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Blog 10- Reflection

The semester has quickly come to an end. I feel as if only yesterday we were getting started. Spending an entire semester in poetry has been an awesome experience. This being my first poetry it took me some time to get use to and feel my way through reading and writing poems. I learned so much about the different forms of poetry and got a chance to try my hand at them. This was a great experience.

                  The beauty of this class was its structure. It was designed in a way for us budding poets to work and learn from each other. I learned so much from my peers. One of my weaknesses in poem writing was failing to use enough imagery and applying line breaks effectively. With my peers’ suggestions I went back and revised my poems. I think they now read so much better.

                  Our professor did a wonderful job in deciding which poem structures we were going to focus on for the semester. I was able to experiment in writing so many poems- list, persona, word substitution, sonnet, and ekphrastic poems. It was awesome.                  

In closing, thank you professor for being an awesome instructor and thank you peers for you honesty and support in my poetry writing journey. Priceless!

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Blog Post 9: Research

Wow! I am amazed at the number of journals focused on publishing poetry. I read through quite a number of them focusing on their submission period, number of poems they would accept for submission, their required documents for submitting poems, as well as the amount of money they were willing to pay authors for their work. From the sites I visited, I chose the following. 

Poet Lore

Frontier Poetry

Poetry Magazine

Each of these sites had their pluses and minuses. Poet Lore, however, was my favorite. They publish twice yearly and is currently open for submissions. If they like your work, they will pay you $50 for each of your poems which were accepted. This is not bad for a beginning poet. 

In searching the Web, I also found a site which was excellent in describing the documentation many of the poetry publishers required, 9 Essential Poetry Manuscript Format Tips to Get Published by Sean Glatch (https://writers.com/poetry-manuscript-format).  In the article, the author provided pictorial representation of the submission letter, how the poetry should be displayed on the page was well as a number of other visuals displays of possible documents needed for submission.

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Blog 8: Sonnet and Haiku

I enjoyed writing my very first sonnet and Haiku. It was fun once I got the hang of things. It took me some time to narrow down a topic. I decided to write about my challenges of writing poetry. Having the boundaries for both the sonnet and Haiku gave me some structure as to what the poems required. Some of my peers may have a disdain for the cumbersome nature of these poems but for me it was rather soothing. 

Writing the sonnet took a lot of time. There were moments I thought I would never finish. Then things started moving. Working on a line and trying to make things flow and rhyme for the third line and have things make sense was challenging. RhymeZone became my friend. The volta was an issue for me too. At first, I wrote it as the final two lines of the poem. Then I read the volta should be around lines eight or nine, which meant I needed to replace some lines. I finally fix those things and finished my sonnet.

Next, I worked on the Haiku. It was amazing how many great ideas were flowing with creating my Haiku. Since the Haiku is about nature, I chose the spring season. For me, spring represents freshness and new beginnings. This is what my sonnet was about in some ways. I don’t know if this was the correct approach but I enjoyed it.  I stuck to the 5/7/5 scheme and finished the poem. 

All in all, my venture in writing the sonnet and Haiku was by far the most fun I have had in this class. I hope to continue writing these. Maybe one day my work will be good enough to publish.

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Blog 7

Making my list poem was both fun and stressful. I looked over the list poem in our class book, alternate names for black boys, and really enjoyed it. I liked how the author of the poem thought outside the box when it came to the alternate names she used. I also did a great deal of research on line to see what other people, both children and adult, had come up with for their poems. I really liked some of the list poems of children. They were really simple and cute. 

For my poem, I did a great deal of brainstorming about different topics that I could talk about as a list. I thought about apples and vegetables. Using these ideas would give a big list unless I could make it very succinct. I finally made a decision as to the way I wanted to go with my poem. I called my work Perfect.

                  Drafting my poem wasn’t so bad. Once I had the topic nailed down the sentences and their structure came rather easy. I gave a great deal of thought as to whether I had put enough information in my poem. I decided to leave the poem as I had it.

                  In revising my poem, I went back and looked at what I had written. I wanted to make some of the ideas I had in my poem more concrete. For example, I wrote about the perfect female shape. Instead of simply saying the “perfect female shape,” I decided to put exact numbers in. The poem then read what many think of as a perfect female size, 32-24-32.

