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CS 216 819
Fooling with Words, with Bill Moyers: Teacher's Guide. The1998 Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival.Thirteen WNET, New York, NY.Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Morristown, NJ.1999-00-0038p.; Photographs may not reproduce clearly.Educational Publishing, Thirteen/WNET, 450 West 33rd St.,New York, NY 10001; Web site:http://www.wnet.org/foolingwithwords. Accompanying VHSvideotape recordings available from Films for the Humanitiesand Sciences; Tel: 800-257-5126 (Toll Free); Web site:http://www.films.comGuides - Classroom - Teacher (052)MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage.Class Activities; *Creative Writing; *Cultural Enrichment;High Schools; Interdisciplinary Approach; *OralInterpretation; *Poetry; *Poets*Contemporary Literature; *Geraldine R Dodge Foundation;Moyers (Bill); Oral Presentations
This teaching guide packet is designed to be used with thetelevision documentary "Fooling with Words" hosted by Bill Moyers featuringthe 1998 Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival, during which thousands of peoplegathered for four days to listen to, read, discuss, and celebratecontemporary poetry. The packet can be used in arts and social studiesclasses as well as in English and literature classes. Featured poetsrepresent different cultural perspectives, determined in part by differencesin gender, age, and ethnic background. Included in the packet are "poetcards" (featuring poems, poets' statements, biographical notes, photographs,discussion questions, and suggested activities), time grid, selectedbibliography, and a guide to building a core high school poetry collection.It is recommended that teachers use the packet's materials in the followingways: preview the programs and read each poem carefully before making classassignments (there may be sensitive and/or disturbing subjects); decide whichsegment and/or specific poems to offer to the class, and use the time code onthe folder to identify and cue each segment; become familiar with all "poetcards"; use quoted statements by each poet to spark discussion about thepoet's perspective on poetry and/or about poetry in general; use the single,introductory question for each poet to help students enter a poem byreminding them that poetry connects directly to their lives; stimulateimaginative experimentation and cross-fertilization by modifying, adapting,and re-applying "poet card" activities to students' capacities; consider therelationship of printed text to actual performance; and consult the "Foolingwith Words" World Wide Web site for additional poems and expanded statementsabout poetry. (NKA)
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Dear Educator
This is about something I think you will enjoypersonally and find helpful in your work withstudents
Fooling with Words is a PBS documentaryspecial produced with young people in mindWe wanted them to see just how vital, corn-
, I pelling, and enjoyable poetry can be So wetook our cameras to the Geraldine R DodgePoetry Festival in Waterloo, New Jersey, tocapture the excitement of "the Woodstock ofPoetry" We covered the festival as if it were asporting event, with cameras everywhereonthe poets as they performed, the audience as itwatched, laughed, wept, and cheered, workshops where studentsand aspiring bards talked face-to-tace with the poets about their craftand their lives
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" We have fallen into the place where every-thing is music. That's what the Festival feelslikewe feel this vast interconnectedness. It'samazing that this many people can be reallygenuinely excited about fooling with words."
Coleman Barks
"One thing I love about the Festival is seeing thethousands of high school kids trooping in, soexcited about the possibility of other ways tolive, about the choice that poets make to dosomething difficult, unlikely, a little bit out ofthe cultural mainstream."
Mark Doty
"The great feature of the Festival is itsgenerosity of spirit, its welcome to differentfactions in poetry, different schools ofpoetry, young and old. That demonstrationof the democratic spirit is indicative of oneof the most important revolutions inthe whole history of modernpoetry in this country."
Stanley Kunitz
"The beautiful thing aboutbeing at the Festival is that it'slike a carnival, and you'rethe ride. You can be a rollercoaster, or whatever."
Kurtis Lamkin
The result is a film that will introduce your students to the power andpleasure of poetry in many guisesfrom the rhythmic cadences ofAmira Baraka and Kurtis Lamkin (who accompanies his poems on thekora, the African ancestor of the harp) to the haunting evocations ofLorna Dee Cervantes and Shirley Geok-lin Lim, the puckish wit ofPaul Muldoon, the spiritual power of Jane Hirshtield, the wry com-mentary by Deborah Garrison on the lite of women in the workplaceand the moving remembrances of "Halley's Comet" by StanleyKunitz, at 95 the dean of American poets
This smorgasbord of contemporary American poetry comes at atimely moment The New York Times says poetry is enjoying aresurgence in America The Atlantic Monthly says, "the nation's hotromance with poetry shows no sign of cooling oft Esquire predictspoetry will be the pop-culture event at the opening of the new mil-lennium Volkswagen included poetry books as a "standard feature"in all its new cars during National Poetry Month, and poetry is beingcelebrated at events from the recent White House gathering of poetsto poetry slams in smoky downtown bars.
Fooling with Words captures the spirit of this phenomenon. Wehope you will tape the program and use the accompanying materials.
SOUNDS OF POETRYnine half hours of poems by and interviews with many of the poetstured in FOOLING WITH WORDSwill be available from PBS stations after the September1999 broadcast of the two-hour special. Please check with your local public televisionstation for the availability and schedule of these programs. These are the poets included:
Amiri BarakaRobert PinskyMarge PiercyColeman BarksLorna Dee Cervantes andShirley Geok-lin Lim
Stanley KunitzJane HirshfieldLucille Clifton andMark DotyDeborah Garrison
SOUNDS OF POETRY may be ordered fromFilms for the Humanities and Sciences,ordering information inside.
A list of the poems in SOUNDS OF POETRY car.found on the FOOLING WITH WORDS Web siftwww.wnet.org/foolingwithwords orwww.pbs.org/foolingwithwords
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MARGE PIERCY"Poetry is very diverse. Different
poets speak to different people.Different poets strike differentchords. We all belong to a greatendeavor, and the more good poetsthere are, the more people willread poetry."
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COLEMAN BARKS
"When I was about twelve Ikept a little black notebookand wrote down words that Iloved the taste of, like 'azalea'or, for some reason, 'halcyon,'the bird that calms the waterswith its wings, and other oddwords, and images too."
MARK DOTY"The act of making a poem
implies that somebody'slistening. So we're reach-ing toward, imaginatively,another consciousness,another listener."
LORNA DEE CERVANTES
"They didn't teach poetry in the barrioschool. I thought poems were songs forpeople with bad voices, and my brother,a musician, always assured me that'swhat I had. So I just always wrote poetry.I don't think there was a time in my lifewhen poetry wasn't at the center."
RemarksAbout
Being a PoetandAbout
Poetry
JANE HIRSHFIELD
"Poetry was the field in which Ideveloped the self I became...We write in order to find out wiand what we are."
LUCILLE CLIFTON
"I am interested inbeing understood,not admired."
AMIRI BARAKA"You think your
stuff is good?See those guysdigging a hole inthe street there?When they get aminute off to eata sandwich, goread them apoem. See if youget hit on thehead. If youdon't get hit onthe head, you'vegot a future."
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SHIRLEY GEOK-LIN LIM
"If a poem does not move or gipleasure, then I don't think itreally succeeds as art. Isn't itimportant for us to get pleasurin some way, even in the deeppain and grief, to survive?Maybe pleasure is the oar tha-we need not to drown."
Since 1986, the restored nineteenth-century village ofWaterloo, New Jersey, has hosted the largest poetrygathering in North Americathe biennial Geraldine R.Dodge Poetry Festival. For four days, thousands ofpeople gather to listen to, read, discuss, and celebratepoetry.
FOOLING WITH WORDS WITH BILL MOYERS capturesthe excitement of the 1998 Geraldine R. Dodge PoetryFestival. It features performances by and interviewswith some of the most accomplished poets of our time.
BROADCAST: September 26, 1999 on PBS (check local listings)
HOW TO USE THIS GUIDEPreview the programs and read each poem carefullybefore making class assignments, as some poets maydeal with potentially sensitive and/or disturbing subjects.
Decide which segments and/or specific poems to offerto your class, and use the time code on the folder toidentify and cue up each segment. Remember: You cantape programs from FOOLING WITH WORDS orSOUNDS OF POETRY and use them in the classroomfor one year after each broadcast.
Familiarize yourself with all Poet Cards, noting thatsome poets are presented on two sides of a Poet Card,others only on a single side. Designed for photocopying,these cards offer poems and a range of other resourcesfor each poet represented: a photograph, a bio note, astatement relating to poetry or being a poet, an introduc-tory question, several questions designed to stimulate dis-cussion, and suggested follow-up activities.
Use quoted statements by each poet to spark discussionabout this poet's perspective on poetry and/or aboutpoetry in general. Much can be gained by choosing andcomparing favorites, by discussing how each statementrelates to that poet's poems, by discussing how a state-ment by one poet relates to the poems of another poet,or by assembling these statements into a collage.
Use the single, introductory question for each poet tohelp students enter a poem by reminding them thatpoetry connects directly to their own lives. For exam-ple, start the discussion of a poet by asking students todetermine which poem the large-print, introductoryquestion addresses. Follow the question as it goes intothat poem and back out into life. Encourage ongoingreflection by asking students to make up their ownintroductory questions.
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Stimulate imaginative experimentation and cross-fertilization bymodifying, adapting, and re-applying Poet Card activities as yourinclinations and your students' capacities suggest.
Consider the relationship of printed text to actual performance,including on-the-spot improvisationas with Amiri Baraka,Coleman Barks, and Kurtis Lamkin.
Consult FOOLING WITH WORDS Online for additional poems,expanded statements about poetry, and a wide range of otherprogram-related resources.
SPECIFIC SUGGESTIONS:
1) Enlarge statements by poets on the Poet Cards and post them
around your classroom.
2) Let students choose poems to read aloud, then review how thepoets actually perform these poems on the video.
3) Distribute copies of selected Poet Cards to small groups ofstudents, and ask each group to define linkages among thepoets and the poems.
4) Provide students with copies of the complete set of Poet Cards,and ask them to organize their own anthologies, according totheir own principles.
A Note on Interdisciplinary Use
This FOOLING WITH WORDS Teacher's Guide can be usecin classes in the arts and social studies as well as in Englishand literature classes. The poets in FOOLING WITHWORDS and THE SOUNDS OF POETRY represent differentcultural perspectives, determined in part by differences ingender, age, and ethnic background. Their voices can sparkinterest in events, places, or historical periods and bring ahuman scale to large, abstract concepts. In addition tosharing these materials with colleagues teaching othersubjects, many teachers regularly invite students to choosepoets and poems relevant to their other courses of study.
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Baraka, Amin Funk Lore New Poems 1984-1995 Los AngelesLittoral Press 1996
Transbluesencv The Selected Poems 01 Amin Baraka/LeRoitones 1961-1995 Edited by Paul Vangelisti New YorkMarsi lio Publishers 1995
The Le Rot Jones/Amin Baraka Reader Edited by William IHarris with Amin Baraka New York Thunder's Mouth Press,1991
The Autobiography of Le Rol Jones Chicago Lawrence HillBooks, 1997
Four Black Revolutionary Plays New York Marion Boyars,1998
Barks Coleman Gourd Seed Athens Ga Maypop Books, 1993The Glance Songs ot Soul meeting Rumi Translations New
York Viking, 1999The Illuminated Rumi New York Broadway, 1997The Essential Rune With John Moyne San Francisco Harper,
1995The Hand or Poetry Five Mystic Poets or Persia Selections
iron) Sandi, Attar, Rumi, Saadi and Hatiz New York OmegaPress, 1993
Cervantes, Lorna Dee. From the Cables of Genocide: Poems on Loveand Hunger. Houston, Tex.: Arte Pith lico Press, 1991.. Emplumada. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1981.
Clifton, Lucille. The Terrible Stories. Brockport, N.Y.: BOA Editions,1996.. The Book of Light. Port Townsend, Wash.: Copper CanyonPress, 1993.. Quilting: Poems 1987-1990. Brockport, N.Y.: BOA Editions,1991.. Next: New Poems. Brockport, N.Y.: BOA Editions, 1987.. Good Woman: Poems and a Memoir, 1969-1980. Brockport,N.Y.: BOA Editions, 1987.
Doty, Mark. Sweet Machine. New York: Harper Flamingo, 1998.. Atlantis. New York: Harper Perennial, 1995.. My Alexandria. Urbana, Ill.: University of Illinois Press, 1993.. Heaven's Coast: A Memoir. New York: HarperCollins, 1997.
Duhamel, Denise. The Star-Spangled Banner. Carbondale, Ill.:Southern Illinois University Press, 1999.. Kinky. Alexandria, Va.: Orchises Press, 1997.
Garrison, Deborah. A Working Girl Can't Win and Other Poems. NewYork: Random House, 1998.
Hirshfield, lane. The Lives of the Heart. New York: HarperPerennial,1997.. The October Palace. New York: HarperPerennial, 1994.. Of Gravity & Angels. Middletown, Conn.: WesleyanUniversity Press, 1988.. Nine Gates: Entering the Mind of Poetry. New York:HarperPerennial, 1997.
Holman, Bob. Bob Holman's The Collect Call of the Wild. New York:Henry Holt, 1995.
Kinnell, Galway. Imperfect Thirst. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1994.. Selected Poems. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1982.
Kunitz, Stanley. Passing Through: The Later Poems, New andSelected. New York: Norton, 1995.. The Wellfleet Whale: And Companion Poems. Bronx, N.Y.:Sheep Meadow Press,1984.. Interviews and Encounters with Stanley Kunitz. Edited byStanley Moss. Bronx, N.Y.: Sheep Meadow Press, 1993.ed. The Essential Blake. New York: Ecco Press, 1987.
