AP Literature and Composition Poetry Project

·        Choose a poets you find accessible and challenging. The one stipulation is that one of the poets be alive, someone who is current in literary publications, the other must be apart of the literary cannon. Remember, you will spend most of the term examining the work of this particular writer, so choose someone who will hold your interest. ·        Begin by reading the poets in Perrine's Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense. You have a wonderful choice of poems to start with there. Take time to read books by at least five poets before you make your decision. I also have a list as well. ·     Create an index card for each poet you have investigated. ·        For the project you will complete a Poetry Blog discussing at least 20 poems (Ten from each poet) and following these directions:   o   Create your own Blog page for the poems.   o   You will have a posting for each poem.   o   With each poem, include your commentary. The length of your commentary should be 300 - 500 words for each poem. Use your Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense text as a resource.   o   Include a link on your post for a visual 01' auditory image that relates to your poem. Also include images that relate to your poem.   o   Your commentary should be informal, in a conversational style, and may include personal reaction or response to the poetry. However, you must include observations about stylistic elements that can be developed later in the formal, analytical paper you will write in the future. You want to address the following information:       A. The poet's name and the title        B. A general description of the themes you noticed,       C. The type of figurative language or imagery used (abstract or concrete/ subject matter),       D. The structure (regular or irregular rhyme and meter), and       tone      Submit your first Blog post by Friday January 31, 2014, at 4:00 pm. Each subsequent post should be up every other day. All students must visit at least three other blogs and comment.

You will have to show proof that you have responded to all of your classmates.   o       The second step of our project is to complete a poetry analysis. After you have received a grade and feedback on your post, write a formal analysis of one of the poems you have explicated on your Blog post. Examine the stylistic elements of the poem and explain how these elements convey a particular theme or tone. You will present one of these critical essays to our class. For the essay, you are to use either biographical information or literary criticism you have found on your poet from another source. Submit your papers to me on February 27, 2014. A Works Cited page will be required. Extra credit: Letter to your poet: o       Email your author or find a mailing address through one of the following sources: ·        Current Biography ·        Contemporary Authors ·        Call the 800 number for the publisher. Be assertive and patient as you negotiate your way through the corporate maze to find what you want ·        If your author works at a university or is affiliated with a college, call the academic department and ask someone how you can write to the author. Letters should be mailed or emailed before our last class, May 2. Turn in a copy of your letter or email to me so that I can read it before it is mailed.

 

Suggested contemporary poets

My former students have found their work with these poets particularly rewarding. The poet you choose must be living, and you should be able to find both biographical and critical material about him or her. c

http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/country/America/contemporary/Americanpoets.html

Kim Addonizio	Lawrence Ferlinghetti	Carolyn Kizer
Sherman Alexie	Carolyn Forche	Maxine Kumin
Julia Alvarez	Dana Gioia	Stanley Kunitz
Margaret Atwood	Nikki Giovanni	Thomas Lux
Amiri Baraka	Albert Goldbarth	Paul McCartney
Marvin Bell	Jorie Graham	David Mason
Wendell Berry	R. S. Gwynn	Heather McHugh
Robert Bly	Rachel Hadas	W.S. Merwin
Eavan Boland	Robert Hass	Joni Mitchell
David Bottoms	Seamus Heaney	Paul Muldoon
E. K. Braithwaite	Anthony Hecht	Naomi Shihab Nye
Fred Chappell	Jane Hirschfield	Sharon Olds
Judith Ortiz Cofer	Andrew Hudgins	Mary Oliver
Leonard Cohen	Mark Jarman	Robert Pack
Billy Collins	Jay-Z	Linda Pastan
Annie Dillard	X. J. Kennedy	Marge Piercy
Diane diPrima	Carolyn Kizer	Robert Pinsky
Rita Dove	Yusef Komunyakaa	Adrienne Rich
Bob Dylan	Ted Kooser	Kay Ryan
Martin Espada	Galway Kinnell	Charles Simic

 

Poetry Project resources for contemporary poetry

Paul Simon	Timothy Steele	Anne Waldman
Stephen Sondheim	Mark Strand	Alice Walker
Dave Smith	James Tate	Richard Wilbur
Gary Snyder	Diane Thiel	C. D. Wright
Cathy Song	Natasha Trethewey	Kevin Young
Gary Soto	Quincy Troupe	Al Young
A. E. Stallings	Derek Walcott