                  Last came the editing. I tried to make sure I took care of most of the small grammatical and spelling issues as I went along. I still double checked my work at the end, however, making sure it was error free.

                  This is by far one of the best poems we have had to write.

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Blog 6: Research

I really enjoyed doing this poem. It gave me an opportunity to delve into the world of my persona person, Michelle Obama. I wanted to know as much about her as possible including the tiny details of her life few people knew about. Staring my research, I chose to spend time in the library searching for books. The first ones that popped up were Mrs. Obama’s first book, Becoming, and her second, The Light We Carry. They were loaded with many facts about Mrs. Obama’s life told from her perspective. I became a friend of hers as she wrote about her past struggles, failures, and successes. Like many others who read her books, I could relate to her humanness and her journey.

              For the final leg of my research, I decided to watch you-tube videos with Mrs. Obama being interview mostly about her book, Becoming.  This allowed me to visualize first hand her articulating the things that were important to her. In looking at her facial expressions I could see how dedicated she was about the issues she chose to embrace.                

 I learned a great deal in doing this project. There was so much about Mrs. Obama to share, I felt my rendition of her in verse as inadequate. This was truly a wonderful experience.

Picture from Pixabay

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Blog Post 5: Music and Rhythm

For many people, the thought of poetry as being musical is a foreign concept. There is, however, something about poetry that lends itself to being quite musical. When written poetry is read aloud, there is a certain feeling invoked in the listener, especially if the work is crafted well. This music produced by poetry is not the same as lyric music, you know, the kind of music that is sang or accompanied by some type of musical instrument, yet it is still music. 

Music, as referred to in written poetry, use several rhetorical tools to produce its effect. When used well these rhetorical devices connects with the reader and renders a certain sense of pleasure. Rhetorical devices that are often used in poetry are: Alliteration- the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of a piece. Assonance- the repetition of vowels sounds in nearby words . Caesura- a pause in a line of poetry, often near the middle which can be due to natural grammatical breaks. Refrain- the repetition of a line at recurring intervals in a poem. Rhyme- the repetition of end sounds in words. Slant rhyme- known as “near rhyme,” use of words that do not share an exact end sound but close.

In reading and writing poetry I enjoy the use of caesura, refrain and rhyme. In her work “Ars Poetica,” Brimhhall’s (page 170) use of caesura is masterful: 

the skid, the panic, the woman’s body, a stain                                   on snowlike blood in a dancer’s shoes.

The poet allows one to pause as the work is read. Another rhetorical device I have found pleasant has been refrain as is used by Bob Hicok in “Elegy with lies” on page 189. Notice how this author uses the word “nothing” which is repeated throughout the piece.                   Essential also to creating the music of poetry is the element of rhythm. It gives live to poetry. Rhythm is all around us- the beat of the heart or simply the in and out motion of breathing, for example. Rhythm is the pattern, the pacing, the structure of poetry. There is something that is innately soothing in reading poetry when there is a rhythm.

 In concluding, the use of the rhetorical devices to create the music of poetry and the rhythm used in poetry are much like the glue that shapes and holds together well written poetry.

Picture from Pixaby

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Blog Post4: Image and Metaphor

Image and metaphor are the building blocks of poetry. Without the use of these tools, poetry and other writings would be rather flat. Images themselves are thought of as the building block for all good writing. An image is defined as anything that can be perceived with the senses. There are two types of images, concrete which appeals to the sensory system, i.e., touch, feel, taste, smell and see and abstract which is more intangible an ethereal such as love, grief, loss, loneliness, happiness, beauty. Using concrete images are much more effective in poetry writing. 

When we look at metaphors, we think of metaphors themselves or similes.  Metaphors compares two things by saying one thing is another. For example, one could say, my mom has a heart of gold. A simile, on the other hand use like or as in their comparison. “He was as quiet as a mouse,” is an example of the use of simile.

All in all, without the use of images, simile and metaphors poetry would non existent..

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Blog Post 3: Warm up: Word Substitution Poem

                  I am so excited! I just created my first poem. Yeah! This was really an exciting feat for me. I spent a lifetime staying away from both reading and writing poetry. I always thought they were beyond my ability as a writer. This course, however, has given me a glimpse of what poetry is, how to write it , as well as how poetry can be understand.

