Original Poems 1

Where I Am From:

I am from wiffle ball bats, from Gillete and Suave.

I am from the archaic barn.
I am from the rose merry, the chives
I am from hiking and talkative, from Christine and Mike and Hill.
I am from the writing and running.
From honesty and kindness.
I am from no church. Only visiting once and a while on Christmas.
I'm from Albany and Ireland, potatoes and tacos.
From the death of my uncle, the life of Sophie and the hardiness of my grandpa .
I am from the memory boxes in my closets, the photo albums in the living room. All displaying my past along with my families past. Old trips to Maine and new friends and family members.All together representing where i am from. 


Fading Away:
Youre breathing quickens 
And so does your pace
The adrenalin flows
You mind completely clear   
 And so does your pace
You try to think but its just a jumble
 You mind completely clear 
You relax and fade away
 You try to think but its just a jumble
A momentary return to the real world as you step on a twig
 You relax and fade away
But you soon fade back into nothingness 
 You relax and fade away
  Youre breathing quickens 
A momentary return to the real world as you step on a twig
The adrenalin flows


Running:
Rude awakening to morning grogginess
Uncontrollable feelings of nothing
No boundaries to what you can do
Never wanting to stop
Intense discomfort that happiness when you are finished
No outside problems cross your mind
Going beyond comfort
  

Vocabulary On My Mind

There once was a very ponderous man named Robert. Even though Robert was his real name was Rob he was unwavering in the idea that his name was Sam. Rob or Sam as most people called him had a very volatile temper and was a very pugnacious man when it came to the fact that his name was Sam not Rob. Many of Rob's friends were very scared of him due to that fact that when he gets mad he is very intimidating and he was very often mad. Besides the fact that Rob was very fervent when it came to what his name was he was also a glutton. Rob ate and ate and ate in huge amounts and due to this he was an extremely obese man. Rob spent huge amounts of money on food but besides that he was a very thrifty man. He rarely spent over 20 dollars on anything and because of this he had a lot of extra money for all the food he wanted. Even though Rob ate a lot he was a very cynical man and was often called a misanthrope. In all honesty Rob really was a misanthrope and he was known for rebuking chef's cooking and chastising the chef's restaurants in his food reviews. Rob wasn't a professional food reviewer; he just did it in his free time. Even though you would think that Rob would get pleasure from writing reviews he didn't. You see Rob was a very phlegmatic man and he rarely ever enjoyed anything. Except food. Over all Rob was a very superficial man and lead a very superfluous life.

What I Need to Know about WRITING AND WRITERS to Become a Better Writer

For the past four classes we have been visited by four local writers. All of the writers have told us what they do, why they do it, why they like it and many other questions that we threw their way. All of the writer’s presentations were unique and interesting all in their own different ways. But it is safe to say that I enjoyed all of them. After witnessing all the presentations my views on writing very much changed. It became more evident to me that people write not because of their jobs but because they want to write. Many people write for their jobs but many others write for fun. This was a shocking new idea to me. I always figured that people wrote because it was their job but now I know that most people write because they enjoy it. Seeing this prompted me to thinking of a new documentary topic. Our old topic was; "How does writing play into your job?" But after seeing the presentations I want to rephrase out topic. It is now going to be; "How does writing play into your job and do you enjoy the writing that you do for your job?" I feel like this is a much better question. I feel this way because it really in my mind characterizes why people write. People write because they need to in their jobs but they also write because they like it. So with this question you get both of the reasons in one question.

1/17 speaker = 4/5 stars

Round Four = Robyn Ringler

What do you LIKE in each essay and what direct links to her life, based on the biography, can you make that gives the essays more power for you as a reader?

I read the biography for and three essays by Robyn Ringler. And after reading the Ringler's bio the essays had a lot more meaning that I fell they would have if I didn't read her bio. The three essays that I read by Ringler were Dissection, letter to Al Pacino, and Hanging with Horses. I enjoyed all three of these essays. In Dissection in enjoyed how Ringler set up the essay. Ringler made you fear what was going to happen next but then made you feel relieved when you found out the issue was less severe. When she wrote; "Vertebral artery dissection was a better diagnosis because the treatment did not include brain surgery" I actually felt relieved. It was nice to know that she didn't have to have brain surgery. Based on Ringler's biography I feel the essay is much more powerful. In the essay I learned how amazing of a life that Ringler had had and it was relieving knowing that she didn't have to risk her life. In letter To Al Pacino I really enjoyed how she described Pacino. In the beginning she explains how when Ringler and her sister approach him he seems angry but after a while of talking she says; "For the first time, our eyes made contact. You began to laugh and your whole body seemed to relax. Mine did too."In my opinion Ringler did a good job of building Pacino up as a person and making you like Pacino as a person. After reading her bio I also found this essay a lot more powerful. In her bio you lean that Ringler is a stay at home mom and that shows that she really cares about her child. And in the essay she talks about how it was hard being away from her family for a day and this becomes even more powerful after reading her bio. I also enjoyed Hanging with Horses. I found it pretty comical. I enjoyed how Ringler wrote the story. She starts out slow just talking about being on the horse but then the tone of the piece changes as she talks about not being able to get off of the horse due to a clothing malfunction. After reading Ringler's bio the essay becomes a lot more powerful. In Ringler's bio you get the feeling that she likes to have fun and you see this in the essay. Ringler writes;
"Dan began to walk forward. With each step, the front of my bra slid further down the saddle horn. I tried to say an authoritative “Whoa” but I was helpless with laughter." This proves the point that Ringler likes to have fun. It also shows that Ringler can make something out of nothing. 

