I have to be honest. I hated poetry. I know that's a horrible thing to say especially as an English major. I've always hated writing it and writing about it. I just don't get it. However, I have to say that these assignments helped move hate to dislike.
For my poetry analysis essay, I decided to write about a Lupe Fiasco song and I appreciated it so much more than before I wrote the paper. When it came to the song, listening to it made me like it, but taking the time to break it down and dissect it, made me love it. I had a friend tell me that the song was very cliche and that I should choice something else. However, the more I looked at it, the more I saw that it wasn't cliche at all. The song has no real chorus, and in compared to a lot of the hip hop songs on the radio today, it's pretty unique. The form of his song is very complex and his repetition is the weapon that he uses to drive the message home. He truly is a poet.
So, when it came to writing my own poetry, I decided to do the same. In my Found Poem I decided to use a lot of repetition of the phrase "Saul sk8ting..." because that was my message. That was the point that I wanted to drive home. It's not political, social, historical, or even important to popular awareness. That poem was personal and about the one little kid that rules my life, my brother Saul. That was my message to bring introduce my readers to what my brother loves the most, skateboarding. So although I probably didn't do it as well as Fiasco did, I just took some pointers and did my best.
Writing about poetry makes you see all the work that the writer used to make the poem as great as it is. They take time to pick where the repetition, personification, alliteration, or other things go. Then, writing poetry puts you in charge, and you realize it's not as easy as it seems.
As a student, I never liked poetry because the poems we studied were presented in a language that I couldn't grasp. I know it was English, but it was flowery and hard and I never felt like it spoke to me. I'm from South Central L.A., so I never cared about learning about loving nature or admiring a mountain I have never seen. So as a teacher, I think I would want to do the songs first. I want to teach in inner city schools, so I know that those kids are growing up around the same things I am. I would want to bring in songs and have them break it down using literary terms. Once they can do that comfortably, I want to slowly start pulling them away and giving them the literature that they are suppose to read. That way hopefully they can appreciate it because they already have the tools. They won't be learning how to do something while working with something they don't understand or don't want to understand.
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Robin,
ReplyDeleteEven as English majors, I don't think we have to like everything we learn about, poetry included. Poetry is definitely a polarizing topic, whether it's part of your major or not. At least you have the guts to admit you don’t always get it! I think it was cool how you chose to write about a contemporary song as a poem, especially someone as current as Lupe Fiasco. What song of his did you choose? I assume you picked something other than “Superstar.” I agree that there are some hip hop artists out there that actually take the time to craft their songs, instead of just using a driving beat or catchy chorus. Some of the lyrics are definitely akin to a poem that might be used in a poetry slam setting, like what we did in class.
I liked how you had no real “agenda” with your found poem, but rather wanted it to be personal. The best kind of writing, poetry or otherwise, is from the heart. Sometimes all it takes is some simple repetition and there’s no need for all of the “flowery language,” as you so succinctly put it.
I agree that when teaching students about poetry nowadays, it might be best to try to relate on their level, with modern songs and analyzing their lyrics. I had one teacher do that with my class when I was in high school, and it was for history class. We were learning about the ‘60s, the Vietnam war, etc., and he made handouts of the lyrics to the Beatles’ “Revolution.” He played the song for us, too. It was sad how some kids didn’t get how the song captured the attitude felt by the young people at that time.
Hey Robin!
ReplyDeleteOne would think that English majors have to like everything they read or learn about, but we don’t. I am not a big fan of poetry either. Well, I’m not a big fan of writing about poetry because in the opportunities I have gotten to write about poetry I had to write about a poem assigned to me, not a poem of my choice. I wish I would have chosen a song to do my poem interpretation on. I am sure you had lots of fun digging into a song from your favorite artist. I should have done the same, but I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to find enough academic sources to support my explication. I enjoyed reading your Found Poem; it reminded me of Lupe Fiasco’s song “Kick Push”. You’re right when you stated that writing poetry is not as easy at it seems because I thought writing my own poems was going to be easier than explicating a poem, but it was not. Writing my own poem was just as hard, but it was much more enjoyable than explicating because I was able to use my creative side! I can relate to the style of teaching you want to use in your classroom when introducing your students to poetry. I also want to start off with songs that my students can relate to and have them interpret the songs so that it gives the songs a more powerful meaning for my students. I also believe that using songs that students know will help them enjoy, appreciate, and grasp the concepts of poetry.
Hello Robin,
ReplyDeleteI started laughing when I started reading your posting! I have always felt the same way about poetry! I liked your skating poem. I didn’t know it was about your little brother! I think you are a very special person for wanting to work in inner city schools. Most people would dread to even think about going there. I know I want to work with ESL or remedial students. I want to help my students and give them skills they need and can use in the real world. I think that as teachers, we must choose material that will interest our students. It’s a great idea to start the poetry section with a song. This is something that the students are going to find interesting and will ask questions. Building them up from the basics will be helpful if they are interested in what they are reading. Of course we have to teach them the classics, but they will definitely get it more once they have looked at something they find interesting and they can relate to.