Lamkin, Kurtis. El Shabazz (CD). Charleston, S.C.: Jamboco Sound,1998.
My Juju (CD), Charleston, S.C.: Jamboco Sound, 1995.. (Contributor) I Feel a Little lumpy Around You. Edited byNaomi Shihab Nye and Paul B. Janeczko. Old Tappan. N.J.:Simon & Schuster, 1996.
Lim, Shirley Geok-lin. What the Fortune Teller Didn't Say.Albuquerque, N.M.: West End Press, 1998.. Monsoon History: Selected Poems. London: Skoob Books,1995.
Two Dreams: New and Selected Stories. New York: FeministPress, 1997.. Among the White Moon Faces: An Asian-American Memoirof Homelands. New York: Feminist Press, 1996.
Menashe, Samuel. Collected Poems. Orono, Maine: National PoetryFoundation/University of Maine at Orono, 1986.
Merwin, W. S. The Folding Cliffs: A Narrative. New York: Knopf,1998.. Selected Poems. New York: Atheneum, 1988.
VidrInnn 1,1111 Hay Noiy Ynrie F,, r.irnt, 1058
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(Total approximate cost $625)
BASIC(cost approximately $350)
GOOD BROWSINGSongs Iron) This Earth on Turtles Back American Indian Writing Bruchac, Joseph, ed
Greenfield Center, N Y Greenfield Review Press, 1983 ($10 95)The Forbidden Stitch An Asian American Women's Anthology Lim, Shirley Geok-In), et
al eds Corvallis, Oreg Calyx Books, 1989 (516 95)The Top 500 Poems Harmon William ed New York Columbia University Press,
1992 (529 95)The Rag and Bone Shop of the Heart A Poetry Anthology Bly, Robert, James Hillman
and Michael Meade eds New York HarperCollins, 1993 ($17 00)No More Masks' An Anthology ot Twentieth Century American Women's Poetry Howe,
Florence ed New York HarperCollins 1993 ($17 00)Unsettling America An Anthology ot Contemporary Multicultural Poetry Gillan, Maria
Mazziotti and Jenniter Gillan, eds New York Penguin Books, 1994 ($14 951Every Shut Eye Ain't Asleep An Anthology or Poetry by African Americans since 1945
Harper, Michael 5 , and Anthony Walton, eds Boston Little Brown, 1994(519.00)
Paper Dance: 55 Latino Poets. Cruz, Victor Hernandez, Lerou Quintana, and VirgilSuarez, eds. New York: Persea Books, 1995. (514.00)
Contemporary American Poetry. Poulin, A., Jr. ed. 6th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin,1996. (530.27) .
POETRY OF DIVERSE CULTURESAnother Republic: 17 European and South American Writers. Simic, Charles and Mark
Strand, eds. New York: Ecco Press, 1989. ($12.95)The Same Sky: A Collection of Poems from around the World. Nye, Naomi Shihab.
New York: Aladdin Paperbacks, 1996. ($17.00)The Vintage Book of Contemporary World Poetry. McClatchy, J. D., ed. New York:
Vintage Books, 1996. (515.00)East LVindow: The Asian Poems. Merwin, W. S., trans. Port Townsend, Wash.:
Copper Canyon Press, 1998. (516.001
ABOUT POETRYRose, Where Did You Get That Red? Teaching Great Poetry to Children. Koch, Kenneth.
New York: Vintage Books, 1990. (512.00)The Language of Life: A Festival of Poets. Moyers, Bill. (Haba, James, ed.) New York:
Doubleday, 1996. ($18.95)The Sounds of Poetry: A Brief Guide. Pinsky, Robert. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux,
1998. (516.00)
ABOUT WRITING POETRYThe Poet's Pen: Writing Poetry with Middle and High School Students. Lies, Betty
Bonham. Englewood, N.J.: Libraries Unlimited/Teacher Ideas Press, 1993. ($18.00)Poetry Everywhere: Teaching Poetry Writing in School and in the Community. Collom,
Jack and Sheryl Noethe. New York: Teachers & Writers Collaborative, 1994.(S17.00)
The Poet's Companion: A Guide to the Pleasures of Writing Poetry. Addonizio, Kim andDorianne Laus. New York: W. W. Norton, 1997. ($13.00)
Risking Intensity: Reading and Writing Poetry With High School Students. Michaels,Judith. Urbana, Ill.: National Council of Teachers of English, 1999. ($16.00)
EXPANDED(cost approximately $150)
MORE GOOD BROWSINGThe Black Poets. Randall, Dudley, ed. New York: Bantam Books, 1985. ($6.99)Woman Who Has Sprouted Wings: Poems by Contemporary Latin American Women.
Crow, Mary, ed. 2nd ed. Pittsburgh: Latin American Literary Review Press, 1988.(S13.95)
New American Poets of the Nineties. Myers, Jack and Roger Weingarten, eds. Lincoln,Mass.: Godine, 1991. (S19.95)
Modern American Poets: Their Voices and Visions. DiYanni, Robert, ed. 2nd ed. NewYork: McGraw-Hill, 1993. ($31.00)
MORE POETRY OF DIVERSE CULTURES100 Poems From the Chinese. Rexroth, Kenneth, trans. New York: New Directions,
1971. ($9.95)Contemporary East European Poetry: An Anthology. George, Emery, ed. New York:
Oxford University Press, 1993. (535.00)The Essential Haiku: Versions of Basho, Buson and Issa. Hass, Robert, trans. New York:
Ecco Press, 1995. (515.00)Returning a Borrowed Tongue: Poems by Filipino and Filipino American Writers. Carbo,
Nick, ed. Minneapolis: Coffee House Press, 1996. ($14.95)
Stanley Moss. Bronx, N.Y.: Sheep Meadow Press, 1993., ed. The Essential Blake. New York: Ecco Press, 1987.
Kurtis. El Shabazz (CD). Charleston, S.C.: Jamboco Sound,1998.My juju (CD), Charleston, S.C.: Jamboco Sound, 1995.
. (Contributor) I Feel a Little Jumpy Around You. Edited byNaomi Shihab Nye and Paul B. Janeczko. Old Tappan, N.J.:Simon & Schuster, 1996.
:, Shirley Geok-lin. What the Fortune Teller Didn't Say.Albuquerque, N.M.: West End Press, 1998.. Monsoon History: Selected Poems. London: Skoob Books,1995.. Two Dreams: New and Selected Stories. New York: FeministPress, 1997.. Among the White Moon Faces: An Asian-American Memoirof Homelands. New York: Feminist Press, 1996.
iashe, Samuel. Collected Poems. Orono, Maine: National PoetryFoundation/University of Maine at Orono, 1986.
rwin, W. S. The Folding Cliffs: A Narrative. New York: Knopf,1998.. Selected Poems. New York: Atheneum, 1988.
A.:loon, Paul. Hay. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1998.. The Annals of Chile. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux,1994.. The Prince of the Quotidian. Winston-Salem, N.C.: WakeForest University Press, 1994.. Selected Poems, 1968-1986. New York: Ecco Press, 1987.
ds, Sharon. The Wellspring. New York: Knopf, 1996.. The Father. New York: Knopf, 1992.. The Gold Cell. New York: Knopf, 1987.. The Dead and the Living. New York: Knopf, 1984.
'cy, Marge. The Art of Blessing the Day: Poems With a JewishTheme. New York: Knopf, 1999.. What Are Big Girls Made Of? New York: Knopf, 1997.. Mars and Her Children. New York: Knopf, 1992.. Circles on the Water: Selected Poems of Marge Piercy. NewYork: Knopf, 1982.
Parti-Colored Blocks for a Quilt. Ann Arbor, Mich.: Universityof Michigan Press, 1982.
sky, Robert. The Figured Wheel: New and Collected Poems, 1966-1996. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1996.. The Want Bone. New York: Ecco Press, 1991.. History of My Heart. New York: Ecco Press, 1984.. An Explanation of America. Princeton, N.J.: PrincetonUniversity Press, 1979.. The Inferno of Dante: A New Verse Translation. New York:Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1994.
loe. Fifteen Cinquains (for a rainy day or two). Manasquan, N.J.:Iniquity Press/Vendetta Books, 1999.
S31VIS 03.11Nf131-11 NI
0311W/ dlAMS3D3N
rivlsod ON
(cost approximately $150)
MORE GOOD BROWSINGThe Black Poets. Randall, Dudley, ed. New York: Bantam Books, 1985. ($6.99)Woman Who Has Sprouted Wings: Poems by Contemporary Latin American Women.
Crow, Mary, ed. 2nd ed. Pittsburgh: Latin American Literary Review Press. 1988.(513.95)
New American Poets of the Nineties. Myers, Jack and Roger Weingarten, eds. Lincoln,Mass.: Godine, 1991. ($19.95)
Modern American Poets: Their Voices and Visions. DiYanni, Robert, ed. 2nd ed. NewYork: McGraw-Hill, 1993. ($31.00)
MORE POETRY OF DIVERSE CULTURES100 Poems From the Chinese. Rexroth, Kenneth, trans. New York: New Directions,
1971. ($9.95)Contemporary East European Poetry: An Anthology George, Emery, ed. New York:
Oxford University Press, 1993. (535.00)The Essential Haiku: Versions of Basho, Buson and Issa. Hass, Robert, trans. New York:
Ecco Press, 1995. (515.00)Returning a Borrowed Tongue: Poems by Filipino and Filipino American Writers. Carbo,
Nick, ed. Minneapolis: Coffee House Press, 1996. ($14.95)
SUPPLEMENTARY(cost approximately $125)
GOING DEEPERThe Enlightened Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry. Mitchell, Stephen, ed. New
York: HarperCollins, 1993. ($13.00)Against Forgetting: Twentieth Century Poetry of Witness. Forche, Carolyn, ed. New
York: W. W. Norton,1993. (523.951Women in Praise of the Sacred: 43 Centuries of Spiritual Poetry by Women. Hirshfield,
lane, ed. New York: HarperCollins, 1995. (513.50)News of the Universe: Poems of TwoFold Consciousness. Bly, Robert, ed. 2nd ed. San
Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 1995. ($12.001
MORE ABOUT POETRYHow to Read a Poem and Fall in Love with Poetry. Hirsch, Edward. New York: Harcourt
Brace, 1999. ($23.00)Western Wind: An Introduction to Poetry. Nims, John Frederick. 3rd ed. New York:
McGraw-Hill, 1992. (523.50)The Poet's Notebook: Excerpts from the Notebooks of 26 American Poets. Kuusisto,
Stephen, Deborah Tall and David Weiss, eds. New York: W. W. Norton, 1997.($13.00)
Poets on Poetry Series. Various authors and editors. Ann Arbor, Mich.: University ofMichigan Press. (An outstanding anthology series of interviews and essays by awide range of contemporary poets.)
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IWe want to know what you think ofthe FOOLING WITH WORDS Teacher'sGuide Your response will be enormouslyhelpful when we develop futureteacher's guides
SWe won't share your address or phone number withtelemarketers or others If you don't mind receivinga follow-up call from WNET to find out how youused the guide, please include your school phonenumber Only a small number of respondents will becalled
Name
School
School address
School phone number
E-mail address
1 In which classes did you use FOOLING WITH WORDS?
.2 How many students used ,here materials?
3 Estimate how mane students ill use these materials in the future
4 How many teachers did you share the guide ,Aith,
5 On a scale ot 1 (poor) to 4 ie\ cellent1 please rate the guide
The 1998 Geraldine R DodgePoetry Festival was funded,organized, and produced by theGeraldine R Dodge Foundation
0
(GERALDINE R DODGE FOUNDATION163 Madison AvenueP 0 Box 1239Momstown, NJ 07962-1239
'If you'd like to be included on a mailing list to receninformation about future Poetry Festivals, please thethe box below And, if you're interested, we'd behappy to send you another FREE teacher's guidetcPOETRY HEAVEN, featuring the 1996 Geraldine RDodge Poetry Festivalwhile supplies last
6 Did students view the program at home? In class?
7 Is this the tirst time you've taught contemporary poetry?
8 Which component ot the guide was most valuable?
Which was least valuable?
9 Which Poet Cards did you use?
10 Comments
11 = Please send me more intormation about ruture Geraldine R DodgePoetry festivals
12 17 Please send me a copy ot the POETR\ HEAVEN Teacher's Guide
.
POET CARDSAmin Baraka
Coleman BarksLorna Dee Cervantes (one side)
Lucille CliftonMark Doty
Deborah Garrison (one side)Jane Hirshfield (one side)
Stanley KunitzKurt's Lamkin
Shirley Geok-lin LimPaul Muldoon (one side)Sharon Olds (one side)
Marge PiercyRobert Pinsky
Poem Subjects and Themes (one side)
LOG ONFOOLING WITH WORDS Online,at www.wnet.org/foolingwithwords orwww.pbs.org/foolingwithwords, providesa downloadable version of this teacher'sguide plus a wide range of additionalrelated resourcesa Web-based lessonplan, a series of teaching strategies, addi-tional poems by the poets appearing inFOOLING WITH WORDS and SOUNDSOF POETRY, and a library of video clips ofthe poets reading and discussing poetry.An online discussion forum will allowteachers to talk about issues of interest andconcern. A special survey section willallow teachers to give feedback on theeducational materials and on the program.Ot course, the site will include a resourcesection, with information about materialsavailable in book form, on audio andvideotape, and on the Web.
