Commentary on "Penny for Your Thoughts"

Our group chose a poetry piece from Def Poetry Jam entitled "Penny for Your Thoughts." Part of what I think works so well in this piece is the element of surprise. First, the poet surprised me because he's a big white guy and doesn't fit the stereotypical image of what I have experienced with spoken word poetry. The spoken word artists I have heard have all been people of color or more alternative looking white people. Second, his topic is surprising. His entire poem is about the sexiness he finds in a woman's mind, rather than her body. With this, he again defies stereotypes of this type of poetry: he's not angry or victimized.

While the surprise element is certainly a large part of what makes this poem good, I think his use of language is amazing and makes the poem great. His ability to use very sensual language typically used to describe the body to instead describe his attraction to the mind is wonderful. It confuses your head just enough to really have to pay attention and be pleasantly surprised by what he is saying.

I think it qualifies as both a poem and a performance piece in that it is rhythmic, has an amazing use of poetic language, and draws strength from being performed rather than just read. However, I think the performance aspect could be improved. I though the poet was a bit stiff, especially at the beginning, and the piece could be more powerful if he were able to perform his words to more fully invoke the images they create in our minds.

Poetry Slam Debate Lesson Plan

As I was researching and trying to get ideas for a performance poetry lesson plan, I came across a definition for a poetry slam that used the word "competitive." This made me think of a way I could do a poetry slam in the classroom that would work for students who are too shy or self-conscious to perform in front of the class. By developing a group project, I thought students would be able to contribute to the poetry without feeling the pressure of performing. In addition, I wanted to introduce the concepts behind a debate, since many performance poetry pieces seem to be arguing for some type of cause/point of view.

Here is my idea for a classroom poetry slam debate.

1. Have students view videos of performance poetry to get an idea of the multiple directions this could take.

2. Have students choose a topic to debate. The teacher may want to have a list of possible topics, or suggest one from recent discussions in class.

3. Divide students into two group: one for and one against the topic. Keep groups as even as possible. It is a good lesson for students to be placed in a group they don't agree with; they will have more "arguments" than they think.

4. Have each group write 2 poems to be performed in front of the class. The first poem will introduce their point of view and make their argument for or against the topic. The second poem will be a rebuttal of what they think the other group may argue. If this is beyond the students' ability, they may appropriate a poem by using existing poetry performance pieces and changing the words to fit their topics.

5. Each group will be responsible for choosing two students to present the poems: one student for argument and one for rebuttal.

6. The performance piece will take the form of a debate between the two sides, alternating as follows: argument (group 1); argument (group 2); rebuttal (group 1); rebuttal (group 2).

My Attempt at Performance Poetry

It seems that the only performance poetry I can think of writing is angry. I don't know if this is because most of the performance poetry I have heard (spoken word) has been by urban teenagers and has had pretty serious, often angry, anti-status quo messages. Actually, writing this down was difficult because I felt the need to mark the words I wanted to emphasize so the reader would know where to place the emphasis. On the other hand, I changed quite a bit of it once I heard myself recorded; hearing it aloud really changed what I wanted to do with it.

I cannot seem to get any type of audio file to upload here, so here is the written version.


You Think You Know

You think you know something
about me?
You think you're smarter
than me?
You think you know kids
like me?

You think you understand
my life?
You think you see something in
my eyes?
You think you get what's in
my head?

Fuck you.

You tell me to look inside.
You tell me to think some more.
You tell me to calm down.
Fuck you.

You say you know about
my mom.
You say you've heard about
my dad.
You say you've seen
my kind.

You say you understand
my situation?
You say you're here to help with
my life?
You say you can relate to
my reality?

Fuck you.

You tell me to look inside.
You tell me to think some more.
You tell me to calm down.

But you don't bother to listen to what
I say.
You don't bother to hear what
I speak.
You don't bother to see what
I see.
You've never touched what
I feel.
And you don't even know how to taste what
I taste.

So fuck you.

Don't tell me to look inside.
Don't tell me to think some more.
Don't tell me to calm down.

I know what's inside.
I know what I think.
And I know what my life's like.

But you don't listen
You don't hear
You don't see
So fuck you.

Performance Poetry

This is one of my favorite performances. I think the back and forth of the two women performing together really adds to the power of the piece. It first surprised me because I think of poetry as such a solitary pursuit, but this certainly disproves that stereotype.

Click here to view the video on youtube.

Def Poetry Jam Lesson

I really enjoy using Def Poetry Jam videos in my classroom. I usually choose 3-4 videos, readily available on youtube (or for sale by the season), and show them as examples of spoken word poetry. I can always find subjects that are relevant to my students, which makes a huge difference in capturing, and keeping, their attention.

What I like best about using spoken word is that the poems are indeed spoken. I think so much of poetry is lost when read quietly to one's self. I first tried teaching spoken word when planning a unit on Shakespeare. I read somewhere that Shakespearean plays were not meant to be read in a book; the plays were meant to be performed. Duh. So, I used this argument as an excuse to introduce the students to poetry through spoken word and insist that all of the poetry we would be discussing would be read aloud in the classroom.

While I use the Def Poetry Jam lesson plan to focus on the vocabulary of poetry (alliteration, meter, etc.), I also use it to help the students understand the meaning behind language. My first question after each and every spoken word performance is, "What is this poem about?" The students are not allowed to be literal with their answers, which pushes them to think about the meaning behind the words. This translates to their being able to read more deeply into any literature that we study while also helping them understand the nuances of language and the complexity of poetry.