                  In writing my first poem I was somewhat hesitant. This was the first time in my studies I was invited to copy someone else’s work and this made such a difference. Following the guidelines given to the class, it was easier than what I had thought to write poetry. This road map was the guide I needed to create my poem. The process of figuring out the syntax, punctuation and line breaks were not bad because of the guide that was used. The grammar was much more of a challenge for me though because I had not thought about grammar for a long time. But once I figured out how to work with the grammar things progressed rather quickly and my chosen words became a poem. 

                  All in all, this exercise was a great introduction into the world of poetry. 

Image from Pixaby

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Blog Post 2 "An Introduction to Poetry"

I took a moment to reflect on my earliest introduction to poetry as a high school student. My classmates and I were presented with works of poetry from several authors and were required to learn many of them. Never were we given guidelines or suggestions as to how to write or read poetry. The meaning of a piece of poetry was always that of the teacher. Very little energy was given to allow us as students to form our own opinion of a work or simply "feel" the poetry. I, like most of my high school classmates, developed very little attachment to this genre of literature and much more of a disdain to both reading and writing poetry. The introductory readings to this class, however, breathed some life into what poetry is and how interesting and novel this writing can be.

Reading the introduction of Poetry A Writer’s Guide and Anthology was really refreshing. For once I could get a feeling for what poetry is and is not. Looking at all the different ways in which poetry is written allowed me to see that there is so much that can be done. I now find myself dreaming of how I want to create this art. No longer will I think of poetry as just for a meager few. I now see it is assessable and understandable to all who take the time to read it. Poetry is truly a language of its own.

But is writing poetry just for those individuals that have a gift for writing? The author of our main book suggests we are all poets. We are all endowed with this creativity. It does, however, require us as writers to be attentive, even to things some would see as mundane. It is with this keen eye that poetry is written.

As I begin my journey into writing poetry it is with a new sense of respect. No longer do I have to fear poetry as an art which few are privy to understand and write but a subject available to all. As for me, I look forward to seeing what I am capable of adding to this interesting genre of literature.

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Blog # 1 Introduction

Hello Everyone! Welcome to my poetry blog! This is my first venture in this genre of literature. I have read some poetry but not much. As a writer, I have always had a fascination and a fear of poetry. This being said, I am looking forward to learning and sharing poetry ideas, thoughts and works with you, my fellow classmates. It is my hope by the end of the semester I will have gained an incredible appreciation in writing as well as understanding poetry.

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Blog # 10

Wow! This marks the end of class. It has been such a wonderful journey. Thank you Dr. B. and my wonderful fellow classmates. You have made this a class to remember. Following is my video essay. I hope you enjoy it.

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Blog # 9 Reflection on Revision

                  Participating in the class writer’s workshop was such a great experience. As I submitted my essay to the workshop group, I was somewhat hesitant and a little nervous as to how they would view my topic and first attempt at lyric writing. This was my first time providing comments on essays as well as receiving them about my own writing.  My group was wonderful. I received so many wonderful ideas/suggestions, ways to make my paper better. These comments were much appreciated. I am working on incorporating many of these ideas into my essay as I work on my revisions. I am hoping that by incorporating ideas from the workshop my essay will be a much better read.

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I have decided to include a number of other ideas into my project.

What can you do if you are not a swimmer and find you are in trouble in the water? One of the things that I will be focusing on is how a person can safe himself or herself if they are unable to swim. This little video may be a lifesaver for someone finding themselves in a position of being in water without swimming skills. (See video below).

I am adding personal testimonies from adults swimmers and non swimmers as to why they did or did not learn to swim.

I will stress the importance of swimming for health benefits regardless of age.

I hope to include footage of the 1964 Civil Rights Swim-In which helped to begin the process of desegregating pools.

I am going to share a video/interview with one of the main players of the Swim-In giving his personal account as to what happened that fateful day in June, 1964.

The research continues.

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Google Map Essay Blog #7

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Blog # 6

Blog # 6

For my collage I chose nine photographs. Moving from the bottom to the top of the collage, the significance of the images to my present life increases. The panel descriptions move from left to right starting at the bottom left.

The grand piano, image at the far bottom left corner, is one of my favorite musical instruments. This instrument’s music can speak any language and evoke endless emotions. It is my representation of a dynamic and moving life.