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ACIdAelWrifitiGEMENTSThis guide was produced by
Ifih En,
Educational Resources CenteRuth Ann Burns, Director
PUBLISHER: Robert A MillerEDITOR David Reisman, Ed D 4DESIGN B T Whrtehdl 's
WRITERS James Haba, Ricnaro,
PERMISSIONS EDITOR' Christina L paper.;COPY EDITOR AND PROOFREADER.'=;:',Sue Young WilsonEDITORIAL ASSISTANT Kimberly yuen,,,,
r COVER PHOTOGRAPHT Lynn Saville,
ADVISERS'
'James Haba, Poetry,Director,yGeialdine R Dodge Foundations
Lois Harrod, Voorhees HighSchaol'Glen Gardner, New Jersey
Peter E Murphy, Atlantic City Fligi),SC,Atlantic City, New Jersey atiSuzanne Snyder Carroll, ;,4-7Hopewell Valley Central HiihSClir.Pennington, New Jersey
Ellen June Wright, Teaneck 1:1.0-50141,Teaneck, New Jerseys
Special thanks to the'followingitiacDonald Delo, Peter Herzbeig,Tettii-BXJudy Michaels, and There`se MattilV
Special thanks to the Geraldine'R:-1rid8ePoetry Program and Festival staffMartin Farawell (Poetry Coorchiiatok-Renee Ashley and Wendy BariirC(A. ilstarit:tPoetry Coordinators), Natalie'Gerber 4nd 2Erica Mosner (Assistant Festn;alCoordinators), and Egan Davison' n(Program Assistant) "1.
FOOLING WITH WORDSWITH BILL MOYERS
PRODUCER Dominique LasseUrDIRECTOR' Catherine TatgeEDITOR Joel KatzDIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY' Joel Stiatilio;PROGRAM CONSULTANT James Haba" .
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER' Dahvi Walley.DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION: FellCe-:FlieStorleDIRECTOR OF SPECIAL PROJECTS:
Deborah RubensteinEXECUTIVE PRODUCERS:
Judy Doctoroff O'Neill and " --
Judith Davidson MoyersEXECUTIVE EDITORS - .Judith Davidson Moyers and BilrfvjoYer's:
Funding for FOOLING WITH WOREiVvi9i-1,:hBill MOYERS is provided by Bid:Herb:AlFoundation, The John D and ,Catherine
- MacArthur Foundation, and MuttiaPcff.America Life Insurance Company .3'
Funding for this guide es 4pfqide'irbr,Geraldine R Dodge Foundation,
ORDERING INFORMATIONThe companion book to the series,FOOLING WITH WORDS WITH BILLMOYERS, published by William Morrowand Company is available tor $20wherever books are sold Videocassettesof FOOLING WITH WORDS, the two-hour special, and SOUNDS OF POETRY,the nine halt-hour programs, will beavailable through Films for theHumanities and Sciences by calling1-800-257-5126 or by visiting their
eb site, wssw films corn
01999 Thirteen/wnet
Lucille Clifton"we are running" 00:05-00:30
Amiri Baraka"Monday in B Flat" 00:43-00:53
Coleman Barksinterview segment 01:13-01:26
Kurtis Lamkininterview segment 02:01-02:11"jump mama" 02:13-04:50
Stanley Kunitzinterview segment 04:59-05:15
lane Hirshfield"The Poet" 05:17-06:31interview segment 06:40-07:52"The Envoy" 07:53-09:10interview segment 09:14-09:52
Mark Doty"Messiah (Christmas Portions)" 11:06-15:00
Lucille Clifton"adam thinking" 16:00-16:35"eve thinking" 16:38-17:10
Mark Dotyinterview segment 17:17-17:45"New Dog" 18:00-20:25interview segment 20:40-21:56"Golden Retrievals" 22:50-24:03
Mark Doty and Lucille Cliftondialogue 24:13-24:45
Lucille Clifton"won't you celebrate with me" 24:45-25:28
Robert Pinskyinterview segment 25:36-27:24"To Television" 27:24-29:32interview segment 29:39-30:25q&a with students 30:26-31:05
Joe Weilfrom "Painting the Christmas Trees" 31:27-31:54
lames Habainterview segment 31:55-32:24
David Gonzalez"Cross Bronx Expressway" 32:25-33:39
Amiri Barakainterview segment 33:40-34:10"Wise, Why's, Y'z (Africa Section)" 34:11-35:56interview segment 35:58-36:33"Wise, Why's, Y'z (Africa Section)" 36:34-38:37
Marge Piercyinterview segment 38:55-39:20from "The chuppah" 39:22-41:09
Stanley Kunitz"The Round" 42:18-44:05interview segment 44:16-45:02"Halley's Cornet" 45:19-47:35"Touch Me" 47:45-49:50
Kurtis Lamkin"those crazy beach girls" (improvised version)
49:52-53:17
Marge Piercyfrom "What are big girls made of ?"
56:06-57:35interview segment
53:23-53:40 and 55:15-56:03from "What are big girls made of?"
56:06-57:35interview segment 57:42-58:36from "For strong women" 58:40-59:47
BEST LUNY Abilitnowbq
Coleman Barksfrom "Today, like every other day"
1:00:00-1:00:21interview segment 1:00:50-1:01:27"Jars of Spring Water" 1:02:35-1:04:25"Little Miss Mullett" (by Briny Barks)
1:04:57-1:05:07interview segment 1:05:42-1:06:12"Justice" 1:05:23-1:05:41from "New Year's Day Nap' 1:06:15-1:07:34interview segment 1:07:34-1:08:23
Robert Pinsky"ABC" 1:08:36-1:09:13interview segment 1:09:20-1:10:18
Bob Holmanfrom "I've Got a Rock 'n Roll Mythology"
1:10:19-1:10:34
Denise Duhamelfrom "Kinky" 1:10:35-1:10:55
Samuel Menashe"Salt and Pepper" 1:10:58-1:11:20
James Habainterview segment 1:11:24-1:11:50
Deborah Garrison"Please Fire Me" 1:11:58-1:12:43interview segment 1:12:48-1:13:32"An Idle Thought" 1:13:34-1:15:00
Lucille Clifton"oh absalom my son my son"
1:15:35-1:16:09
Sharon Olds"The Clasp" 1:16:13-1:17:40
Mark Dotyinterview segment 1:17:49-1:18:33
W.S. Merwin"Yesterday" 1:18:35-1:20:20
Galway Kinnell"After Making Love We Hear Footsteps"
1:20:28-1:21:51
Paul Muldooninterview segment 1:21:57-1:22:26"Symposium" 1:23:10-1:24:45interview segment 1:24:48-1:25:27"The Sightseers" 1:27:51-1:29:10
Kurtis Lamkin"yo body" 1:29:11-1:30:16interview segment, 1:30:16-1:31:02"yo body" 1:31:03-1:32:06interview segment 1:32:08-1:33:05"the million man march" 1:33:10-1:35:43
Stanley Kunitzinterview segment 1:35:49-1:36:24
Lorna Dee Cervantes"Summer Ends Too Soon" 1:37:01-1:38:10interview segment 1:38:15-1:39:15"Poet's Progress" 1:39:16-1:42:18
Shirley Geok-lin Lim"Riding into California" 1:42:40-1:43:44interview segment 1:43:50-1:44:30"Pantoun for Chinese Women"
1:45:33-1:47:58interview segment 1:48:02-1:48:38
Coleman Barksfrom "Where Everything Is Music"
1:48:41-1:49:43interview segment 1:49:45-1:51:10"I See My Beauty in You" 1:51:14-1:54:06
A Time Grid for the poems from SOUNDS OF POETRY can be found onFOOLING WITH WORDS Online, www.wnet.org/foolingwithwords
Amiri Baraka
Wise
"I believe you have to be true to people.You have to be writing something thatpeople understand but, at the same time,something that's profound enough to havemeaning past, say, the six o'clock news:'
Born in 1934 in Newark, New Jersey, Amiri Baraka(Le Roi Jones) has international stature as a poet, drama-tist, essayist, and political activist. Associated with theBeats in the 1950s, he became a leader in the Black ArtsMovement in the 1960s. Much of his work considers thepolitical situation of people of color in capitalist America.
WHY's (Nobody KnowsThe Trouble I Seen)Trad.
If you ever findyourself, some wherelost and surroundedby enemieswho won't let youspeak in your own languagewho destroy your statues& instruments, who banyour oom boom ba boomthen you are in troubledeep troublethey ban youroom boom ba boomyou in deep deeptrouble
humph!
probably take you several hundred yearsto getout!
Who would ban your"oom boom ba boom"?Why?
10
00
FOOL IN GWITH WORDS
WITH BILL MOYERS
Monday in B Flat
I can prayall day& Godwont come.
But if I call911
The DevilBe here
in a minute!
Baraka's Poetry Reading as Jazz Performance
Like a jazz musician, Amiri Baraka generally begins with a settext but allows himself liberty to improvise freely in responseto the moment and his immediate context. In addition todeleting from and adding to his printed text, even droppingor repeating whole stanzas, he also sometimes performs longpassages which have no direct print analogues. While hisallegiance is always to the live poem happening now, he basesthat living poem on dedicated practice and preparation.
"Wise, Why's, Y'z (Africa Section)" includes excerpts frompublished poems and improvised material. A complete tran-script showing these distinctions appears on FOOLINGWITH WORDS Online.
Amiri Barakafrom Wise, Why's, Y'z (Africa Section)
The chains& darkdark &
dark, if there was "light"it meant
Ghoosts
Rotting family weghost ate
three
A people flattened & chained &bathed & degraded
in their own hysterical waste
belowbeneathunder neathdeep downup under
grave cave pitlower & deeper
weeping miles belowskyscraper gutters
Blue blood hole into which bluenessis the terror, massacre, torture
& original westernholocaust
Slaves
Slaves
Slavery
We were slaves
Slaves
We were
They threwour livesa way
Beneath the violent philosophyof primitivecannibals
PrimitiveViolentSteam drivenCannibals*
It's my brother, my sister.At the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean there's arailroad made of human bones.
Black ivoryBlack ivory
Think of SlaveryasEducational!**
*from "So The King Sold the Farmer #39" **from "Y The Link Will Not Always Be "Missing"#40"
QUESTIONS
1. Although "Wise I" directly addresses the history ofAfrican Americans, its language remains open to broad-er application. What else could it address?
2. If we "Think of Slavery / as / Educational," what canslavery teach us?
3. How do these three poems reflect or comment uponone another? How is each unique?
"Wise I" and sections of "Wise, Why's, Y'z (Africa Section)," including excerptsfrom "So the King Sold the Farmer #39" and "Y the Link Will Not Always Be'Missing' #40" from TRANSBLUESENCY, The Selected Poems of AmiriBaraka/LeRoi Jones (1961-1995), reprinted by permission of Sterling LordLiteristic, Inc. Copyright by Amiri Baraka."Monday in B-Flat" by Amiri Baraka, from FUNKLORE: New Poems, 1984-1995,Littoral Press, Los Angeles. Reprinted by permission of Sterling Lord Literistic,Inc. Copyright by Amiri Baraka.
11
ACTIVITIES
1 Consider what happens when Baraka repeats, withsubtle variations, the word "slave." Try to do somethingsimilar with a word that carries strong feeling for you.
2. Develop a chant of your own, using percussive rhythm.
3. Research the history of slavery, focusing on its practice:in North America, in your state, in your town, or in yourfamily. Report on your research, in prose or in poetry.
4. Make an object, mural, dance, or piece of music thatexpresses the Middle Passage as portrayed in "Wise,Why's, Y'z (Africa Section)."
Coleman Barks"I like both translating Rumi andwriting my own poems. But inone, I have to disappearwithRumi. In the other, I have to getin the wayget my personalityand my delights and my shameinto the poem:'
Where Everything Is Music
Don't worry about saving these songs!And if one of our instruments breaks,it doesn't matter.
We have fallen into the placewhere everything is music.
The strumming and the flute notesrise into the atmosphere,and even if the whole world's harpshould burn up, there will still behidden instruments playing.
So the candle flickers and goes out.We have a piece of flint, and a spark.
This singing art is sea foam.The graceful movements come from a pearlsomewhere on the ocean floor.
Poems reach up like spindrift and the edgeof driftwood along the beach, wanting!
They derivefrom a slow and powerful rootthat we can't see.
Stop the words now.Open the window in the center of your chest,and let the spirits fly in and out.
by Jelaluddin Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks
12
FOOL IN GWITH WORDS
WITH BILL MOYERS
In 1976 Coleman Barksbegan translating the poems ofJelaluddin Rumi, a thirteenth-cen-tury Sufi mystic, a poet as famousin the Islamic world asShakespeare is in the West. Hehas since become the primarytranslator bringing Rumi's poemsinto contemporary English. Bornin Tennessee in 1937, he now livesin Athens, Georgia.
Today, like every other day, we wake up empty
and frightened. Don't open the door to the studyand begin reading. Take down a musical instrument.
Let the beauty we love be what we do.
There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.
by Jelaluddin Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks
How fully is the beautyyou love what you do?
