Word Bank Poem; Imagery; Introduction to Slam Poetry

Please turn in your word bank poem (see previous post's homework!) before the end of class today.

POETRY SKILLS:
To IMPROVE your poetry, you all need to use IMAGERY. Imagery is the backbone of contemporary poetry. Without it, a poem often fails.

But what is it?

IMAGERY: Is the careful use of vivid or figurative language (metaphors, similes, personification, allusion, etc.) to represent objects, actions, or ideas that are otherwise abstract (love, death, sorrow, freedom, etc.) This representation is often VISUAL, for it helps create a picture in a listener or reader's mind. The only way to create a visual picture is to be specific with your noun usage or to compare something unknown with something known.

Imagery can also be auditory (sound) with the use of alliteration, assonance, consonance, and other techniques like rhyme and rhythm.

Please examine some examples of imagery:

• On a starry winter night in Portugal, where the ocean kissed the southern shore...

Descriptive words: starry, winter, southern
Specific NOUNS: night, Portugal, ocean, shore
Personification: ocean kissed the southern shore... 

More examples (similes):

• He fumed and charged like an angry bull.
• He fell like an old tree falling down in a storm.

And another example (metaphor):

• Her blue eyes were the sky in summer.

Imagery can also use the literary devices of figurative language and allusion. Check out these examples of figurative language and allusion. Learn what these devices are so you can use them in your writing.

Imagery is an attempt to describe something with the five senses. We've already discussed visual and auditory imagery. Other types of imagery include gustatory (taste), olfactory (smell), and kinesthetic (touch). These are harder to create, but with careful diction (word choice) a sense can be described. It is an author's job to notice and be able to describe sensations and events effectively to an audience.

NOTE: YOU MUST USE IMAGERY IN YOUR POETRY! Otherwise it may be terrible as an Egyptian plague. Imagery is a tool. Use it!

5-minute journal exercise: Alone or with a partner, try writing some examples of imagery in your journal. Write lines that use each of the five types of imagery. Try to get at least 3 examples of each type. If you still have time remaining in this exercise, add more examples until the bell rings.

A Brief Guide to Slam Poetry

Taken from Poets.org.

"One of the most vital and energetic movements in poetry during the 1990s, slam has revitalized interest in poetry performance. Poetry began as part of an oral tradition, and movements like the Beats and the poets of Negritude were devoted to the spoken and performed aspects of their poems. This interest was reborn through the rise of poetry slams across America; while many poets in academia found fault with the movement, slam was well received among young poets and poets of diverse backgrounds as a democratizing force. This generation of spoken word poetry is often highly politicized, drawing upon racial, economic, and gender injustices as well as current events for subject manner.

A slam itself is simply a poetry competition in which poets perform original work alone or in teams before an audience, which serves as judge. The work is judged as much on the manner and enthusiasm of its performance as its content or style, and many slam poems are not intended to be read silently from the page. The structure of the traditional slam was started by construction worker and poet Marc Smith in 1986 at a reading series in a Chicago jazz club. The competition quickly spread across the country, finding a notable home in New York City at the Nuyorican Poets Café."

Slam Poetry often uses topics or themes that are politically or emotionally charged. Slam poets often write with a social comment to make or share with an audience.

How can you be a poet for social change?

Brainstorming: Start with your journal. Make a list of things you believe, things that make you mad, or things that you feel go unnoticed by others, things that are important to you. Write for 5 minutes. Try to fill a page.

Let's view a few examples from some slam poets. As you watch notice the effective vocal and performance skills the authors use to enhance their performance.

CLASSWORK: For each poet, please write your reaction to their performances, identify some of the key themes and messages or morals that the authors present to us (what is their poetry trying to teach us?) Use your journal to record your reaction/observations. After each poet, use your notes about what you noticed to say something about what you learned or noticed about the poet's performance style and effectiveness.

Saul Williams

• One (from the film: Slam)

Taylor Mali

• I Could Be a Poet
• The the Impotence of Proofreading
• Tony Steinberg: Brave Seventh Grade Viking

Jessica Care Moore

• When My Son Sees an American Flag

Derrick Brown

• "A Finger, Two Dots, Then Me"

Now it's your turn. Let's go to the lab and begin a slam poem draft. If you complete your poem draft today, please save it. I hope we will have printing capabilities by next class.

HOMEWORK: Various. Feel free to begin writing your own slam poem from the exercises we did today. Write your drafts in your journal. Use imagery. Complete any missing work. Prepare your journals for Tuesday (they are due Nov. 1!)