The comic panel represents the feelings I have often had of being voiceless. I am an introvert. I listen and think much more than I talk (most of the time). There are individuals who take this as a weakness. After dealing with this in my work setting, I decided to quit my job and start a personal journey to find what feels right for my life.

There is something peaceful and calming about the movement of the tides at the ocean. This picture was taken at sunset while I enjoyed the roar of the ocean and the fading sun.

The image of the woman typing at a desk represents a part of life I long for. Over the last several years I have moved numerous times. This has been very pleasurable, and it give me an opportunity to get to know different neighborhoods and live in different homes. Now I think I want to see what it feels like to put down roots and follow my dream of being a writer. 

This is a picture I took in the Canadian Rockies. The waterfall was spectacular. The downward cascade of the water was loud, fast and breathtaking. In the distance, just behind the waterfall stood a beautiful mountain canopied by a breathtaking multicolored rainbow. Swift water movement. Solid rock mountain. Colorful rainbow. What more could one ask.

Tic Tok. Tic Tok, the movement of time. The older I get the louder the ticking sound. This is a reminder that time is moving, and it is up to me to get whatever it is I am called to do before the clock is silenced. 

I chose the colorful owl to represent wisdom, foresight, intuition, confidence and magic. These attributes are all a part of me if I would but listen. 

The inviting door represents mystery. There is something good on the other side of the door. I must only knock. It is up to me to climb the steps and know that surely this door will open.

My final image is of the hummingbird. It is the smallest of birds and represents playfulness, and a joy of life. This is what I am working to incorporate as a part of my life.

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Blog # 5 Progress Report

Learning to swim as a mature adult is not easy. Sometimes being in swim session is a little frustrating. Currently I am doing one class weekly. I still have not mastered the breathing technique. I feel as if I should have mastered this by now. I drink lots of pool water. My coach tells me that I need to practice more but this is hard since it is a 30-minute session, and the pool is not always available to use right after my lesson for extra time in the water. 

As I find myself in this conundrum concerning learning to swim, I began to contemplate why I did not pursue swimming as a child. I asked my friends whether they were swimmers. Their answers were a resounding no. Growing up in the south I was encouraged to stay away from all bodies of water. My parents’ favorite saying was, “you can’t drink all that water.” I made it my business to keep a safe distance from pools, ponds, lakes, etc. One of my friends recounted how she advised her 28-year-old son several days ago to make sure he had on a life jacket when he and his wife set out to explore their small community lake. My friend said although her son was an ok swimmer when he was younger, she thought he might have forgotten how to swim since then. Her statement caused me to ponder whether she were repeating the same ideation concerning water we were taught as children.

My friend and I both grew up in the south during the time when pools were being integrated. As a youth I remember my hometown having a beautiful Olympic stye pool in the White neighborhood and tiny, dinky pool in the Black neighborhood. Once all pools were integrated many cities refused to share these public facilities. My hometown, learning that the city pool would consist of all races enjoying the water and a possibility of all races being at the White Olympic pool, the city promptly filled this beautiful pool with lots of dirt. This was a common occurrence in many cities. Children of color were left in cities with no access to pools and the possibility of learning to swim became nonexistent. Although it has been many years the problem of limited pool access to everyone continues to be a problem and the rate of drownings for young and old continue to climb.

Citation: Tumblr teen swimming

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Blog # 4 Project

Blog # 4 Project Research 

Research into my project has been very sobering. I found I am not alone when it comes to and inability to swim as an adult. Did you know about 37% of the United States adult population report limited swimming ability and only about one-third of US swimming adults able to swim the length of a pool? It is estimated that there are 11 drowning deaths per day in our country. Like the cycles of drug abuse, teen age pregnancies, high school dropout, etc. there is also a cycle of adult non swimmers. The question is how do we break this cycle. I am just beginning my research and I'm compelled to push on towards not only mastering swimming but finding ways to encourage other non-swimming adults to learn how to swim as well. I am happy I chose this topic, and I look forward to my next steps in posing solutions not only for myself but also other non swimmers as well getting us to the point of feeling comfortable swimming.

Credit to : "Finding your lane: experiences and beyond for adults learning to swim" by Shawn Wilson, et. al. 12/2023