Why humans need poetry

It's poetry month and we are a bit late in celebrating, but really, is it ever too late to listen to poetry or, in this case, why humans need to poetry?!

Stephan Burt: Why People Need Poetry

Apartheid Jeopardy

Apartheid Jeopardy

"Freedom" Beyonce

[Verse 1: Beyoncé]
Tryna rain, tryna rain on the thunder
Tell the storm I'm new
I'ma walk, I'ma march on the regular
Painting white flags blue
Lord forgive me, I've been running
Running blind in truth
I'ma rain, I'ma rain on this bitter love
Tell the sweet I'm new

[Pre-Chorus: Beyoncé]
I'm telling these tears, "Go and fall away, fall away"
May the last one burn into flames

[Chorus: Beyoncé]
Freedom! Freedom! I can't move
Freedom, cut me loose!
Freedom! Freedom! Where are you?
Cause I need freedom too!
I break chains all by myself
Won't let my freedom rot in hell
Hey! I'ma keep running
Cause a winner don't quit on themselves

[Verse 2: Beyoncé]
I'ma wade, I'ma wave through the waters
Tell the tide, "Don't move"
I'ma riot, I'ma riot through your borders
Call me bulletproof
Lord forgive me, I've been runnin'
Runnin' blind in truth
I'ma wade, I'ma wave through your shallow love
Tell the deep I'm new

[Pre-Chorus: Beyoncé]
I'm telling these tears, "Go and fall away, fall away"
May the last one burn into flames

[Chorus: Beyoncé]
Freedom! Freedom! I can't move
Freedom, cut me loose!
Freedom! Freedom! Where are you?
Cause I need freedom too!
I break chains all by myself
Won't let my freedom rot in hell
Hey! I'ma keep running
Cause a winner don't quit on themselves

[Verse 3: Kendrick Lamar]
Ten Hail Marys, I meditate for practice
Channel 9 news tell me I'm movin' backwards
Eight blocks left, death is around the corner
Seven misleadin' statements 'bout my persona
Six headlights wavin' in my direction
Five-O askin' me what's in my possession
Yeah, I keep runnin', jump in the aqueducts
Fire hydrants and hazardous
Smoke alarms on the back of us
But mama, don't cry for me, ride for me
Try for me, live for me
Breathe for me, sing for me
Honestly guidin' me
I could be more than I gotta be
Stole from me, lied to me, nation hypocrisy
Code on me, drive on me
Wicked, my spirit inspired me
Like yeah, open correctional gates in higher desert
Yeah, open our mind as we cast away oppression
Yeah, open the streets and watch our beliefs
And when they carve my name inside the concrete
I pray it forever reads

[Chorus: Beyoncé]
Freedom! Freedom! I can't move
Freedom, cut me loose!
Freedom! Freedom! Where are you?
Cause I need freedom too!
I break chains all by myself
Won't let my freedom rot in hell
Hey! I'ma keep running
Cause a winner don't quit on themselves

[Outro: Kendrick Lamar]
What you want from me?
Is it truth you seek? Oh father can you hear me?
What you want from me?
Is it truth you seek? Oh father can you hear me?
Hear me out

[Spoken: Hattie White]
I had my ups and downs, but I always find the inner strength to pull myself up. I was served lemons, but I made lemonade

Changing the World One Word at a Times

A Variety of Spoken Work"

"Text Me" submitted by David O



"Times I've Been Mistaken for a Girl"  submitted by Autumn






"To the Boys that one Day May Date my Daughter" submitted by Max




"I am Not Black, You are not White"  submitted by Baptiste


"Love Letter" by Sarah Kaye submitted by Millie




"No More Heroes" submitted by Tsholo


"Smile" submitted by Zoya

WHAT KINDS OF STORIES MUST BE TOLD

THE STORY OF EMMETT TILL (you can find more information about Emmett Till at this link)

THE STORY OF EMMETT TILL IN A LONG AGO 
WRITTEN SONG AND
A NEW SPOKEN WORD POEM.

The Poetry of Protest Against Human Rights Violations

The Death of Emmett Till 

Was down in Mississippi not so long ago
When a young boy from Chicago town
Walked in a Southern door

This boy's fateful tragedy
You all should remember well
The color of his skin was black
And his name was Emmett Till

Some men, they dragged him to a barn
And there they beat him up
They said they had a reason
But disremember what

They tortured him and did some things
Too evil to repeat
There were screaming sounds inside the barn
There was laughing sounds out on the street

Then they rolled his body down a gulf
Amidst a blood red rain
And they threw him in the waters wide
To cease his screaming pain

The reason that they killed him there
And I'm a-sure, it ain't no lie
'Cause he was born in black-skin barn
He was born to die

And then to stop the United States
Of yelling for a trial
Two brothers, they confessed
That they had killed poor Emmett Till

But on the jury there were men
Who had helped the brothers commit this awful crime
And so this trial was a mockery
But nobody there seemed to mind

I saw the morning papers
But I could not bear
To see smiling brothers
Walkin' down the courthouse stairs

For the jury found them innocent
And the brothers, they went free
While Emmett's body floats the foam
Of a Jim Crow southern sea

If you can't speak out against this kind of thing
A crime that's so unjust
Your eyes are filled with dead men's clay
Your ears must be filled with dust

Your arms and legs
They must be in shackles and chains
And your mind, it must cease to flow
For you to let our human race
Fall down so God-awful low

This song is just a reminder
To remind your fellow man
That this kind of thing still lives today
In that ghost-robed Ku Klux Klan

But if all of us folks that thinks alike
If we gave all we could give
We could make this great land of ours
A greater place to live

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT

BLOCKS F AND H - MAY 18
BLOCKS C AND D - MAY 19

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE SUMMATIVE INCLUDES:

EXPLANATION OF THE POETIC/LITERARY DEVICES IN YOUR POETRY PACKET

YOUR ABILITY TO IDENTIFY POETIC/LITERARY DEVICES IN A POEM

YOUR ABILITY TO INCLUDE POETIC/LITERARY DEVICES IN A POEM

"THE MADIBA POEM"

I have to share this with you.  Thanks Alex for submitting a SA poet.