Coleman Barks
Jars of Springwater
Jars of springwater are not enoughanymore. Take us down to the river!
The face of peace, the sun itself.No more the slippery cloudlike moon.
Give us one clear morning after anotherand the one whose work remains unfinished,
who is our work as we diminish, idle,though occupied, empty, and open.
by Jelaluddin Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks
from New Year's Day Nap
Fiesta Bowl on low.My son lying here on the couchon the "Dad" pillow he made for mein the Seventh Grade. Now a sophomoreat Georgia Southern, driving back later today,he sleeps with his white top hat over his face.
I'm a dancin' fool.
Twenty years ago, half the formhe sleeps within came out of nowherewith a million micro-lemmings who all died but onepiercer of membrane, specially picked to start a brainmaking,egg-drop soup, that stirred two sun and moon centersfor a new-painted sky in the tiniestballroom imaginable.
Now he's rousing, six feet long,turning on his side. Now he's gone.
"New Year's Day Nap" from GOURD SEED by Coleman Barks, © 1993 by ColemanBarks. Used by arrangement with Maypop Books."Today, like every other day" and "Where Everything Is Music" from THE ESSENTIALRUMI, Translated by Coleman Barks with John Moyne, A.J. Arberry and ReynoldNicholson. © 1995 by Coleman Barks. Used by arrangement with Threshold Books."Jars of Spring Water" from The Glance: Rumi's Songs of Soul Meeting by ColemanBarks, translation and introduction, translation © 1999 by Coleman Barks. Used bypermission of Viking Penguin, a division of Penguin Putnam, Inc.
13
QUESTIONS
1. What qualities of "Jars ofSpringwater" suggest that itstranslator was successful in dis-appearing?
2. What qualities of the passagefrom "New Year's Day Nap" sug-gest that Coleman Barks wassuccessful in getting his person-ality, delights, and shame intothe poem?
3. Why do we fall into the place /where everything is music"?Why don't we climb up to thatplace?
ACTIVITIES
1. Translate something from anoth-er language or from anothermedium of expression and con-centrate on trying to disappearfrom the process of translation.
2. Write something or make some-thinga picture, a dance, asculpturein which you deliber-ately let yourself "get in theway."
3. In the program Coleman Barkssays, "When you're in a placewhere music is, you can saythings over and over and over."With music as a background,say something over and over, asthe music invites. With others,let each person repeat his or herown language to the samemusic. Discuss what you learnabout the rhythm of words.
4. Research the life and work ofJelaluddin Rumi and Sufi spiritu-al traditions. Report on yourresearch or create a display(visual or aural) that allows oth-ers to experience some part ofwhat you learned.
Lor
na D
ee C
erva
ntes
" W
hen
you
grow
up
as I
dida
Chi
can-
Indi
a in
a b
arrio
, in
a M
exic
anne
ighb
orho
od in
Cal
iforn
ia, w
elfa
re c
lass
you'
re n
ot e
xpec
ted
to s
peak
.Y
ou're
igno
red.
You
're s
omet
hing
in th
e pe
riphe
ry, e
mpt
ying
gar
bage
can
sor
was
hing
pla
tes.
You
're n
ot e
xpec
ted
to s
peak
, muc
h le
ss w
rite:
'
Poe
t's P
rogr
ess
for
San
dra
Cis
nero
s
I ha
ven'
t bee
nm
uch
of a
nyw
here
,bo
oks
my
only
voy
age,
cros
sed
no b
odie
sof
wat
er, s
een
anyt
hing
othe
r th
an tr
ees
chan
ge,
bird
s ta
ke s
hape
like
the
rare
Bee
Hum
min
gbir
d th
at o
nce
hove
red
over
the
prom
ise
of s
alsa
in m
y ga
rden
: a f
ur f
eath
ered
visi
on f
rom
Cub
a in
Bou
lder
,a
wet
back
, sto
waw
ay, r
efug
ee,
fart
her
from
hom
e th
an m
e.N
ow, s
now
spa
tters
its
fore
ign
star
ch a
cros
s th
e la
wn
gone
cris
p w
ith f
reez
e.I
know
noth
ing
trop
ical
sur
vive
slo
ng in
this
sea
son.
I pu
llth
e la
st le
eks
from
the
froz
enea
rth,
sm
ell t
heir
sle
nder
tube
rcul
ar li
ves,
sta
ndin
the
slee
t whi
teou
tof
Dec
embe
r: r
oots
draw
in, t
hrea
ds o
f re
lativ
esex
pand
whi
le s
olitu
de, t
he c
ore,
that
slic
k-he
aded
fis
t of
self
, is
cool
as
my
dog'
s no
se a
nd p
unge
nt
with
res
ista
nce.
Now
whe
nth
e re
d-be
llied
woo
dpec
ker
calls
his
res
pons
e to
a C
alif
orni
aow
l, no
w, w
hen
the
wou
ndtr
ansf
orm
er in
the
wom
bsl
acke
ns, a
nd I
wai
tfo
r po
tent
ial:
all
the
lives
I h
ave
yet t
o na
me,
all m
y lif
eI
have
will
ed in
to b
eing
aliv
e an
d br
ittle
with
the
icy
past
. And
it's
eno
ugh
now
,lis
teni
ng, c
ount
ing
the
unkn
own
arac
hnid
s an
d ho
rmig
asw
ho s
hare
my
love
of
less
swee
ping
. For
this
is w
hat
I w
ante
d, c
ome
to, l
eft
alon
e w
ith a
nyth
ing
but t
he g
irlh
ood
horr
ors,
the
touc
hing
, the
hun
gry
lead
en m
eltd
own
of th
e ho
urs.
Or
the
futu
rea
roun
d ne
gatio
n,bl
ack
suct
ion
of th
e he
art's
conc
eptio
n. S
ave
me
from
a s
tupi
d lif
e! I
pra
yed.
Lea
ve m
e an
ythi
ng b
uta
stup
id li
fe.
And
that
's p
oetr
y.
"Poe
t's P
rogr
ess"
by
Lorn
a D
ee C
erva
ntes
, © 1
997
by L
orna
Dee
Cer
vant
es. R
eprin
ted
by p
erm
issi
on o
f Lor
na D
ee C
erva
ntes
.
14
0
Bor
n in
San
Fra
ncis
co's
Mis
sion
dist
rict o
f Nat
ive
Am
eric
an a
nd M
exic
anan
cest
ry, L
orna
Dee
Cer
vant
es d
isco
vere
dS
hake
spea
re a
nd th
eE
nglis
h R
oman
tic p
oets
inth
e ho
uses
her
mot
her
clea
ned.
As
an a
dult,
she
has
wor
ked
to p
ut in
tola
ngua
ge th
e on
ce-w
ord-
less
his
torie
s of
Mex
ican
Am
eric
ans
and
espe
cial
lyC
hica
n-In
dias
. She
teac
h-es
at t
he U
nive
rsity
of
Col
orad
o at
Bou
lder
.
FO
OL
IN G
WIT
H W
OR
DS
VV
ITH
BIL
LM
OY
ER
S41
0
QU
ES
TIO
NS
1.In
"P
oet's
Pro
gres
s" L
orna
Dee
Cer
vant
es d
escr
ibes
the
cour
se o
fhe
r lif
e as
a p
oet.
Whe
re h
as s
hebe
en?
Whe
re is
she
goi
ng?
2. W
hat d
o th
e an
imal
s an
d pl
ants
in"P
oet's
Pro
gres
s" te
ll us
abo
ut th
epo
et a
t the
cen
ter
of th
e po
em?
3. A
ccor
ding
to "
Poe
t's P
rogr
ess,
" w
hat
is p
oetr
y? W
hat i
s "a
stu
pid
life'
?
4. W
hat e
ffect
s do
es th
e po
et a
chie
veby
des
crib
ing
a B
ee H
umm
ingb
ird a
s"a
wet
back
, sto
waw
ay, r
efug
ee"?
AC
TIV
ITIE
S
1. K
eep
a jo
urna
l of y
our
enco
unte
rsw
ith a
nim
als
and
plan
ts, o
f all
sort
s.N
ote
how
thes
e en
coun
ters
stim
ulat
eor
ref
lect
you
r fe
elin
gs a
nd id
eas.
2. W
rite
your
ow
n "P
oet's
Pro
gres
s"ab
out y
ours
elf o
r a
poet
you
adm
ire.
3.C
reat
e a
bulle
tin b
oard
ent
itled
"A
ndth
at's
poe
try.
" Le
t eve
ryon
e co
n-tr
ibut
e so
met
hing
a dr
awin
g, a
pho
-to
grap
h, a
phr
ase,
a p
oem
, etc
.un
til it
is e
ntire
ly c
over
ed.
Wha
t do
you
risk
in p
rayi
ng fo
r"a
nyth
ing
but /
a s
tupi
d lif
e"?
15
Deb
orah
Gar
riso
n"I
nee
d to
feel
that
the
lang
uage
in m
y po
ems
isal
ive,
in th
e se
nse
of ta
lkin
g on
the
phon
e to
afr
iend
, sha
ring
goss
ip:'
Ple
ase
Fire
Me
Her
e co
mes
ano
ther
alp
ha m
ale,
and
all t
he o
ther
alp
has
are
snor
ting
and
paw
ing,
kick
ing
up p
uffs
of
acri
d du
st
whi
le th
e si
lly li
ttle
hens
clat
ter
back
and
for
thon
qui
veri
ng c
law
s an
d ra
ise
a tit
ter
abou
t the
fus
s.
Her
e co
mes
ano
ther
alp
ha m
ale
a m
an's
man
, a d
ealm
aker
,ho
lds
tank
s of
liqu
or,
char
ms
them
pan
tsle
ss a
t lun
ch:
I've
neve
r be
en s
icke
r.D
o I
have
to s
tare
into
his
eye
san
d sy
mpa
thiz
e? I
f I
wan
t my
job
I do
. Wel
l I th
ink
I'm th
roug
h
with
the
wor
king
wor
ld,
thro
ugh
with
war
min
g eg
gsan
d be
ing
Zen
like
in m
y de
tach
men
tfr
om a
ll th
ings
Ego
.
I'd li
ke to
go
som
ewhe
re e
lse
entir
ely,
and
I do
n't m
ean
Eur
ope.
"Ple
ase
Fire
Me"
and
"F
athe
r, R
.I.P
., S
ums
Me
Up
at T
wen
ty-T
hree
"fr
om A
Wor
king
Girl
Can
't W
in b
y D
ebor
ah G
arris
on, ©
199
8 by
Deb
orah
Gar
rison
. Rep
rinte
d by
per
mis
sion
of R
ando
m H
ouse
, Inc
.
1 _;
Bor
n in
Ann
Arb
or, M
ichi
gan,
in 1
965,
Deb
orah
Gar
rison
join
ed th
e ed
itoria
l sta
ff of
The
New
Yor
ker
mag
azin
e af
ter
grad
uatin
gfr
om B
row
n U
nive
rsity
. The
poe
ms
in h
er fi
rst
colle
ctio
n, A
Wor
king
Girl
Can
't W
in, j
uxta
pose
our
wor
king
and
per
sona
l rea
litie
s w
ith h
ones
tyan
d hu
mor
. She
live
s in
Mon
tcla
ir, N
ew J
erse
y.
Fat
her,
R.I.
P.,
Sum
s M
e U
p at
Tw
enty
-Thr
ee
She
has
no h
ead
for
polit
ics,
crav
es g
ood
jew
elry
, tru
sts
too
read
ily,
mar
ries
too
earl
y. T
hen
one
by o
ne s
he s
ends
aw
ay h
er f
rien
ds
and
stan
ds a
part
, sm
ug s
apph
ire,
her
answ
er to
eve
ryth
ing
a sl
ende
r
zero
, a s
ilent
shr
ugan
d ev
ery
day
still
hea
rs m
e sa
y sh
e'll
neve
r be
pre
tty.
Inst
ead
she
read
s no
vels
, ins
tead
her
bel
tm
atch
es h
er s
hoes
. She
is m
aste
r
of th
e co
ndol
ence
lette
r, a
nd k
now
sho
w to
ple
ase
a m
an w
ith h
er m
outh
:
Goo
d. N
ose
too
larg
e, e
yes
too
clos
ely
set,
hair
not
glo
riou
s bl
onde
, not
her
mot
her's
red
,
nor
the
glos
sy b
lack
her
you
nger
sis
ter
has,
the
little
rav
en I
love
d be
st.
Wha
t mak
es y
ou w
ant "
to g
o /
som
ewhe
re e
lse
entir
ely"
?
FOO
L I
N G
WIT
HW
OR
DS
WIT
HB
ILL
MO
YE
RS
QU
ES
TIO
NS
1.In
"P
leas
e F
ire M
e,"
the
poet
talk
s ab
out
peop
le a
s if
they
wer
e pa
rtic
ular
kin
ds o
fan
imal
s. W
hat d
oes
her
choi
ce o
f ani
mal
ssu
gges
t abo
ut h
er a
ttitu
de to
war
d he
r si
tu-
atio
n? A
bout
her
atti
tude
tow
ard
hers
elf?
2. W
hat m
ight
hav
e le
d D
ebor
ah G
arris
on to
writ
e "F
athe
r, R
.I.R
..."
? E
xpla
in w
hy y
ouw
ould
or
wou
ld n
ot w
rite
such
a p
oem
.
