Option for the Poetry Paper

Good morning :)

While I was walking to campus, I was thinking about a new option for the poetry paper.

My blog-zine is not done with the fall contests, but I thought I would ask you to choose one of the poems eligible for Thelma's Prize (all poems) and argue why it's the one you'd vote for, based on what you've learned about poetry this semester.

Here is a link to the blog:  http://thesongis.blogspot.com/

Here are the poems that are eligible so far for the fall contest.

Regina A. Walker's "Hiraeth":  http://thesongis.blogspot.com/2014/10/hiraeth.html

Felino A. Soriano's "Trio of incorporated interpretations":  http://thesongis.blogspot.com/2014/10/thelonious-monk.html

Martin Willits, Jr.'s "The Elephant on the Keyboards": http://thesongis.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-elephant-on-keyboards.html

Joan Dobbie's "Tripping with Ryan..." or Word Art Picture Poem: http://thesongis.blogspot.com/2014/10/blog-post.html

Ethan Goffman's "Song of My Selfie": http://thesongis.blogspot.com/2014/10/song-of-my-selfie.html

Jerry A. Scuderi's "Autumn Glow" or "Treble Goddess": http://thesongis.blogspot.com/2014/11/avis-d-matthews-images-and-jerry.html

Ed Schelb's "Bird Call Dance Hall" http://thesongis.blogspot.com/2014/11/bird-call-dance-hallcoming-soon.html

Jerry A. Scuderi's "Emerald Ridge in Spring," "Fertile Ridge in Summer," "Abandoned Ridge in Autumn," or "Barren Ridge in Winter": http://thesongis.blogspot.com/2014/11/jerry-scuderis-vineyard-poems.html

One of Vasile Moldovan's haiku: http://thesongis.blogspot.com/2014/11/words-and-images-for-what-would-have.html

Martin Willits, Jr.'s "Ugly Beauty": http://thesongis.blogspot.com/2014/11/monk-iyer.html

Felino A. Soriano's "Underneath" or "Morning, this" http://thesongis.blogspot.com/2014/11/monk-iyer.html

Allyson Lima's "After Mario Bencastro's Algo tiene el otono" http://thesongis.blogspot.com/2014/11/after-mario-bencastros-algo-tiene-el.html

Joan McNerney's "Monk," "Pablo Picasso Night Fishing at Antibes (1939)," "Vincent Van Gogh Stary Night (1889)," or "On Viewing Buddha in the Museum": http://thesongis.blogspot.com/2014/11/monk-andpoems-about-painting.html

Jerry A. Scuderi's "Salsa Island" http://thesongis.blogspot.com/2014/11/san-juan-puerto-rico.html

A.J. Huffman's  "Honey, You've Got to Slow Down" and "Singing Without Words":  http://thesongis.blogspot.com/2014/12/aj-huffmans-honey-you-got-to-slow-down.html?spref=bl

The Last Set of Questions for ENGL 190

Good evening :)

Tonight we covered more poems (and fiction) than I imagined that we would have.

From The Song Is..., we looked at Regina A. Walker's "Hiraeth":  http://thesongis.blogspot.com/2014/10/hiraeth.html

Martin Willets, Jr.'s "The Elephant on the Keyboards": http://thesongis.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-elephant-on-keyboards.html

Feel free to look at other poems at the blog, but these are the ones that may be on the exam.

We also reviewed fiction, looking at some flash fiction (under 1000 words).  Michael Oppenheim's "The Paring Knife" is on p. 319.  Catfish McDarish's "Hippopotamus Summer" was published by The Blue Hour Literary Magazine: http://thebluehourmagazine.com/2013/05/25/hippopotamus-summer-by-catfish-mcdaris/comment-page-1/#comment-12272 

Finally, we turned to prose poetry with Naomi Shihab Nye's "Hammer and Nail":  http://webdelsol.com/tpp/tpp5/tpp5_nye.html

I really like how we used the terms we already knew to examine the poems and distinguish poetry from fiction.

I am attaching the fiction take home.  Please send me your answers by Friday (12/5).  I will send the answers on Saturday.

Here are a few questions as you finish up your journal for the semester.

-- Take a look at the October, November, and December poems at The Song Is... http://thesongis.blogspot.com/  Which poem would you vote for for Best in Blog?  Why?  Support your answer with reference to what you've learned in ENGL 190.

-- Compare the flash fiction we looked at tonight to the other fiction we looked at this semester.  How was it different?  How was it similar?  Which do you prefer: flash fiction or longer fiction?  Why?

-- What do we know about the couple in "The Paring Knife"?  What don't we know?  Why?  (Compare this to "Love in LA," which we read in the first half of the semester.)

-- Discuss the shifts in time in "Hippopotamus Summer."  What purpose do they serve?

-- Do you find plot and conflict in "Hippopotamus Summer"?  Why?  Why not?

--How is poetry different from fiction, including flash fiction?

-- Should "Hippopotamus Summer" be considered a prose poem?  Why?  Why not?  Consider Russell Edson's prose poems here:  http://webdelsol.com/tpp/tpp5/tpp5_edson.html  or http://webdelsol.com/tpp/tpp5/tpp5_edsonb.html as well as Naomi Shihab Nye's "Hammer and Nail."

-- How would you divide poetry?  Why?

-- What are the characteristics of poetry?  Why?

-- Argue for or against one of the following:  free verse, rhymed poetry, formal verse, prose poetry.

FYI, here is Yiddish and English poet Menke Katz' "A Word or Two Against Rhyme":  http://www.dovidkatz.net/menke/Essays/18sample.htm

How would you respond to him?

Let me know if you have questions as you prepare for the final!

The song is...: A.J. Huffman's "Honey, You Got to Slow Down" and "...

The song is...: A.J. Huffman's "Honey, You Got to Slow Down" and "...: This morning I'd like to welcome poet, editor, and publisher A.J. Huffman to The Song Is...  A poem about a little red Corvette...

Terms for Film, Fiction, and Poetry on the Final

Watch this space for the next study guide!