"The Madiba Poem"

HOMEWORK FOR FRIDAY/MONDAY

DUE ON FRIDAY MAY 5 FOR C AND D BLOCKS AND

MONDAY MAY 8 FOR F AND H BLOCK

1. Go to You Tube, search, and listen to some spoken word poems.
2. Find one that you like A LOT.
3. Send me the link and a short explanation as to WHY THIS POEM IS EFFECTIVE.

I suggest going to BRAVE NEW VOICES or MIDDLE SCHOOL slam competitions.
The poem MUST BE school friendly.

THE F.L.I.R.T. MODEL - Use this to help you analyse poetry.

F.L.I.R.T(ing) with POETRY

F Form/ Structure	Can you make any comments on the way the poem looks on the page? Does each stanza (paragraph) tell you something different?
L Language	What examples of interesting “literary” or “figurative” language can you find? Metaphors, similes, alliteration, allusion, assonance, personification, onomatopoeia, etc.
I Imagery	How does the poet paint images in the reader’s mind? Identify examples
R Rhythm/Rhyme	Does the poem have a rhythm? Do any of the words rhyme? What literary devices does the poet use to create rhythm?
T Theme	How would you describe the main ideas or message of the poem? What is it trying to tell the reader?

Slam and Song - "War In Our City"

ANOTHER ISSUE ORIENTED SPOKEN WORD POEM.

WHAT ARE THESE KIDS SAYING?

Simile Poem "I'm Thinking About You"

LISTEN CAREFULLY, 
A SPEW OF WORDS COMES FROM THIS POET'S HEART. 
CAN YOU RELATE???


 

What makes this a good poem?

Sarah Kay - "Hands" - "I am Different" - Lilah - Tellilng Lies Poem

Part of Body POEM

Now, using Sarah's poem as inspiration, write a poem about a part of the body that we never really think about, but take for granted.  Hands - Feet - Eyes - Fingers - Head - Hair, etc, etc.

Telling Lies

Telling Lies Poetry

A different way of looking

One of the pleasures of writing poems is that you can tell lies without getting into trouble! It’s just using your imagination.

• Each member of your group will write three lies about the something other than the sea (the sky, the moon the stars, the sun, the clouds etc. can also work well)

• Be wild and imaginative with your lies avoiding the obvious or the dull (the moon is made of cheese).

A few examples of what they could write are:

The sea is made of blue ink and green paint

The sea hates it when it’s drawn as a wavy line.

The sea is cold because it hasn’t got a coat on

The sea going up and down is a sign it’s still breathing

The sea feeds on rubbish but even he can’t manage it all

If you smack the sea it will splash you back

The sea has a small cousin who is a pond

The sea will wave to you when you turn to leave

As you can see, what starts off as a lie becomes a mix of word play, sometimes truth, and off-the-wall creativity. It gives a chance to use imagination without forcing it and with a sense of fun.

Your group will perform/read the poem aloud - reading each member’s own line.

Kid Slam and "If I Had Only Know" Poem

If I Had Known

Related Poem Content Details

BY ALICE MOORE DUNBAR-NELSON

  If I had known

  Two years ago how drear this life should be,

  And crowd upon itself allstrangely sad,

  Mayhap another song would burst from out my lips,

  Overflowing with the happiness of future hopes;

  Mayhap another throb than that of joy.

  Have stirred my soul into its inmost depths,

                    If I had known.

  If I had known,

  Two years ago the impotence of love,

  The vainness of a kiss, how barren a caress,

  Mayhap my soul to higher things have soarn,

  Nor clung to earthly loves and tender dreams,

  But ever up aloft into the blue empyrean,

  And there to master all the world of mind,

                    If I had known.

Speakers and Poets - Invitation to Present

INVITATION

TO GRADE 8 SPEAKERS AND POETS TO PRESENT

AT YOUR
PROMOTION CEREMONY

Current students who:

Have a motivational message relating to school

or

A nostalgic message covering your 3-year MS experience

Are invited to audition for the privilege of speaking on behalf of the 8^th grade during the ceremony.

If you are interested, have a look at the following calendar:

1)     Speak to Ms. Moreau before May 5 if you are interested

2)     Have an idea of what message you might like to relay to your classmates and if your presentation is a speech or a spoken word poem

3)     Auditions at lunch on May 17, decision within two days after audition

4)     Practice, rewrites, refinement and memorization by June 1 – you will work with Ms. Moreau on rewrites and refinement.

Asha Christensen and William Carlos Williams

Today:

Poetry Packet
A poem to listen to and
A poem to write!

• Write this next poem in your notebooks
• Think about it
• Write about it
• What does it mean
• Share
• Write your own poem in the style of William Carlos William

This Is Just To Say

William Carlos Williams, 1883 - 1963

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold

FLIRT and Sarah Kaye: If I Should Have a Daughter and License Plate Quote roundtables

Any healthy man can go without food for two days - but not without poetry. 

Charles Baudelaire

QUOTE ACTIVITY

1. You will sit in groups of 4 or so
2. I will give each of you a quote
3. You will think about it quietly
4. Determine what it means
5. Each of you will read the quote (with expression) to the group
6. Explain what you think it means
7. Group has a discussion about the meaning
8. Break off and write your quote w/author on the license plate template I will provide for you

F.L.I.R.T.

Sarah Kaye: "If I Should Have a Daughter"