AC
TIV
ITIE
S
1. B
ased
on
wha
t Deb
orah
Gar
rison
desc
ribes
in h
er p
oem
"P
leas
e F
ire M
e,"
writ
e ne
w "
rule
s fo
r th
e w
orkp
lace
" or
"rul
es fo
r th
e w
orld
."
2. S
uppo
se y
ou w
ere
Deb
orah
Gar
rison
'sbo
ss o
r co
wor
ker.
Wha
t wou
ld y
ou d
o af
ter
read
ing
"Ple
ase
Fire
Me"
? D
escr
ibe
orro
le-p
lay
the
conv
ersa
tion
you
wou
ld h
ave
with
her
.
17
Lucille Clifton"What they call you is one thing.What you answer to is something else."
Self-taught, Lucille Clifton uses plain language toexplore life's complexities and to affirm the spirit's endurance.Recently named a Chancellor of the.Academy of American Poets,she has served on faculties of universities across the countryand is currently Distinguished Professor of Humanities at St.Mary's College of Maryland.
adam thinking
shestolen from my boneis it any wonderi hunger to tunnel backinside desperateto reconnect the rib and clayand to be whole again
0
some need is in mestruggling to roar through mymouth into a namethis creation is so fiercei would rather have been born
FOOL IN GWITH WORDS
w ITH BILL MOYERS
eve thinking
it is wild country herebrothers and sisters couplingclaw and winggroping one another
i waitwhile the clay two-footrumbles in his chestsearching for language to
call mebut he is slowtonight as he sleepsi will whisper into his mouthour names
Who have you turned yourself from,and toward, at once?
16,
Lucille Clifton
won't you celebrate with mewhat i have shaped intoa kind of life? i had no model.born in babylonboth nonwhite and womanwhat did i see to be except myself?i made it uphere on this bridge betweenstarshine and clay,my one hand holding tightmy other hand; come celebratewith me that everydaysomething has tried to kill meand has failed.
oh absalom my son my son
even as i turned myself from youi longed to hold you ohmy wild haired son
running in the wilderness awayfrom me from usinto a thicket you could not foresee
if you had stayedi feared you would kill meif you left i feared you would die
oh my sonmy sonwhat does the Lord require
"adam thinking" and "eve thinking" © 1991 by Lucille Clifton. Reprinted from QUILTING:POEMS 1987-1990 with the permission of BOA Editions, Ltd."won't you celebrate with me" from The book of light@ 1993 by Lucille Clifton. Reprintedby permission of Copper Canyon Press, Post Office Box 271, Port Townsend, WA 98368."oh absalom my son my son," © 1996 by Lucille Clifton. Reprinted from THE TERRIBLESTORIES with the permission of BOA Editions, Ltd.
9
QUESTIONS
1. In "won't you celebrate withme," Lucille Clifton says she had"no model" when she was grow-ing up. How, then, did shebecome who she is?
2. Lucille Clifton uses biblical titlesin three of these poems"adamthinking," "eve thinking," and"oh absalom my son my son."Create alternative titles for thesepoems. What would you gain orlose by eliminating the biblicalallusions?
3. Listen to the words LucilleClifton emphasizes when shereads "adam thinking" and "evethinking." How does your listen-ing experience differ from yourreading experience?
ACTIVITIES
1. Choose something about your-self that you would like others tocelebrate with you. Create aninvitation in words or picturesthat expresses what it is you'recelebrating and why.
2. Do research in the library to findout more about who Absalomwas and what the name hascome to mean in modern times.If there is an "Absalom" in yourlife or in the life of someone youknow, think of what you wouldlike to say to him or her. Expressyourself in any medium you like.
3. Choose two figures from history,mythology, fiction, movies, ortelevision who have a relation-ship with each other. Whatsecret or surprising things mighteach think about the other?Develop your own scenario anyway you likefor example, inpoetry, as a cartoon or comicstrip, photo essay, two mono-logues, a dialogue, or pan-tomime.
Mark Doty
New Dog
Jimi and Tonycan't keep Dino,their cocker spaniel;Tony's too sick,the daily walksmore pressurethan pleasure,one more obligationthat can't be met.
And though we alreadyhave a dog, Wallywants to adopt,wants something smalland golden to sleepnext to him andlick his face.He's paralyzed nowfrom the waist down,
whatever's ruining himmoving upward, andwe don't knowhow much longerhe'll be able to peta dog. How many menwant another attachment,just as they'releaving the world?
Wally sits up nightsand says, I'd likesome lizards, a talking bird,some fish. A little rat.
"The poet's craftlove of the sheer physi-cal pleasures of language: its sonics, itstextures, its rhythmsis an enormous ally."
Born in 1953 in Maryville, Tennessee, Mark Dotyexplores our preoccupation with the past and the future andencourages us to live more in the present. Central to hiswork are animals and his concern for theneed to cope nobly and gracefully with whatis beyond our control. He teaches at theUniversity of Houston.
So after I driveto Jimi and Tony'sin the Village and theymeet me at the door and say,We can't go through with it,
we can't give up our dog,I drive to the shelterjust to lookand thereis Beau: bounding andpractically boundless,one brass concatenationof tongue and tail,unmediated energy,too big, wild,
perfect. He not onlylicks Wally's facebut bathes everyirreplaceable inchof his head, and thoughWally can no longerfeed himself he can lifthis hand, and bring itto rest on the rough gilt
flanks when they are,for a moment, still.I have never seen a touchso deliberate.It isn't about grasping;the hand itself seemsalmost blurred now,softened, thoughtentative only
because so much willmust be summoned,such attention broughtto the workwhich is allhe is now, this gesturetoward the restless splendor,the unruly, the golden,the animal, the new.
r
Ji
e'
FOOLINGWITH WORDS
WITH BILL MOYERS
,
Golden Retrievals
Fetch? Balls and sticks capture my attentionseconds at a time. Catch? I don't think so.Bunny, tumbling leaf, a squirrel who'sohjoyactually scared. Sniff the wind, then
I'm off again: muck, pond, ditch, residueof any thrillingly dead thing. And you?Either you're sunk in the past, half our walk,thinking of what you can never bring back,
or else you're off in some fog concerningtomorrow, is that what you call it? My work:to unsnare time's warp (and woof!), retrieving,my haze-headed friend, you. This shining bark,
a Zen master's bronzy gong, calls you here,entirely, now: bow-wow, bow-wow, bow-wow.
21)
What calls you .iere9entirely, no
Mark Doty
from Messiah (Christmas Portions)
Who'd have thoughtthey'd be so good? Every valley,proclaims the solo tenor,
(a sleek blonde
I've seen somewhere beforethe liquor store?) shall be exalted,and in his handsome mouth the word
is lifted and opened
into more syllablesthan we could count, central ahdilated in a baroque melisma,
liquefied; the pour
of voice seemsto make the unplaned landscapethe text predicts the Lord
will heighten and tame.
This musicdemonstrates what it claims:glory shall be revealed. If art's
acceptable evidence,
mustn't what liesbehind the world be at leastas beautiful as the human voice?
The tenors lack confidence,
and the soloists,half of them anyway, don'thave the strength to found
the mighty kingdoms
these passages proposebut the chorus, all together,equals my burning clouds,
and seems itself to burn,
commingled powersdeeded to a larger, centering claim.These aren't anyone we know;
choiring dissolves
familiarity in an up-pouring rush which will notrest, will not, for a moment,
be still.
Aren't we enlargedby the scale of what we're ableto desire? Everything,
the choir insists,
might flame;inside these wrappingsburns another, brighter life,
quickened, now,
by song: hear howit cascades, in overlapping,lapidary waves of praise? Still time.
Still time to change.
"Messiah (Christmas Portions)" and "Golden Retrievals" from SWEET MACHINE by Mark Doty,© 1998 by Mark Doty. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc."New Dog" from ATLANTIS by Mark Doty, © 1995 by Mark Doty. Reprinted by permission ofHarperCollins Publishers, Inc.
21
QUESTIONS
1. In "Messiah (ChristmasPortions)," Mark Doty says,"Who'd have thought/ they'd beso good?" Describe an event inwhich you or someone you knowwas suddenly or beautifullytransformedsuch as in a con-cert, play, sports event, ordance. Were you surprised?Why? What did you learn aboutyourself or the other person?
2. Doty writes, "Aren't we enlarged/ by the scale of what we're able/ to desire?" List five things youmost desire. List five thingssomeone you know well desires.How do our desires define usmake us seem smaller or larger?
3. Something that at first seemedcrazywriting a poem from adog's point of vieweventuallyproduced "Golden Retrievals."Describe something that you atfirst thought was crazy but thatturned out to have a surprisingresult.
ACTIVITIES
1. Choose an animal who coulddictate something to you. Whatwould the animal say? Includeyour observations of some of theanimal's characteristics as wellas its words. What do you thinkyou might learn from the animal?
2. Choose a moment in timerightnow or some time in the past.Pretend you've taken a three-dimensional photo of themoment. Describe as much asyou can about the moment,including physical descriptions,feelings, and ideas. What wouldyou change to make the momentmore vivid?
3. Both Mark and Jimi experiencedtheir partner's illness due toAIDS. Their dogs, Beau andDino, helped the ill partners feelbetter. Create a poster that helpspeople become aware of AIDSand that suggests possiblethings they can do to help peo-ple who have this disease.
Jane
Hir
shfi
el"I
feel
like
I am
in th
e se
rvic
e of
the
poem
.The
poe
mis
n't s
omet
hing
I m
ake.
The
poe
m is
som
ethi
ng I
serv
e:'
The
Poe
t
She
is w
orki
ng n
ow, i
n a
room
not u
nlik
e th
is o
ne,
the
one
whe
re I
wri
te, o
r yo
u re
ad.
Her
tabl
e is
cov
ered
with
pap
er.
The
ligh
t of
the
lam
p w
ould
be
tem
pere
d by
a s
hade
, whe
re th
e bu
lb's
sing
le h
arsh
ness
mig
ht d
isso
lve,
but i
t is
not,
she
has
take
n it
off.
Her
poe
ms?
I w
ill n
ever
kno
w th
em,
thou
gh th
ey a
re th
e on
es I
mos
t nee
d.E
ven
the
alph
abet
she
wri
tes
inI
cann
ot d
ecip
her.
Her
cha
irL
et u
s im
agin
e w
heth
er it
is le
athe
ror
can
vas,
vin
yl o
r w
icke
r. L
et h
erha
ve a
cha
ir, h
er s
hade
less
lam
p,th
e ta
ble.
Let
one
or
two
she
love
sbe
in th
e ne
xt r
oom
. Let
the
door
be c
lose
d, th
e sl
eepi
ng o
nes
heal
thy.
Let
her
hav
e tim
e, a
nd s
ilenc
e,en
ough
pap
er to
mak
e m
ista
kes
and
go o
n.
Whi
ch a
nim
als
have
sign
aled
unk
now
nop
enin
gs in
you
r lif
e?
"The
Poe
t" fr
om T
HE
LIV
ES
OF
TH
E H
EA
RT
by
Jane
Hirs
hfie
ld,
© 1
997
by J
ane
Hirs
hfie
ld. R
eprin
ted
by p
erm
issi
on o
fH
arpe
rCol
lins
Pub
lishe
rs, I
nc.
"The
Env
oy"
© 1
998
by J
ane
Hirs
hfie
ld fi
rst a
ppea
red
in th
em
agaz
ine
Blu
e S
ofa
and
also
can
be
foun
d in
TH
E B
ES
TA
ME
RIC
AN
PO
ET
RY
, edi
ted
by R
ober
t Bly
, pub
lishe
d by
Scr
ibne
rs, 1
999.
Use
d by
per
mis
sion
of t
he a
utho
r.
The
Env
oy
One
day
in th
at r
oom
, a s
mal
l rat
.T
wo
days
late
r, a
sna
ke.
Who
, see
ing
me
ente
r,w
hipp
ed th
e lo
ng s
trip
e of
his
body
und
er th
e be
d,th
en c
urle
d lik
e a
doci
le h
ouse
-pet
.
I do
n't k
now
how
eith
er c
ame
or le
ft..
Lat
er, t
he f
lash
light
fou
nd n
othi
ng.
For
a ye
ar I
wat
ched
as s
omet
hing
terr
or?
happ
ines
s? g
rief
?en
tere
d an
d th
en le
ft m
y bo
dy.
Not
kno
win
g ho
w it
cam
e in
,N
ot k
now
ing
how
it w
ent o
ut.
It h
ung
whe
re w
ords
cou
ld n
ot r
each
it.
It s
lept
whe
re li
ght c
ould
not
go.
Its
scen
t was
nei
ther
sna
ke n
or r
at,
neith
er s
ensu
alis
t nor
asc
etic
.
The
re a
re o
peni
ngs
in o
ur li
ves
of w
hich
we
know
not
hing
.
Thr
ough
them
the
belle
d he
rds
trav
el a
t will
,lo
ng-l
egge
d an
d th
irst
y, c
over
ed w
ith f
orei
gn d
ust.
\\. QU
ES
TIO
NS
'FO
OL
IN
GW
ITH
WO
RD
SW
ITH
BIL
L M
OY
ER
S
Bor
n in
New
Yor
k C
ityan
d ed
ucat
ed a
t Prin
ceto
n, J
ane
Hirs
hfie
ld h
as li
ved
in N
orth
ern
Cal
iforn
ia fo
r th
e pa
st tw
enty
-fiv
eye
ars.