1/12 speaker= (4/5)

Round Three = Stephen Leslie

The definition of a Haibun poem is; a combination of prose and haiku poetry. A related form is 'Tanka Prose' – a combination of prose and tanka poetry. To tell you the truth when I read what Haibun poetry was I really didn't understand it. I needed to read a few examples by Stephen Leslie to really get an understanding of what it was. After reading a few of his poems I feel like a have a rough understanding of the way you write them. In his Haibun's Leslie starts off with a paragraph of two that kind of set the floor and then a short sentence of two that brings you closer to the end and then a haiku that finishes off the poem. In the beginning of the poem it really isn't a poem. It is more like a story that help build up into a poem. For instance in Leslies Haibun about the red tailed hawk his first paragraph reads like; “It was a large red-tailed hawk decked in a gorgeous mane of white and brown feathers. One-inch claws clenched, his yellow eyes closed, his body crumpled … face down in the asphalt." That was just a little blurb from the first paragraph but it gives you the idea of how it’s not really poetry more storytelling. The second part of the Haibun is where it is sort of a hybrid between poetry and writing as shown in the poem Her; "Sometimes I wish she was more cordial, but our relationship is all business. When it is time for us to part she is silent ... but I know I will hear her voice again." Then the third part is just a regular Haiku that we all know how to write and are very familiar with. All in all the form of poetry, Haibun is a very fascinating topic.




My Attempt:
Cross Country races have the tendency to be very fun. It starts with a usually very fun bus ride to where we have our race. Some of my fondest memories happened on these busses. Then you get off the bus and you usually have a little while before your race to hang out and then comes warm up time. You run for about 40 minutes all over wherever you are and then meet up where our camp is. There we start stretching and starting to mentally prepare for the race.


I have no memories of the minutes before a race, only that feeling you get right before the gun goes off. A terrible feeling that you never want to feel.


That horrible feel
All fun is gone in the world
Then finally, start




1/10 speaker= 4 stars

Round Two = Deb Smith

1) I read the article about Smith and her son in Rome on a rainy day. To tell you the truth I learned a lot about the culture of Italy just from reading this short essay. Smith writes about walking into the restaurant and immediately being welcomed by the owner of the restaurant, something that would rarely happen in America. Then Smith explains how a man came into the restaurant and sang; "he walked halfway into the Trattoria, stopped amid the tables, smiled and began to sing. Several patrons gave him a Euro when he finished. After two or three wonderful songs, I tossed in a Euro too." This would be unheard of in America but it seems as if it is relatively common in Rome. She then goes on to explain how after her and her son finished the meal the owner came over to ask how the meal. Then Smith explains about their departure from the restaurant; "In from the rain came a concertina player. He squeezed out a tune as we made an exit in the downpour." Most of the things that Smith described that happened in the restaurant wouldn't happen in America. In the essay Smith really shows how nice and friendly the Italians are and she really paints a mental picture of the whole experience and a lovely sounding culture.

2) I listened to Deb Smith talking about going to the dentist. It was about her getting nervous about going to the dentist and finding a suitable dentist to have her procedures with. I feel like listing to the audio essay was nice. It was very much different than reading an essay and I felt like it had pros and cons compared to a written essay. One thing that I prefer about the audio essay is that you get a feeling of connection with the speaker. A connection that you cannot get with a written essay. You can hear the speakers tone and pace of voice which helps make the story come more to life than a written story in my opinion. An example is when Smith says; "Can you tell dentistry provokes instant dread in me." When she this you can hear her voice get a little higher and her pace of voice get a little faster, showing that she is actually scared of going to the dentist. Also in my opinion audio essays are better at painting a mental picture than written essays. An example of this would be when Smith was describing her dentist. Smith says his slogan is "I don't treat teeth, I treat people." Now I don't know about you but just from that line I can already picture the dentist. Without even describing him a get a mental picture of what I think he looks like, something I can’t do with written essays.


 Questions:
1) How has writing affected your life?
2) Why do you write?

1/6 speaker = 2 stars

Round One = Therese Broderick

I recently read an interview and a number of poems written by the poet Therese Broderick. She is a local poet who has been writing poetry for many years. Broderick recently wrote a new poetry book called At Aprils End. Broderick wrote this poem book in honor of her daughters 18 birthday. It was her gift to her daughter. All of the poems in At Aprils End are about her daughter and Broderick says; "Each of these 40 poems captures a moment from her infancy, childhood, or teenage years." So all the poems in the book represent a moment in her daughter’s life. I thought that this was a very touching gift and it is evident from reading the poems how much work she put into the poems. It really shows how much she care about her daughter. When you read the poems in At Aprils End it tells the life of her daughter. In the first poems of the book she writes about a baby (obviously her daughter) and as you continue to read the poems the girl she is talking about grows up. For example in the first poem Milk she says; "My nursing daughter –Little harp slung across breasts. We pluck to heartbeats." In the poem it is evident that she is talking about a very young child that needs to be breast fed but by her poem Home Game she says; "After their long hot struggle on Hoffman’s Field, our daughters’ soccer team has finally won." This shows how grown up she has gotten in a matter of poems. After reading some of her poems from At Aprils End and I have to say I rather enjoy it I like how she writes her poetry. All her poems seem to have a slightly different feels. In her interview Broderick explains; "I prefer to say that each poem is a unique combination of sonic performance, occasional verse, lyrical poetry, narrative, figures of speech, and sometimes of traditional form." This makes sense because all her poems seem to have a different feel. Over all I very much enjoyed Broderick's poetry and I cannot wait to meet her tomorrow. 

Two Questions:

How has writing shaped your life?
Why did you decide to write poetry?