The Poet Junkies Analysis

In “Introduction to Poetry” Billy Collins, a professor, writes about the impatience of his students when analyzing a poem. He starts off by stating that they should enjoy the poetry and not worry about what the author is saying. By the twelfth line he shifts into describing his student’s frustration and the way they “torture” the poems. His use of metaphor, simile, and enjambment emphasize that one should take the time to really understand what a poem is saying while having fun instead of overanalyzing every single detail.

The main ideas that we have read in our readings covered what Women’s Studies is and Dominant Ideas About Women. Three passages that caught my attention out of the 32 passages were “A Work of Artifice” by Marge Piercy, “Gender Inequity in School: Not a Thing of the Past” by Karen Zittleman and David Sadker, and lastly, “Have you Ever Heard of Asian-American Feminists” by Stacey Yap. With these three passages, there was good information for me to interpret and to reflect upon in these readings.

Richard Blanco is a Cuban- American poet who was given the oppurunity to write an inaugaration poem for Barack Obama's second swearing-in. He wrote a poem titled "One Today" that praised the good and unique things about the United States and also the everyday people who's daily routines help to make America the proud country that it is.

Lorna Dee Cervantes' poem, “Poema para los Californios Muertos” (“Poem for the Dead Californios”), is a commentary on what happened to the original inhabitants of California when California was still Mexico, and an address to the speaker's dead ancestors. Utilizing a unique dynamic, consistently alternating between Spanish and English, Cervantes accurately represents the fear, hatred, and humility experienced by the “Californios” through rhythm, arrangement, tone, and most importantly, through use of language.

The poem “To This Day” written by Shane Koyczan, the symbolism is the black things grabbing the kid. This is showing that words do hurt and it stays with you this is shown through the whole story of the pain and suffering of the kid. This is said " who used to say that rhyme sticks and stones as if broken bones hurt more than the names we got called" this is showing word do hurt and the black things grabbing him is showing that like a broken bone it still hurts over time just like words do. With this evidence it shows that if you don't want to be called that don't say it at all.

The Poem “Introduction to Poetry” is by Billy Collins, an English poet, and it is about how teachers often force students to over-analyze poetry and to try decipher every possible meaning portrayed throughout the poem rather than allowing the students to form their own interpretation of the poem based on their own experiences.

The Vacuum by Howard Nemerov talks about a widower and his late wife, and how he uses the vacuum as a symbol for her death. The poem expresses deep sorrow and sadness that derive from the loneliness of the speaker, after his other half’s passing away. Nemerov attempts to take his readers on a grief-stricken journey, by strategically employing figurative language (mainly personification, metaphor, simile, and alliteration), fractured rhyme schemes and turns in stanza breaks in the poem.

Poetry is a beautiful way to express the subtext within it, using literary devices which enhances the poem 's beauty. Poetry is considered to take distorted ideas and transforms it into beautiful words. Therefore, resulting the harsh truth being displayed in a form of a poem for readers to sink into another point of view. These creators called poets, are a group of people with a wide variety of experiences that an average person does not usually experience. They can create a more unified meaning in their masterpiece, without taking up 300 pages to exhibit their meaning, and still hold different interpretations by different readers. Poets are known to uncover the truth, which could be their experiences or reality based ideas, by beautifying the reality with literary devices to make it more relatable and enjoyable but still hold that very core of the meaning behind the poem. Poetry is a powerful vessel, between creator and reader, to change a person’s outlook of life or one’s surroundings. A poem can change moods, enhances one’s personality, gain a sense of people knowledge and become a bit more sensitive around one 's world. Even if poets are not aware of the power poetry holds, they still do it to convey an experience, a lesson or a journey. All of this relates to 'Love and Roses ' by Tracy Marshall, where the speaker is telling the reader a journey of their blinding love. The abusive relationship exists in the speaker 's life but is distracted by the idea of the

James Niigaanwewidan Sinclair’s poem Dancing in a mall discloses the plethora of excitement involved in participating in the “Idle no more” movement. The upbeat tempo manifests the enthusiasm conveyed by those involved in the crusade against the government of Canada’s mistreatment of reserve lands. As the movement gains support, the energy grows with it, demonstrating that the participants in this cause will not cease until the essence of their protest is fully embodied. The narrator of Dancing in a Mall communicates his passion for his indigenous culture and the “Idle no more” movement through symbolism, referring to Native folklore and by using repetition to convey his enthusiasm for the cause.

“Something More” by Tracey Moffatt is a formal and stylistic experimentation photography and her work draws on her own childhood memories, popular culture, as well as the history seen in still cinema, art and photography. Apparent in her works are themes such as childhood cruelties in suburban life, the mutiny of stereotypes and relations between white and black Australians. In her works, referencing to the artist’s own life and experiences, Tracey Moffatt draws on her Aboriginal background as a foster child growing up in Brisbane in a foster family in the sixties, avidly consuming images from magazines, films and television.

How would you like to learn English nursery rhymes in a foreign language? Well, that was my introduction to poetry, as a Sinhalese child, chanting ‘Humpty Dumpty’ in a kindergarten classroom. It meant little though the picture of the fat little egg-man did make me laugh. But… the rhythm, rhyme, and repetition were sweet to my ears, and something I will always remember. They linked me to my new culture, much later, in an English speaking Primary school and gave me a sense of belonging.

Set in pre- Civil Rights South Louisiana, Ernest J. Gaines’ novel, A Lesson Before Dying is a captivating story about dignity, injustice and redemption. Gaines stylistic elements effectively takes us back to a time when racial segregation caused black people to lack hope for recognition of their humanity much less find justice in a court of law. Gaines manipulation of time, symbolism and motifs keep the readers gripped word for word with his heart-wrenching tale.

“Peter Piper” is an original song by Run D.M.C. and from this J. Simmons and D. McDaniels took a couple verses out and edited them to be used in school text book across the United States. The song was founded in 1986 and from there it was put into our text book in the poetry section because, even though people don 't realize it, rap is poetry and can teach youth about things they may or may not have experienced. Founded in 1981, Run D.M.C. was and still is considered by many to be a popular rap group. Run D.M.C. is part of the original group of people who elevated rap music from an inner-city slums mixtape to a nation wide movement; this being the reason rap music is around and

Poetry is a reduced dialect that communicates complex emotions. To comprehend the numerous implications of a ballad, perusers must analyze its words and expressing from the points of view of beat, sound, pictures, clear importance, and suggested meaning. Perusers then need to sort out reactions to the verse into a consistent, point-by-point clarification. Poetry utilizes structures and traditions to propose differential translation to words, or to summon emotive reactions. Gadgets, for example, sound similarity, similar sounding word usage, likeness in sound and cadence are at times used to accomplish musical or incantatory impacts.

Some of the poems and essays I have read during this class were relatable to me. Being away from college, I have struggled with not being at home. I have become a different person when I am at school, but when I am home, I feel like I am my normal self again. Some of these authors of the poems and essays that I have read throughout this class has struggled with being somewhere where they don’t belong and that they are someone else when they are not home. Unlike the other poems and essays we have read throughout the course. I enjoyed reading the ones about “home” because I actually understood what they are going through and that I can relate. Some of these poems and essays include “Going Home” by Maurice Kenny, Postcard from Kashmir”, by Agha Shahid Ali, “Returning” by Elias Miguel Munoz and “Hometown” by Luis Cabalquinto. All of these poems deal with duality.