A s
tude
nt o
f Zen
and
agr
eat w
oman
poe
t of s
pirit
ualit
y,lo
ve, a
nd th
e na
tura
l wor
ld, s
hew
rites
with
pla
in r
ever
ence
of t
hehe
art a
nd m
ind,
bro
aden
ing
our
awar
enes
s of
the
rich
curr
ents
of
our
daily
life
.
1. W
hy d
o yo
u th
ink
the
poet
in "
The
Poe
t" p
refe
rs a
shad
eles
s la
mp?
2. W
hat e
lse,
bes
ides
"en
ough
pap
er to
mak
e m
is-
take
s an
d go
on,
" do
es th
e pe
rson
writ
ing
abou
t the
poet
in "
The
Poe
t" w
ant h
er to
hav
e? W
hy?
3. W
hat i
s an
"en
voy"
? H
ow d
oes
the
smal
l rat
or
snak
e of
"T
he E
nvoy
" op
en th
e w
ay fo
r th
e "b
elle
d"he
rds?
Why
are
thes
e he
rds
"long
- le
gged
,""t
hirs
ty,"
and
"co
vere
d w
ith fo
reig
n du
st"?
AC
TIV
ITIE
S
1. W
ith a
gro
up, d
esig
n an
d ar
rang
e, a
s if
for
the
stag
e, th
e sc
ene
desc
ribed
in "
The
Poe
t." T
ake
turn
s di
rect
ing
som
eone
pla
ying
the
poet
. Tak
etu
rns
play
ing
the
poet
. Dur
ing
rehe
arsa
ls, d
ecid
eho
w lo
ng e
ach
vers
ion
of th
e pl
ay w
ill b
e. In
trod
uce
each
per
form
ance
with
a r
eadi
ng o
f the
poe
m.
2.C
reat
e a
mur
al p
rese
ntin
g th
e ex
perie
nces
desc
ribed
in "
The
Env
oy."
Do
this
alo
ne o
r w
ith a
grou
p. If
you
do
this
with
a g
roup
, con
sult
first
on
the
imag
es e
very
one
agre
es s
houl
d be
par
t of t
hem
ural
. Dis
cuss
how
thes
e im
ages
will
rel
ate
to e
ach
othe
r.
23
Paul
Mul
doon
" P
oetr
y be
gins
with
littl
e gl
imm
erst
hese
nse
that
ther
e m
ight
be
an in
tera
ctio
nbe
twee
n tw
o th
ings
, tw
o of
ten
quite
unl
ike
thin
gs th
at c
ome
toge
ther
in a
met
apho
ror
an
imag
e:'
Sym
posi
um
You
can
lead
a h
orse
to w
ater
but
you
can
't m
ake
it ho
ldits
nos
e to
the
grin
dsto
ne a
nd h
unt w
ith th
e ho
unds
.E
very
dog
has
a s
titch
in ti
me.
Tw
o he
ads?
You
've
been
sold
one
good
turn
. One
goo
d tu
rn d
eser
ves
a bi
rd in
the
hand
.
A b
ird
in th
e ha
nd is
bet
ter
than
no
brea
d.T
o ha
ve y
our
cake
is to
pay
Pau
l.M
ake
hay
whi
le y
ou c
an s
till h
it th
e na
il on
the
head
.Fo
r w
ant o
f a
nail
the
sky
mig
ht f
all.
Peop
le in
gla
ss h
ouse
s ca
n't s
ee th
e w
ood
for
the
new
bro
om. R
ome
was
n't b
uilt
betw
een
two
stoo
ls.
Em
pty
vess
els
wai
t for
no
man
.
A h
air
of th
e do
g is
a f
rien
d in
deed
.T
here
's n
o fo
ol li
ke th
e fo
olw
ho's
sho
t his
bol
t. T
here
's n
o sm
oke
afte
r th
e ho
rse
isgo
ne.
Wha
t sto
ry h
as m
ade
the
cont
ext
of it
s te
lling
unf
orge
ttabl
e to
you
?
"Sym
posi
um"
from
Hay
by
Pau
l Mul
doon
, © 1
998
by P
aul M
uldo
on.
Rep
rinte
d by
per
mis
sion
of F
arra
r, S
trau
s &
Giro
ux, I
nc.
"The
Sig
htse
ers"
from
Quo
of b
y P
aul M
uldo
on, ©
198
3 by
Pau
l Mul
doon
.R
eprin
ted
by p
erm
issi
on o
f Wak
e F
ores
t Uni
vers
ity P
ress
.
24
Bor
n in
Nor
ther
n Ir
elan
d in
195
1, P
aul M
uldo
onw
as a
rad
io a
nd te
levi
sion
pro
duce
r w
ith th
e B
BC
bef
ore
mov
ing
to th
e U
nite
d S
tate
s in
the
late
198
0s. H
is p
assi
onfo
r ex
act d
escr
iptio
n gr
ows
from
his
aw
aren
ess
that
wha
tis
app
aren
t ofte
nco
ntai
ns a
dee
per,
stra
nger
sto
ry. H
ecu
rren
tly te
ache
sat
Prin
ceto
nU
nive
rsity
and
was
rec
ently
elec
ted
Pro
fess
orof
Poe
try
atO
xfor
d.
The
Sig
htse
ers
z 0 0
My
fath
er a
nd m
othe
r, m
y br
othe
r an
d si
ster
and
I, w
ith u
ncle
Pat
, our
dou
r be
st-l
oved
unc
le,
had
set o
ut th
at S
unda
y af
tern
oon
in J
uly
in h
is b
roke
n-do
wn
Ford
not t
o vi
sit s
ome
grav
eyar
done
die
d of
shi
ngle
s,on
e of
fev
er, a
noth
er's
kne
es tu
rned
to je
llybu
t the
bra
nd-n
ew r
ound
abou
t at B
ally
gaw
ley,
the
firs
t in
mid
-Uls
ter.
I
Unc
le P
at w
as te
lling
us
how
the
B-S
peci
als
had
stop
ped
him
one
nig
ht s
omew
here
nea
r B
ally
gaw
ley
and
smas
hed
his
bicy
cle
and
mad
e hi
m s
ing
the
Sash
and
cur
se th
e Po
pe o
f R
ome.
The
y he
ld a
pis
tol s
o ha
rd a
gain
st h
is f
oreh
ead
ther
e w
as s
till t
he m
ark
of a
n 0
whe
n he
got
hom
e.
FOO
LIN
GW
ITH
WO
RD
SW
ITH
BIL
LM
OY
ER
S
QU
ES
TIO
NS
1. L
ook
up th
e de
finiti
on o
f"s
ympo
sium
." H
ow is
Mul
doon
's p
oem
sim
ilar
toan
d di
ffere
nt fr
om th
e de
fini-
tion?
Exp
lain
why
you
thin
kth
e tit
le w
orks
or
does
n't
wor
k.
2. B
ased
on
the
setti
ng o
f "T
heS
ight
seer
s,"
wha
t are
the
"B-S
peci
als,
" an
d w
hy d
idth
ey s
top
Unc
le P
at a
nd te
r-ro
rize
him
? W
hy d
o yo
u th
ink
Mul
doon
juxt
apos
ed th
est
ory
of th
e ro
unda
bout
with
Unc
le P
at's
sto
ry o
f bru
tali-
ty?
Wha
t doe
s an
"o"
hav
eto
do
with
it?
Wha
t are
som
eot
her
stor
ies
of r
ecur
ring
viol
ence
?
AC
TIV
ITIE
S
1C
reat
e yo
ur o
wn
verb
al"s
ympo
sium
," u
sing
par
ts o
fw
ell-k
now
n ap
horis
ms,
prov
erbs
, or
folk
say
ings
.C
reat
e yo
ur o
wn
visu
al"s
ympo
sium
," u
sing
wid
ely
diffe
rent
kin
ds o
f im
ages
from
mag
azin
es, n
ewsp
a-pe
rs, a
nd p
hoto
grap
hs.
2. A
fter
liste
ning
to P
aul
Mul
doon
rea
d "T
heS
ight
seer
s,"
writ
e ab
out a
fam
ily e
vent
you
exp
eri-
ence
d an
d de
scrib
e it
inre
latio
n to
a p
lace
in y
our
neig
hbor
hood
or
city
.r-
4.
Stanley Kunitz FOOL IN GWITH WORDS
"The remarkable thing that I feel is that despitethe aging of the bodydespite those achesand pains and all the rest of what happens toone at this stage of a lifethe spirit remainsyoung. It's the same spirit I remember livingwith during my childhood."
The Portrait
My mother never forgave my fatherfor killing himself,especially at such an awkward timeand in a public park,that springwhen I was waiting to be born.She locked his namein her deepest cabinetand would not let him out,though I could hear him thumping.When I came down from the atticwith the pastel portrait in my handof a long-lipped strangerwith a brave moustacheand deep brown level eyes,she ripped it into shredswithout a single wordand slapped me hard.In my sixty-fourth yearI can feel my cheekstill burning.
Stanley Kunitzwelcomed his ninetiethyear in 1995 with a newcollection of luminous,life-affirming poemstitled Passing Through.Exceptionally generousand encouraging toyounger artists, StanleyKunitz has receivednearly every honor ourculture can bestowupon a poet. He and hiswife summer inProvincetown,Massachusetts, andwinter in New York City.
The Round
Light splashed this morningon the shell-pink anemonesswaying on their tall stems;down blue-spiked veronicalight flowed in rivuletsover the humps of the honeybees;this morning I saw light kissthe silk of the rosesin their second flowering,my late bloomersflushed with their brandy.A curious gladness shook me.
So I have shut the doors of my house,so I have trudged downstairs to my cell,so I am sitting in semi-darkhunched over my deskwith nothing for a viewto tempt mebut a bloated compost heap,steamy old stinkpile,under my window;and I pick my notebook upand I start to read aloudthe still-wet words I scribbledon the blotted page:"Light splashed . ."
I can scarcely wait till tomorrowwhen a new life begins for me,as it does each day,as it does each day.
\ A / hen did r.1.1 Oast notice that"Light splashed this morning"?
26
Stanley Kunitz
Halley's Comet
Miss Murphy in first gradewrote its name in chalkacross the board and told usit was roaring down the stormtracksof the Milky Way at frightful speedand if it wandered off its courseand smashed into the earththere'd be no school tomorrow.A red-bearded preacher from the hillswith a wild look in his eyesstood in the public squareat the playground's edgeproclaiming he was sent by Godto save every one of us,even the little children."Repent, ye sinners!" he shouted,waving his hand-lettered sign.At supper I felt sad to thinkthat it was probablythe last meal I'd sharewith my mother and my sisters;but I felt excited tooand scarcely touched my plate.So mother scolded meand sent me early to my room.The whole family's asleepexcept for me. They never heard me stealinto the stairwell hall and climbthe ladder to the fresh night air.
Look for me, Father, on the roofof the red brick buildingat the foot of Green Streetthat's where we live, you know, on the top floor.I'm the boy in the white flannel gownsprawled on this coarse gravel bedsearching the starry sky,waiting for the world to end.
"The Round" © 1985 by Stanley Kunitz, "Halley's Comet" © 1995 by Stanley Kunitz, "ThePortrait" © 1971 by Stanley Kunitz, from PASSING THROUGH: The Later Poems New andSelected by Stanley Kunitz. Reprinted by permission of W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
27
QUESTIONS
1. Why does the poet in "TheRound" refer to his room as a"cell"? Why do you think hearranged his room downstairs,with his desk offering nothing fora view except "a bloated com-post heap"?
2. Why doesn't "The Round" startin the poet's "cell"?
3. How does the poet of "TheRound" help a new life to beginfor himself each day?
4. Both "Halley's Comet" and "ThePortrait" recall childhood memo-ries. Which do you think is theearlier memory? Which themore private memory? Whichthe more disturbing memory?
ACTIVITIES
1. Stanley Kunitz wrote "Halley'sComet" on the occasion of thecomet's second pass by ourplanet during his lifetime. Findout what you can about Halley'sComet, especially the popularresponse to those appearances.Write ten lines that connect amajor natural event that youhave experienced or know aboutwith something in your life.
2. Arrange a choral reading of "TheRound" as a musical "round."Assign each of its three stanzasto a different group of readers.Let each group practice sepa-rately, repeating the stanzaassigned. Then combine thegroups by experimenting withways of layering the stanzas,while keeping them all going atonce.
Kurtis Lamkin"The kora talks, for real.That's why when Africans were
brought here all African instruments were banned fromthe United Statesbecause they could talk:'
Kurtis Lamkin accompanies his oral praise poems onthe kora, a twenty-one-stringed West African harp-lute used byDjelis (griots, troubadours). His poems explore the counterpointbetween the fixed meaning of words and the raw sounds thatemerge from and dissolve into feeling. A native of Philadelphia,he lives with his family in Charleston, South Carolina.
jump mama
pretty summer daygrammama sittin on her porch
easyrockin her grandbaby in her wide lap
of men sittin in their lincolntastin and talkin and talkin and tastin
young boys on the cornermilkin a yak yak wild hands baggy pants
young girls halfway up the blockjumpin that double dutch
singin their songkenny kana paula
be on timecause school beginsat a quarter to nine
jump one two three and aaaaaaah. . .
round the corner comesthis young woman
draggin herself heavy home from workshe sees the young boys
sees the old menbut when she sees the girls she just starts smilin
she says let me get a little bit of thatthey say you can't jump
you too old
why they say thato, why they say that
How do you "shake thesnake / that coils aroundour humble lives"?
