High School of Math Science and Engineering

Writing Poetry Elective

Ms. Hesseltine: khesseltine@hsmse.org

Found Wisdom:

Creating Culled Poetry That Fights Social Injustice

(or…How Poetry Just Might Save the World)

A PROJECT CRITICAL WEB QUEST

INTRODUCTION: THE POET WARRIOR

Why do we read poetry? Why do we care about poetry? What possible application can poetry have to life outside of English class? What do poets have to tell us and why should we listen?

• “The poet does not invent. He listens.” --Jean Cocteau
• “The poem is the point at which our strength gave out.” --Richard Rosen
• “Poetry is the opening and closing of a door, leaving those who look through to guess about what is seen during the moment.” --Carl Sandburg

Since the days when Homer examined the conditions and motivations for war and the subsequent destruction of Troy (and even before that!), poetry has been used to proclaim the human condition and elevate the experiences of the few to the empathy and understanding of the many. This summer while walking through the Warsaw Uprising Museum, I learned about the poorly armed Polish resistance army of men, women, and children who died opposing German and Soviet occupation. I was surprised to find that many of the freedom fighters were listed as “poets” in addition to soldiers. I examined the grainy black and white pictures plastered on the museum walls and I wondered: Who are these men, women, and children who fought injustice with their guns, their lives, and their poetry? Who are the other poet warriors in this world?

Poetry throughout time (and even now) has served as a vehicle for calling attention to the prevailing social problems of the poet’s time. Walt Whitman recorded the devastating effects of a Civil War on his country. Sylvia Plath examined her role as a woman in the 20^th century. Alexie Sherman laments the lost identity of an entire race of people. Nikki Giovanni probes the lingering hiding places of racism and discrimination. Individual poets often give voice to displaced portions of a larger population and call mass attention to a pressing social problem that has been ignored or muted.

In the last project, you examined Poets who use(d) their poetry as a means for heightening awareness of a social situation/problem and thus facilitate social activism. Such poets use their work to speak on behalf of a specific social issue and thus advocate for a silenced portion of the community. In this project, you will become the Poet Activist yourself. You will look into the current events of the world around you and use your voice to call attention to these events and thus, inspire not only action, but justice and healing.

THE TASK:

In short, you have now studied the ways in which other (published) Poet Activists affected public policy in the world around them, demonstrating the strength of poetry in giving a voice and identity to those who have been unable to politically or culturally assert their identities and rights heretofore. You will now choose a current event or example of social injustice and use your voice to call attention similarly to this situation—a first step, your first step, towards affecting policy and change.

You will examine articles and literature in which this social issue is addressed and use the guidelines for creating culled poetry to create a “found” poem that calls attention to this problem. Your project will include the following components):

100 points total

• Research: (find at least three different sources of information about this social problem—these can be newspaper articles, photographs, web pages, documentaries, interviews, etc) 30 points
• Annotation: Annotate/take notes on these articles/sources of information—what details strike you most powerfully? What images symbolize this struggle/issue? Which facts are most shocking or telling in an explanation of this problem?

20 points

THE PUBLIC POLICY ANALYST

• Problem Analysis: Use the PPA Worksheet #1 to articulate the characteristics of this situation/problem and PPA Worksheet #2 to begin crafting possible solutions. Analysis/Worksheet #1: 10 points

• Your own culled or found poem examining an aspect of this specific example of Social Injustice which calls attention to the Activist issue. 20 points
• A formal, memorized recitation of your Culled Poem voicing this issue of Social Injustice. With the culled poem, you use the words of the issue itself, as well as the words of its victims, to powerfully inspire action. 20 points

*The Public Policy Analyst Worksheet is located in the Process section

THE PROCESS:

1. Choose an ongoing, current social issue that is important to you. RESEARCH IT by gathering three different sources of information on it. Look around you—what do you see that is a problem? Who does this problem affect? Listen up—what do you hear on the radio or see on television? What population of people out there needs help establishing a global voice to call attention to a social injustice? Consider the following links (but don’t limit yourself only to the internet—try other forms of media as well):

RESOURCES: Using the links below (you may use others that you come across in your research but avoid using Wikipedia as a source and be sure to CITE CORRECTLY), find three articles/texts/sources of information about your chosen Social Problem or topic. 30 points

• The New York Times
• Slate Magazine
• National Geographic Magazine
• Newsweek Magazine
• American Civil Liberties Union Web Page

