letters for the rhymes, Villanelle's have a form that looks like this:
• First Stanza: A1, b, A2 
• Second stanza: a, b, A1
• Third stanza: a, b, A2
• Fourth stanza: a, b, A1
• Fifth stanza: a, b, A1, A2
• Try writing a villanelle if you want a challenge.
• Write about how you learned to complete a simple task, but also include what you learned from the experience. Use the poems "Good Girl", "No Images", and "How I Learned to Sweep" as models.
• Write about a parent or family member. Use "What I'm Telling You" as a model.

Lab: Please choose AT LEAST 2 of these prompts and write poem drafts. You MAY decide to write more, if you'd like. Use the time given to you in the lab to complete these works.

Extra Credit: Write a short horror story. Look here for models. Use the handout to help you plan your story. DUE: by Nov. 7.

HOMEWORK: None.