FOOL IN GWITH WORDS
7
she says tanya you hold my work bagchaniqua come over here girl i want you to hold my handbag
josie could you hold my grocery bagplease
kebe take my purseshe starts bobbin her head, jackin her arms
tryin to catch the rhythm of the ropesand when she jumps inside those turning loops
the girls crowd her sing their songkenny kana. paula
be on timecause school beginsat a quarter to nine
jump one two three andh
she jumps on one leg aaaaahshe dances sassy saucy aaaaah
jump for the girls mamajump for the stars mama
jump for the young boys sayinjump mama! jump mama!
jump for the old woman sayinaww, go head baby
and what the young girls saywhat the young girls say
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah
28
Kurtis Lamkin
the million man march
we do rightwe do wrong
we do time overtimewe do what it takes to shake the snake
that coils around our humble liveswhatever we can do
we do
we do lunchwe do meetings
we do fundraisers we do marcheswe send a million men
to carry peace to the heart of a cold cold nationsome say we don't count
we dowe always do
suppose there's a godwho thinks that we are god
who loves us so deeply she followed us herewe work so hard every trick looks like a miracle
and then we name the trickster godif there is a god
who thinks that we are goddo we hear her prayer
do we?
in the deep dark hourwhen we are all alone
what is that sound what is that prayerwhat is this faith
we do
"jump mama" by Kurtis Lamkin, © 1997 by Kurtis Lamkin; "the million man march" byKurtis Lamkin, © 1997 by Kurtis Lamkin. Reprinted by permission of Kurtis Lamkin.
29
QUESTIONS
1. Kurtis Lamkin's performancesoften vary considerably from theprinted texts of his poems. Howmight the context of each perfor-mance figure in these varia-tions? Would you regard theprinted or the performed versionas primary? Why?
2. If the kora can talk, what do youhear it saying in Kurtis Lamkin'sperformance of "the million manmarch"?
3. In what ways could our nationbe seen as "a cold cold nation"?
4. In what ways does "jump mama"honor the spirit of community?
ACTIVITIES
1. Review the performances ofColeman Barks, Amiri Baraka,and Kurtis Lamkin, paying atten-tion to how each uses a rhyth-mic, musical background. Applywhat you have learned as youperform poemsby these poetsor by othersover a rhythmic,musical background.
2. With a group of others, researchthe Million Man March. Why didit occur? Why was it controver-sial? How did others whoattended respond to it?Compare your findings to KurtisLamkin's poem. Discuss yourfindings with your researchgroup.
3. Find an instrument that "talks,for real" to you, then read apoem (perhaps one of your own)to its sound.
4. Use a childhood rhyme or gameto start a poem.
Shirley Geok-lin Lim"1 started writing when I was about nine. I loved the
idea of going into a space where there is languagewhich is yours, which is completely private, and whichyou can do anything withyou can curse someoneyou cannot curse otherwise, you can create a spaceof beauty when all around you there is poverty anddeprivation.The act of writing poems is the act thathas centered me all my life:'
Shirley Geok-lin Lim, born in thehistoric British colony of Malacca, writesfrom her Chinese-Malaysian heritage andthe landscape of the United States, ofwhich she is now a citizen. Her books ofpoetry have received the CommonwealthPoetry Prize and the American BookAward. She is professor of English andWomen's Studies at the University ofCalifornia, Santa Barbara, and is currentlyon leave as Chair Professor of English atthe University of Hong Kong.
Riding into California
If you come to a land with no ancestorsto bless you, you have to be your ownancestor. The veterans in the mobile homepark don't want to be there. It isn't easy.Oil rigs litter the land like giant frozen birds.Ghosts welcome us to a new life, andan immigrant without home ghostscannot believe the land is real. So you'regrateful for familiarity, and Bruce Leebecomes your hero. Coming into Fullerton,everyone waiting at the station is white.The good thing about being Chinese on Amtrackis no one sits next to you. The bad thing isyou sit alone all the way to Irvine.
FOOLINGWITH WORDS
WITH BILL MOYERS
What ghostshave welcomedyou to anew life?
Shirley Geok-lin Lim
Pantoun for Chinese Women
"At present, the phenomena of butchering, drowningand leaving to die female infants have been very serious."(The People's Daily, Peking, March 3'd, 1983)
They say a child with two mouths is no good.In the slippery wet, a hollow space,Smooth, gumming, echoing wide for food.No wonder my man is not here at his place.
In the slippery wet, a hollow space,A slit narrowly sheathed within its hood.No wonder my man is not here at his place:He is digging for the dragon jar of soot.
That slit narrowly sheathed within its hood!His mother, squatting, coughs by the fire's blazeWhile he digs for the dragon jar of soot.We had saved ashes for a hundred days.
His mother, squatting, coughs by the fire's blaze.The child kicks against me mewing like a flute.We had saved ashes for a hundred days.Knowing, if the time came, that we would.
The child kicks against me crying like a fluteThrough its two weak mouths. His mother praysKnowing when the time comes that we would,For broken clay is never set in glaze.
Through her two weak mouths his mother prays.She will not pluck the rooster nor serve its blood,For broken clay is never set in glaze:Women are made of river sand and wood.
She will not pluck the rooster nor serve its blood.My husband frowns, pretending in his hasteWomen are made of river sand and wood.Milk soaks the bedding. I cannot bear the waste.
My husband frowns, pretending in his haste.Oh clean the girl, dress her in ashy soot!Milks soaks our bedding, I cannot bear the waste.They say a child with two mouths is no good.
"Pantoun for Chinese Women" by Shirley Geok-lin Lim, © 1982, 1983 by Shirley Geok-linLim. Reprinted by permission of Shirley Geok-lin Lim."Riding into California" from What the Fortune Teller Didn't Say by Shirley Geok-lin Lim,© 1998 by Shirley Geok-lin Lim. Reprinted by permission of West End Press.
31
QUESTIONS
1. Shirley Geok-lin Lim writes that"you have to be your own ances-tor," while Lucille Clifton writesthat she grew up with "nomodel." How are these twowomen's statements and theexperiences they describe simi-lar? Different?
2. Study Shirley Geok-lin Lim's pan-toun and then explain how towrite one Why do you thinkShirley Geok-lin Lim chose thisform to talk about Chinesewomen? What happens whenyou hear a line the second time?For what subject or group wouldyou like to write a pantoun?
3. How does the epigraph from thenewspaper aid or distract you inyour appreciation of "Pantounfor Chinese Women"?
ACTIVITIES
1. Create a work for a group thatsuffers oppression. Your workmight be a poem (such as a pan-toun), a dance, a film, a photoessay, a song, or any other formOf expression. Explain whom thework is for and why you made it.
2. Suppose you've come to a coun-try or planet where no one likeyou has been before. "You haveto be your own ancestor," asShirley Geok-lin Lim says. Writea story or narrative poemdescribing how you make your-self feel at home. Describe someof the things that are challengingand some of the things that areenjoyable.
Shar
on 0
1s
"The
re is
som
ethi
ng e
xciti
ng to
me
abou
t writ
ing
abou
t som
ethi
ng th
at I
have
n't w
ritte
n ab
out b
efor
ean
d th
at m
aybe
I ha
ven'
t rea
d a
lot o
f poe
ms
abou
t....
Whe
n I g
rew
up
ther
e w
ere
so fe
w p
oem
s ab
out
wom
en fr
om a
wom
an's
poi
nt o
f vie
w, s
o fe
w p
oem
sab
out c
hild
ren
from
a c
hild
's p
oint
of v
iew
."
The
Cla
sp
She
was
fou
r, h
e w
as o
ne, i
t was
rai
ning
, we
had
cold
s,w
e ha
d be
en in
the
apar
tmen
t tw
o w
eeks
str
aigh
t,I
grab
bed
her
to k
eep
her
from
sho
ving
him
ove
r on
his
face
, aga
in, a
nd w
hen
I ha
d he
r w
rist
in m
y gr
asp
I co
mpr
esse
d it,
fie
rcel
y, f
or a
cou
ple
of s
econ
ds, t
o m
ake
an im
pres
sion
on
her,
to h
urt h
er, o
ur b
elov
ed f
irst
born
, I e
ven
alm
ost
savo
red
the
stin
ging
sen
satio
n of
the
sque
ezin
g,th
e ex
pres
sion
, int
o he
r, o
f m
y an
ger,
"Nev
er, n
ever
, aga
in,"
the
righ
teou
sch
ant a
ccom
pany
ing
the
clas
p.It
hap
pene
d ve
ryfa
stgr
ab, c
rush
, cru
sh,
crus
h, r
elea
sean
d at
the
firs
t ext
rafo
rce,
she
sw
ung
her
head
, as
if c
heck
ing
who
this
was
, and
look
ed a
t me,
and
saw
mey
es, t
his
was
her
mom
,he
r m
om w
as d
oing
this
. Her
dar
k,de
eply
ope
n ey
es to
ok m
ein
, she
kne
w m
e, in
the
shoc
k of
the
mom
ent
she
lear
ned
me.
Thi
s w
as h
er m
othe
r, o
ne o
f th
etw
o w
hom
she
mos
t lov
ed, t
he tw
ow
ho lo
ved
her
mos
t, ne
ar th
e so
urce
of
love
was
this
.
3,2e
Cla
sp"
(cop
yrig
ht ©
Sha
ron
Old
s) fi
rst a
ppea
red
in T
he A
mer
ican
Poe
try
Rev
iew
.
Bor
n in
San
Fra
ncis
co in
1942
, Sha
ron
Old
s w
as r
aise
d as
a"h
ellfi
re C
alvi
nist
" in
Ber
kele
y,C
alifo
rnia
. Her
wor
k ha
s be
enpr
aise
d fo
r its
cou
rage
, em
otio
nal
pow
er, a
nd e
xtra
ordi
nary
phy
sica
li-ty
. She
teac
hes
in th
e G
radu
ate
Cre
ativ
e W
ritin
g P
rogr
am a
t New
Yor
k U
nive
rsity
and
is th
e S
tate
Poe
t of N
ew Y
ork
from
199
8-20
00.
FOO
L I
N G
WIT
HW
OR
DS
WIT
H B
ILL
MO
YE
RS
QU
ES
TIO
NS
1. H
ow w
ould
you
des
crib
e th
e fa
mily
pres
ente
d in
the
"The
Cla
sp"?
How
is th
e da
ught
er li
ke o
r un
like
her
mot
her?
2. H
ow d
oes
the
info
rmat
ion
prov
ided
in th
e fir
st tw
o lin
es o
f "T
he C
lasp
"af
fect
you
r re
spon
se to
the
cent
ral
even
t in
the
poem
? W
hat a
bout
the
info
rmat
ion
prov
ided
in th
e th
irdan
d fo
urth
line
s?
3. H
ow d
oes
"The
Cla
sp"
intr
oduc
eth
e po
em d
iffer
ently
from
, say
, "T
heG
rab"
?
AC
TIV
ITIE
S
1. W
ith o
ne o
r tw
o ot
hers
, rea
d "T
heC
lasp
" al
oud,
list
enin
g to
wha
t dif-
fere
nt r
eade
rs e
mph
asiz
e an
d pa
y-in
g pa
rtic
ular
atte
ntio
n to
the
con-
tras
t bet
wee
n ho
w e
ach
natu
rally
read
s th
e "r
ight
eous
cha
nt"
and
the
lines
that
follo
w it
.
2. W
ith a
sm
all g
roup
, act
out
Sha
ron
Old
s's
"The
Cla
sp"
and
Sta
nley
Kun
itz's
"T
he P
ortr
ait."
Dis
cuss
whi
ch w
as m
ore
chal
leng
ing
to a
ctou
t. D
iscu
ss w
hich
was
mor
esh
ocki
ng to
exp
erie
nce.
Wha
t "in
the
shoc
k of
the
mom
ent"
hav
eyo
u se
en "
near
the
sour
ce o
f lov
e"?
33
Poem Subjects and ThemesPoems from FOOLING WITH WORDS WITH BILL MOYERS can be mixed and matchedaccording to the following subjects and themesor you can create your own connections.Here are a few of the possibilities.
