Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Poetry Resources

Poetry Daily at http://poems.com/

Rather than reading my horoscope, I check Poetry Daily (PD) for a poem that might shape my mood for the day. PD is a good resource for finding interesting contemporary poetry without picking through all the tiny literary journals. While a new poem is posted each day, PD also has an extensive archive of contemporary poetry written in English as well as in translation.

While working within a writing group, I might use PD to locate a new poem to bring into class by browsing the archives and clicking on titles or poets that interest me. Here is a link to one of my favorite PD finds (http://poems.com/poem.php?date=14408). I would consider using Laura Treacy Bentley's “Dowsing” with a writing group as a starting point for writing poems that involve instructions. This might be appropriate with teens, adults, and children if adapted. Here is the poem. Ideas for a writing group follows.

“Dowsing”
by Laura Treacy Bentley

Cut a forked branch.
Strip it clean of bark,

and holdfast.

Seeking water,
it leads you to places

you've never been.

The unseen
pulls like a ten pound trout
bending your branch earthward,

reeling in
the hidden spring.

(originally published in Lake Effect, found on Poetry Daily)

Writing Group Ideas for instruction poems*:

*Note: sometimes making or doing something requires not only expertise but faith in the process. Instruction poems might also hint at an awareness of the mystery in our lives.

1)Ask writers to make a list of things they do often that they might make the subject of a poem. Maybe they knit, cook, paint or draw, fish, play a sport, etc.

2)Read “Dowsing” as a group and discuss. Talk about what the poem is instructing the “you” of the poem to do. I might explain what dowsing (otherwise known as divining or water-finding) is. We could discuss the practical nature of using a forked stick to find water and the more spiritual nature of this poem.

3)Spend some time writing poems.


You might also check out Poets.org site “Poems for Teens http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/394

1 comment:

  1. Great suggestion, Rachel! I've thought about trying to instruction poems in group, and this is a nice short example to use, and a poem I've never read before. Thanks for posting!

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