Last Post

Happy Monday Poets!

I enjoyed reading your chapbooks and portfolios over the weekend. I hope you learned something/ got something out of our poetry class. I certainly learned a lot from all of you!  I hope you will continue writing poems on your own. You are all so good at it. I will truly miss reading your poetry, and I hope we will still have "circles of love" from time to time. 

Please go to www.advancedfiction13.blogspot.com to view our fresh new blog!

End of the Semester Guidelines!

Please make sure to visit the blog and complete everything from the checklist provided. Here are the last few assignments you are responsible for:

_____ Enter Sokol by the end of next week (1/18)

_____ Complete Chapbook by next Tuesday (1/15)

_____ Complete Portfolio by next Thursday (1/24)

Chapbook Clarification

·         Creative Title/Evident Theme is imperative

·         Table of Contents/Page Numbers necessary

·         Images should be used throughout (hand drawings are encouraged)

·         Your name should be clearly written/typed on the cover

·         Dedication/Foreword/Afterword are not required BUT would be nice additions!

·         5-10 Poems is a good number. Focus on quality!

Portfolio Clarification

·         You must have a balanced amount of work from each marking period.

·         Choose your best/favorite pieces remembering that you are trying to show your growth over the course of the semester.

·         Polish each piece and make them as perfect as you can. Remember: You may have learned something new that you didn’t know at the beginning of the year. Apply those skills!

·         Reflection- You need to write a two page reflection about the semester, the poetry writing process, and your progress:

·         Which poem do you think is your best poem?  Which poem is your least favorite?  Why?

·         How did writing poetry help you to appreciate the details of the poems you have read? Be sure to reference the author you are currently reading (and others!)

·         What did you most enjoy and least enjoy about the entire poetry unit?

·         What was the most difficult poem for you to write?  Which one did you enjoy the most? Least? 

·         What did you know about poetry before you started this class? 

·         What new things have you learned about poetry? Yourself? Life?

·          Grade yourself and explain why you would give that grade.

To Do!

1. Chapbook
2. Portfolio (there may be some reflection questions coming your way...)
3. Blackout Poetry
4. Sound Poem
5. Enter Sokol http://www3.libraryweb.org/sokolcontest.aspx?id=477477
6. 8 Forms of poetry (4 workshopped/polished)
7. 1 poem from book
8. Finish reading book of poems by contemporary poet chosen/in process of reading (please post who your author is/your title)

Chapbook Info

Chapbook Assignment

Overview
Chapbooks or “chapterbooks” as they were once called, are paper booklets or collections of work that illustrate a theme or tell a story. Historically, chapbooks were an important medium for the spreading of popular culture. They were a medium of entertainment, information and history. They are now valued as a record of popular culture, preserving cultural and personal memories that may not survive in any other form.

Over time poetry chapbooks have become very popular in the world of creative writing.

Requirements
You will each create your own poetry chapbook that illustrates your life or a theme of your choice. Here are some guidelines to keep in mind:

· This chapbook is yours not mine! Make it personal, relevant, and interesting to you.

· It is not a diary or a scrapbook, it must contain poetry on every page!

·

Chapbooks can and should contain pictures, drawings, or artwork, but your writing should dominate each page.

Language and content should be appropriate.

Each chapbook should have a cover (with title,) table of contents, and page numbers.  

I like this Q&A  from writersdigest.com

Q: I’ve been writing poetry for a few years now and want to publish some of my work. A friend suggested I publish a “chapbook” of my poetry. What is a chapbook, and how is it different from a regular book? —Cindy N.A chapbook is a small collection of poetry, generally no more than 40 pages, that often centers on a specific theme, such as exotic foods or wild animals or Justin Bieber. It’s typically saddle-stitched (like a pamphlet or magazine) and is a format well suited to smaller print-runs.
Poets publish chapbooks instead of full-length books of poetry for a number of reasons, but perhaps the most common is that chapbooks are relatively inexpensive to produce. In fact, many poets take the DIY approach and print their chapbooks themselves. (If you’re so inclined, Poets.org which offers up an excellent step-by-step set of instructions on its website at poets.org/view
media.php/prmMID/21249.)
As difficult as it is to sell fiction to a publisher, it’s even harder to sell poetry. Producing a chapbook is an excellent way to give audiences a sampling of your writing and potentially sell your work for a nice little profit.
Plus, should your chapbook take off and sell at a healthy rate, it could serve as proof to publishers that there’s a market for you poetry. And that’s the best way to get their attention.
(writersdigest.com)

• I have some information on a simple pamphlet stitch that you are welcome to try as well. Please hand in your chapbook by the end of class.
• http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=2&sqi=2&ved=0CDQQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pagehalffull.com%2F8sheettemplate.doc&ei=qMm0UL-sHNOO0QHs2oHwDg&usg=AFQjCNHKnOs7vVQy7MFvFyNj2KByV5yREg (this is a template I found...)

The Sound of Poetry!

Introduction
The best poets choose words carefully for their sound and meaning (sense). I always remind my students to choose words that make people think and feel. One of the ways to achieve this is by choosing words for their quality of sound. The best poets use sound in a variety of ways to enhance their poems. We are not going to worry too much about meter right now. All I want you to do is write a poem with the idea of sound in mind.

Exercise Options

• Write a poem choosing words for the quality of their sounds. Don't worry about it making any sort of sense!
• Choose a word or words that you think have a unique sound and use them to start a poem. Stay focused on sound and rhythm throughout the poem.

*When we write poetry, we pay attention to all five senses (imagery), try to keep all of your focus on the sense of sound for this exercise.

Finish early?
Make sure you are all caught up!

• 8 Forms of poetry (4 workshopped/polished)
• 1 poem from book
• Blackout Poetry attempt
• Book of poems by contemporary poet chosen/in process of reading
• Article read/discussed

Prepare for Future Assignments!

• We will begin to put together chapbooks in the near future!
• Begin to brainstorm themes/ideas/titles for this major assignment.
• Are there poems you have written this semester that you would like to put in a chapbook? Any that might give you an idea for a theme?

Happy New Year!

I hope you had a restful break! I enjoyed reading (and grading) your poetry last week :) Did you hand it in? If not, please do!

Agenda

1. Pass back work
2. Discuss homework... Did you do it?
3. Blackout Poetry! You were supposed to give this a try before break... Only a few of you did it. Please try it now. IT IS FUN! I promise.
4. If you were unable to find a contemporary poet over break, please spend some time researching now. I can send some to the library if that will help.

We will try and get agenda items 1-4 done during first period!

5. Article reading
6. Poetry reading and analysis
7. Reading our own poems (if time allows)

Homework: Finish up work from today!

Blackout Poetry

My favorite e-mail this week!

                             

READ THIS! (Thanks Mariah :)
http://www.bitrebels.com/design/newspaper-blackout-poems-a-creative-way-to-write-poetry/