POEMS OF CHILDHOOD
Paul Muldoon, "The Sightseers"Kurtis Lamkin, "jump mama"Stanley Kunitz, "Halley's Comet"Stanley Kunitz, "The Portrait"
POEMS OF ANIMALS
Mark Doty, "New Dog"Mark Doty, "Golden Retrievals"Jane Hirshfield, "The Envoy"Deborah Garrison, "Please Fire Me"Robert Pinsky, "The Want Bone"
POEMS OF FAMILY LIFE
Lucille Clifton, "oh absalom my son my son"Deborah Garrison, "Father, R.I.P., Sums Me Up at Twenty-Three"Paul Muldoon, "The Sightseers"Robert Pinsky, "To Television"Stanley Kunitz, "Halley's Comet"Stanley Kunitz, "The Portrait"Sharon Olds, "The Clasp"
POEMS OF SURVIVAL
Lucille Clifton, "won't you celebrate with me"Shirley Geok-lin Lim, "Riding into California"Amiri Baraka, "Wise I"Lorna Dee Cervantes, "Poet's Progress"Stanley Kunitz, "The Round"Stanley Kunitz, "Halley's Comet"Robert Pinsky, "The Want Bone"Mark Doty, "New Dog"
POEMS OF COMMUNITY
Mark Doty, "Messiah (Christmas Portions)"Stanley Kunitz, "Halley's Comet"Kurtis Lamkin, "jump mama"
POEMS OF WORK
Deborah Garrison, "Please Fire Me"Coleman Barks/Rumi, "Jars of Springwater"Coleman Barks/Rumi, "Today, like every other day"Stanley Kunitz, "The Round"Amiri Baraka, "Wise, Why's, Y'z (Africa Section)"
POEMS OF CULTURAL DIVERSITY
Lucille Clifton, "won't you celebrate with me"Marge Piercy, "The chuppah"Shirley Geok-lin Lim, "Pantoun for Chinese Women"Shirley Geok-lin Lim, "Riding into California"Paul Muldoon, "The Sightseers"Lorna Dee Cervantes, "Poet's Progress"Amiri Baraka, "Wise, Why's, Y'z (Africa Section)"Amiri Baraka, "Wise I"Kurtis Lamkin, "the million man march"
3 4
FOOLINGWITH WORDS..
WITH BILL MOYERS
POEMS OF WOMEN'S RIGHTS
Lucille Clifton, "won't you celebrate with me"Marge Piercy, "What are big girls made of?'Deborah Garrison, "Please Fire Me"Shirley Geok-lin Lim, "Pantoun for Chinese Women"Jane Hirshfield, "The Poet"
POEMS OF POLITICS AND HISTORY
Paul Muldoon, "The Sightseers"Shirley Geok-lin Lim, "Pantoun for Chinese Women"Shirley Geok-lin Lim, "Riding into California"Amiri Baraka, "Monday in B Flat"Amiri Baraka, "Wise, Why's, Y'z (Africa Section)"Amiri Baraka, "Wise I"Kurtis Lamkin, "the million man march"
POEMS OF MUSIC AND DANCE
Mark Doty, "Messiah (Christmas Portions)"Coleman Barks/Rumi, "Where Everything Is Music"Coleman Barks/Rumi, "Today, like every other day"Kurtis Lamkin, "jump mama"Amiri Baraka, "Wise I"
POEMS OF WORDPLAY
Paul Muldoon, "Symposium"Robert Pinsky, "ABC"Mark Doty, "Golden Retrievals"
POEMS OF CONSCIOUSNESS
Mark Doty, "Golden Retrievals"Coleman Barks/Rumi, "Jars of Springwater"Coleman Barks/Rumi, "Where Everything Is Music"
POEMS OF POETS AND POETRY
Coleman Barks/Rumi, "Today, like every other day"Coleman Barks/Rumi, "Where Everything is Music"Lorna Dee Cervantes, "Poet's Progress"Jane Hirshfield, "The Poet"Jane Hirshfield, "The Envoy"Stanley Kunitz, "The Round"Robert Pinsky, "If You Could Write One Great Poem"
POEMS OF FAITH AND SKEPTICISM
Lucille Clifton, "oh absalom my son my son"Mark Doty, "Messiah (Christmas Portions)"Stanley Kunitz, "Halley's Comet"Amiri Baraka, "Monday in B Flat"Coleman Barks/Rumi, "Where Everything Is Music"Coleman Barks/Rumi, "Today, like every other day"Kurtis Lamkin, "the million man march"
Marge Piercy"When I first found
poetry that spoke tomea street kid fromDetroit, from a poorfamilyit was valida-tion that I wasn'tcrazy, wasn't bizarre,wasn't totally nutty.There were otherpeople who felt theway I felt:'
The chuppah
The chuppah stands on four poles.The home has its four corners.The chuppah stands on four poles.The marriage stands on four legs.Four points loose the windsthat blow on the walls of the house,the south wind that brings the warm rain,the east wind that brings the cold rain,the north wind that brings the cold sunand the snow, the long west windbringing the weather off the far plains.
Here we live open to the seasons.Here the winds caress and cuff uscontrary and fierce as bears.Here the winds are caught and snarlingin the pines, a cat in a net clawingbreaking twigs to fight loose.Here the winds brush our facessoft in the morning as feathersthat float down from a dove's breast.
Here the moon sails up out of the oceandripping like a just washed apple.Here the sun wakes us like a baby.Therefore the chuppah has no sides.
"Why should we wantto live inside ads?"
FOOL IN GWITH WORDS
;
Marge Piercywas born in a working-class family in Detroit andattended the University ofMichigan on scholarship.She is the author of fif-teen volumes of poetryand sixteen novels, ingenre as diverse as his-torical fiction, science fic-tion, contemporarythrillers, and family sagas.Her themes encompasssocial justice for men andwomen, nature and spiri-tuality, especially the"lunar side" of Judaism.
It is not a box.It is not a coffin.It is not a dead end.Therefore the chuppah has no walls.We have made a home togetheropen to the weather of our time.We are mills that turn in the winds of struggleconverting fierce energy into bread.
The canopy is the cloth of our tablewhere we share fruit and vegetablesof our labor, where our care for the earthcomes back and we take its body in ours.
The canopy is the cover of our bedwhere our bodies open their portals wide,where we eat and drink the bloodof our love, where the skin shines redas a swallowed sunrise and we burnin one furnace of joy molten as steeland the dream is flesh and flower.
0 my love 0 my love we danceunder the chuppah standing over uslike an animal on its four legs,like a table on which we set our loveas a feast, like a tentunder which we worknot safe but no longer solitaryin the searing heat of our time.
35
Marge Piercyfrom What are big girls made of?
The construction of a woman:a woman is not made of fleshof bone and sinewbelly and breasts, elbows and liver and toe.She is manufactured like a sports sedan.She is retooled, refitted and redesignedevery decade.
Look at pictures in French fashionmagazines of the 18th century:century of the ultimate ladyfantasy wrought of silk and corseting.Paniers bring her hips out three feeteach way, while the waist is pinchedand the belly flattened under wood.The breasts are stuffed up and outoffered like apples in a bowl.The tiny foot is encased in a slippernever meant for walking.On top is a grandiose headache:hair like a museum piece, dailyornamented with ribbons, vases,grottoes, mountains, frigates in fullsail, balloons, baboons, the fancyof a hairdresser turned loose.The hats were rococo wedding cakesthat would dim the Las Vegas strip.Here is a woman forced into shaperigid exoskeleton torturing flesh:a woman made of pain.
How superior we are now: see the modern womanthin as a blade of scissors.She runs on a treadmill every morning,fits herself into machines of weightsand pulleys to heave and grunt,an image in her mind she can neverapproximate, a body of rosyglass that never wrinkles,never grows, never fades. Shesits at the table closing her eyes to foodhungry, always hungry:a woman made of pain.
If only we could like each other raw.If only we could love ourselveslike healthy babies burbling in our arms.If only we were not programmed and reprogrammedto need what is sold us.Why should we want to live inside ads?Why should we want to scourge our softnessto straight lines like a Mondrian painting?Why should we punish each other with scornas if to have a large asswere worse than being greedy or mean?
When will women not be compelledto view their bodies as science projects,gardens to be weeded,dogs to be trained?When will a woman ceaseto be made of pain?
QUESTIONS
1. A chuppah is a canopy held up by four people in a Jewishwedding. Tradition calls for the bride and groom to standunder the chuppah during the ceremony. How does Piercyuse the chuppah as a symbol in her poem? Why do youthink traditions and symbols are important to a culture?
2. Near the end of "What are big girls made of?" MargePiercy writes, "If only we could like each other raw. / If onlywe could love ourselves / like healthy babies burbling in ourarms." What messages do you think society givesteenagers about how they should look? What happens topeople who take those messages too seriously?
"The chuppah" from THE ART OF BLESSING THE DAYby Marge Piercy,© 1985, 1999 by Marge Piercy. Reprinted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, Inc."What are big girls made of?" from WHAT ARE BIG GIRLS MADE OF? by MargePiercy, © 1997 by Marge Piercy. Reprinted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
ACTIVITIES
1 A chuppah is a physical object that has symbolic meanings.Choose a physical object you find interestingit could besomething unique to your culture, or it could be a personalitem. Describe how that object has meaning in your experi-ence or in someone else's experience.
2. Marge Piercy says, "Observing the contradictions of mymother's life taught me a lot about women's lives." What lifehave you observed closely? What has it taught you? In writ-ing, dance, or illustration, express what you've learned.
3. Research a particular style of clothing or a particular ideaabout beauty in history or in other cultures. What do youthink that style or idea implies about the way peoplethought of themselves? How was the style or idea differentfor men and for women? Share your findings in any formatyou like.
3u
Robert Pinsky
To Television
"Poetry is the art of one human voice.Withoutdenigrating art on a mass scaleI love my TV,my computer, and my VCRthere's a cravingand a satisfaction available in an art that in itsnature is on an individual scale:'
Not a "window on the world"But as we call you,A box a tube
Terrarium of dreams and wonders.Coffer of shades, ordainedCotillion of phosphorsOr liquid crystal
The current U.S. Poet Laureate andthe first to serve for more than two years,Robert Pinsky grew up in Long Branch, NewJersey. His Favorite PoemArchive will gather a databasedescribing what poetry meansto us, as a nation, at the closeof the twentieth century. Heteaches at Boston University.
Homey miracle, tubOf acquiescence, vein of defiance.Your patron in the pantheon would be Hermes
Raster dance,Quick one, little thief, escortOf the dying and.comfort of the sick,
In a blue glow my father and little sister satSnuggled in one chair watching youTheir wife and mother was sick in the headI scorned you and them as I scorned so much
Now I like you best in a hotel room,Maybe minutesBefore I have to face an audience: behindThe doors of the armoire, boxWithin a boxTom & Jerry, or also brilliantAnd reassuring, Oprah Winfrey.
Thank you, for I watched, I watchedSid Caesar speaking French and Japanese notThrough knowledge but imagination,His quickness, and Thank you, I watched liveJackie Robinson stealing
Home, the image-0 strung shellenduringFleeter than light like these words weRemember in: they too are wingedAt the helmet and ankles.
3 7
'
ABC
Any body can die, evidently. FewGo happily, irradiating joy,
Knowledge, love. MostNeed oblivion, painkillers,Quickest respite.
Sweet time unafflicted,Various world:
X = your zenith.
What has television'squickness given to you?Taken from you?
Robert Pinsky
If You Could Write One Great Poem,What Would You Want It To Be About?(Asked of four student poets at the IllinoisSchools for the Deaf and Visually Impaired)
Fire: because it is quick, and can destroy.Music: place where anger has its place.Romantic Lovethe cold or stupid ask why.Sign: that it is a language, full of grace,
That it is visible, invisible, dark and clear,That it is loud and noiseless and is containedInside a body and explodes in airOut of a body to conquer from the mind.
The Want Bone
The tongue of the waves tolled in the earth's bell.Blue rippled and soaked in the fire of blue.The dried mouthbones of a shark in the hot swaleGaped on nothing but sand on either side.
The bone tasted of nothing and smelled of nothing,A scalded toothless harp, uncrushed, unstrung.The joined arcs made the shape of birth and cravingAnd the welded-open shape kept mouthing 0.
Ossified cords held the corners togetherIn groined spirals pleated like a summer dress.But where was the limber grin, the gash of pleasure?Infinitesimal mouths bore it away.
The beach scrubbed and etched and pickled it clean.But 0 I love you it sings, my little my countryMy food my parent my child I want you my ownMy flower my fin my life my lightness my 0.
"To Television" by Robert Pinsky, 1998 by Robert Pinsky. "ABC" by Robert Pinsky,© 1999 by Robert Pinsky. Reprinted by permission of Robert Pinsky."The Want Bone" from THE WANT BONE by Robert Pinsky, © 1990 by Robert Pinsky.Reprinted by permission of the Ecco Press."If You Could Write One Great Poem, What Would You Want It To Be About?" fromTHE FIGURED WHEEL by Robert Pinsky, © 1996 by Robert Pinsky. Reprinted by per-mission of the Noonday Press.
QUESTIONS
1. The specific language describ-ing Sid Caesar and JackieRobinson in "To Television"gives us important informationabout each and develops ourunderstanding of Hermes,"Quick one, little thief."According to this poem, whatqualities link Caesar, Robinson,and Hermes?
2. Hermesa Greek messengergodis also described in "ToTelevision" as "escort / Of thedying and comfort of the sick."How does television performthese functions in this poem?
3. The title "ABC" seems to implyan elementary, predictable expe-rience. In what ways does thepoem fulfill or evade this impli-cation?
4. What value would you give to Xin "X=your zenith"?
ACTIVITIES
1. Use the alphabet to write aseries of stories, sketches, orpoems of your own. In your firsteffort, let the sequence of thealphabet determine every thirdword. In your second, everyother word. In your third, everyword.
2. With a group, try different read-ings of "ABC." Make notes ofwhat you notice in each reading.Discuss what your group couldnow offer to increase anyone'spleasure in hearing and speak-ing this poem.
3. Create your own list ofmetaphors for television or someother object or institutionradio, computer, automobile,shopping mall, school, etc.thathas both personal and socialsignificance.
4. Draw the whole scenedescribed in "To Television."
.00/14:'09 TUE 11:50 FAX
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