2. ANNOTATE—what details, facts, words, images or ideas jump out at you from this research. You should be annotating (and thinking) on two levels: 1) What’s going on here? What are the important details in understanding this issue? 2) Word choice! What powerful, beautiful, or striking words can you possible cull from this source to begin writing a culled/found poem? (You might have to listen for these if you use a television/radio program as one of your sources of information—in this case your annotations will take the form of notes.) 20 points

3. After doing your research and learning more about this issue that concerns you, COMPLETE the PPA Worksheet #1 in order to analyze the components of this Social Problem. Complete PPA Worksheet #2 to begin thinking of ways this problem might be ameliorated were it to receive more attention and a heightened social awareness (as offered through your powerful poetic voice!)

4. Now, you are the POET WARRIOR. Review your notes from our Culled/Found Poetry unit and write your own poem that addresses this social issue using the language/images/ideas of your research. Be creative and be sure to draw upon the skills you’ve acquired over the course of this elective.

10 points

5. Lastly, recite your poem to the class and explain the social issue/problem you’ve voiced. Be prepared to answer questions about your chosen social issue, especially in regards to your research and your views as to possible solutions. For the love of Amiri Baraka, don’t forget your Recitation techniques! 15 points

EVALUATION: The following rubrics will be used to evaluate your work and each step of your project. Please be sure to arrange each component in the order demonstrated here. All work must be typed, edited, and should follow standard formatting (12 point font, Times New Roman, etc). Be neat! Be creative! Be a poetic rockstar!

Research Annotation and Analysis:

Research Sources: 1(title) ________________________________________ 10 points

2(title) ________________________________________ 10 points

3(title) ________________________________________ 10 points

Annotations

20-17	16-14	13-10
Poem is thoroughly annotated for meaning, function and identification of powerful word choice. Student's annotations powerfully begin the process of culling material for poem.	Poem is annotated for meaning, function, and some word choice. Some connections are attempted between the research sources and a possible culled poem.	Poem is sparsely annotated, demonstrating little understanding of meaning, or attempt at culling poem material.

Analysis through PPA Worksheets 1-2

10-9 points	8-7	6-5
· Identifies a current social issue or problem and pertinent, critical research. · Reacts to this research thoughtfully in assessment and in crafting possible solutions.	· Identifies a social issue/problem and some related research. · Attempts to analyze research in developing an understanding of the problem and in offering possible solutions.	· Identifies the social issue/problem but fails to find three valid research sources. · Lack of any attempt to cull material from the research in the crafting of a poem.

Your Own Poem:

20-18	17-15	14-12
A creative, thoughtful poem that demonstrates a knowledge and sophisticated use/consideration of form, device, word choice, structure, and poetical function. Heightens public awareness of a social issue or problem.	An original poem that attempts to demonstrate and use knowledge of various forms, devices, word choice, structure, and function. Attempts to address a clear social issue or problem.	A poem that demonstrates very little knowledge/use of the forms, devices, word choice, structure, and function explored in class. Appears hurried and not fully developed—unclear connection to a social issue or problem.

Presentation:

20-18	17-15	14-12
Recites poem demonstrating a mastery of recitation techniques. Deftly fields questions about social issue, research, and choices in culling poem.	Recites poem demonstrating an awareness of recitation techniques. Adequately fields questions about the social issue, research, and choices in culling poem.	Poor recitation demonstrates unfamiliarity with techniques or poems. Fails to adequately field questions about the social issue, research, and choice in culling poem.

Standards:

E2a: Produce a report of information.

E2b: Produce a response to literature.

E3c: Prepare and deliver an individual presentation.

E3e: Listen to and analyze a public speaking performance.

E4a: Independently and habitually demonstrate an understanding of the rules of the English language in written and oral work.

E5a: Respond to poetry using interpretive and critical processes.

E5b: Produce work in poetry that follows the conventions of the genre.

Conclusion: Having researched and explored your chosen social issue, you should now be forming your own ideas about the power of poetry and its role in shaping the world around us. Do you believe that poetry can give a voice to those who have been traditionally marginalized? Can poetry save the world? Is poetry really activism? Are you a Poet Activist? Remember, Percy Blyshe Shelley tells us, “Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world,” while Aristotle reminds us, “The distinction between historian and poet is not in the one writing prose and the other verse…the one describes the thing that has been, and the other a kind of thing that might be. Hence poetry is something more philosophic and of a graver import than history, since its statements are of the nature rather of universals, whereas those of history are singulars.” Who is the poet to you?