Couldn't Resist a Limerick

The lady went out through the in,
She cared a bit much for the gin.
She thrust out her cane
And caused him great pain,
Just before she allowed him to sin.

Line It Up

This is a lesson plan I found on the Favorite Poem Project web site. It is one of my favorite web sites when I teach poetry. It has a variety of people reading their favorite poems, rather than the authors of the poems reading their own poems. I love to hear how different poems can be when they are read aloud by different people, especially when read by someone other than the author of the poem.

In this vein, I have "borrowed" one of the lesson plans that allows students to arrange a poem in a way they see fit. I like the idea of putting the poem out there, all jumbled up in a paragraph form, and seeing what happens to it when the students put work with the line breaks and structure. I think it would be really interesting to then compare the students' version with the poet's version and discuss what was differently and how those differences affected the meaning or feeling of the poem.

Here is the lesson (http://www.favoritepoem.org/lessonplans-links/lineitup.html):

Suggested Poems:

"The Farmer" by William Carlos Williams
"This is Just to Say" by William Carlos Williams
"One for the Rose" by Galway Kinnell
"A Lover" by Amy Clampitt
"Song" by H. D.
"The Red Wheelbarrow" by William Carlos Williams
"a(l)" by E. E. Cummings
"in-Just Spring" by E. E. Cummings

(For additional suggestions, and a variation on this lesson, look at "Learning the Lines" in the middle school lesson plans).

Teachers' Reflections:

This assignment is designed to draw students attention to the different ways poets use lines, line-breaks, stanza breaks and white space in free verse poems.

Teaching Ideas:

The teachers will present the text several poems typed each as a single paragraph, with no line-breaks or stanza breaks. You may want to review some useful terms with your students — enjambment, end-stopped lines, caesura. Put the students into groups, and give each group a poem-paragraph. Each groups will arrange the text into lines and stanzas, aiming to create textured lines with rich sounds, listening to the cadences of the phrases and sentences and looking for possible exciting ambiguities created by considered line-breaks (aiming to create at least one line that speaks to both the line that precedes it and the line that follows it). Encourage students to experiment — not merely breaking the text into syntactical units. They may arrange the same text a couple of different ways — trying longer and shorter lines, various stanzas. Together, the group will write a reflection about the process, explaining some of the choices and pointing out the lines that really seem to shine. Groups will briefly present and discuss the arrangements with each other, then compare them to the original poems and continue discussion.

Teaching Connections:

This assignment would be a fine introduction to lessons on American Modernist poets or the Imagists. The teacher can extend the discussion to include grammar and mechanics (punctuation, sentence structure). Inevitably, looking closely at a poem's texture will also bring up questions of tone.

Based on a lesson by Frances Ashe, Kate Oneschuk (Holliston High School, Holliston, MA), Monica Hiller (Watertown High School, Watertown, MA) and Allyson Sklover (Boston Latin Academy, Dorchester, MA)

Lesson Plan: Found Poetry

One of my favorite things to do with my students is to have them understand the poetry inherent in language without overwhelming them with the fear of writing a poem.

In this lesson, you can use any book you are currently reading in class -- fiction or non-fiction. It's often better with non-fiction because it really shows the students that a poem can be made using unexpected words. It also focuses on the concept of a poem being a concise work, which is able to create a message by being very specific with word choice.

This lesson can take anywhere from 1-2 hours, depending on the number of groups and the level of discussion that occurs during group presentations.

1. Model the process. Project a passage (1-2 paragraphs) from the text you are reading. Read it aloud at least twice. Have the students tell you what the non-important words/phrases are and cross them out. Continue until you have only the words/phrases that the students have deemed important. Read through the passage using only the words that are left. Give the students the opportunity to cross out more words. Try to pare down the passage as much as possible. Rewrite the passage using only the important words; focus on line breaks to create rhythm. Read aloud revised poem until the class is happy with what they have created. Compare the new poem to the original prose and discuss some of the differences.
   
2. Break students into groups. Hand out photocopies of passages from the text you are reading. Be sure no two groups have the same passage.
3. Groups create a found poem. Students should work within their groups to cross out words, as shown during the modeling process. Students should then rewrite their new poem, working on line breaks to create rhythm.
4. Students revise and edit. Encourage students to read the poem aloud (multiple times) within their groups to be sure the poem is as strong as the original prose. Does the poem use the right words? Do more need to be cut? Do some need to be added back in? Should the order remain the same? Is there a flow and rhythm to it? Do the line breaks need to be revisited? Does the poem need additional punctuation, or less punctuation?
5. Groups share their poems. Each group will read their poem aloud to the rest of the class. After each poem, the group will read the passage it came from. Have a class discussion to determine which is stronger in regard to emotion and message. Have students discuss the benefits of prose vs. the benefits of poetry.
   

Left Hand Poem: Santa Claus

She sat on the swingset gently swaying
back and forth.
I stood near her pushing the sand
with my sneaker.

Did you know that when you die you'll burn
in Hell?
All Jewish people burn in Hell when
they die.

Did you know that there is
no Santa Claus?
It was the best I could do.

She cried and ran to tell
the teacher.
I smiled and pushed the sand with
my sneaker.

Prose Poem: Parkinson's

Her legs follow reluctantly, trying to catch up to her ever-moving-forward upper body, as she tries to possess one last moment of togetherness, but her youngest daughter drives on. The girl glances in the rear view mirror, seeing her mother, now and always, fighting the disease which holds her legs hostage to the slow, deliberate, shaking footsteps which the daughter, too, has begun to despise. The days spent together cannot be enough as they move forward at different speeds and in different directions, no longer understanding how to be in proximity.