Blog 29

I plan on focusing my portion of my project on one of my favorite poets of all time, Langston Hughes. Hughes was an important and literary giant for African Americans during the Harlem Renaissance and was able to put the "black experience" into beautiful form. He often was the voice for our community when we didn't have one. Of all his works, the one that closest resonates with me would have to be "A Dream Deferred". It is a very dreamy, surreal poem that poses the question of what happens to a dream put on the back burner. The imagery he uses is epic and very tangible. It's alternate name is "Harlem" and also speaks to the dream that is/was Harlem as a black mecca for art, work, and high society life for blacks during this time. He pondered whether Harlem is a reality or just a fleeting dream. Was Harlem real or just a period of time? Did it have any stability? It's a wonderful piece that has always stuck out as one of the greatest of all time.

Blog 28

Putting together a portfolio is a very difficult item. Reflecting on my work this semester shows the difficulty and challenge in creating one of a decent quality.

Blog 27

A dream deferred shouldn't be a dream that dies. It's rather a dream placed on the back burner and one that you return to in the future. Let it build and grow instead of dying slow. Saturate and fester instead of laying lifeless and weak.

Blog 26

Upon working on my final portfolio, I am amazed at how much I have learned thorughout the class. At first, I was ignorant of how various the poetry styles are and how they differ from one another.To begin off, I am not a poet in any sense of the form. It's difficult for me to write in a style that is creative, stimulating, and ethereal and sometimes my poetry falls flat. It isn't due to lack of effort, but just flat out lack of talent. I am more skilled in writing prose and stories, which makes the Prose form a God send. However, thropughout the semester, I have steadily progressed and now would ocnsider myself to be a decent poet. This class has opened my eyes to how creating poetry can not only help my writing, but expand my thinking. It forces you to think and comprehend in ways that simple prose and stories can't. My favorite styles would have to be ghazals, prose poetry, and haiku. Some styles I favored and others I despised, but through it all I have come a long way.

Blog 25

Prose poetry, by far, has been my favorite form that we have covered so far. I consider myself a writer more than a poet. This has been the first poetry class I've ever really taken. By that I mean, someone who can develop a story or plot rather than create poetry. It's much easier for me to write a story within paragraph form than confine my thoughts into a rigid form. It's easier to be straight forward than it is to be witty. Within this form, you see many poems that are more like quick vignettes than actual poems. When we approached this portion of the class, I breathed a sigh of relief as I can now explore a side of my writing that I really haven't utilized this semester. For some, it can be a headache and really not be considered poetry. For me, its a welcome relief. It's easier to get my thoughts out and fully explained than having to be overly creative or thoughtful. My writing style is more blunt and straightforward than it is creative. This is not to say I can't be creative or profound, but I prefer the structure of prose to poetry any day.

Blog 24

Prose Poetry:

Today, I talked to Mr. Thompson. I asked him his opinion on our country. He said America was a walking contradiction, that individuality is the American myth. We preach it, but reject it in people. Race, culture, religion are all hollow. Diversity is dead. Our fore founders failed. The great experiment flopped. Hard to argue with him on that.

blog 23

The sestina form is complicated and depends on which form you use. Some forms are much more simple and invert the last line to the top. Others are more elaborate. They have formulas that require reserach.

Blog 22

One form I will look into in the future is the ghazal. It has a very haunting feel to it and works well with telling a story. For my poem this week, I wish had done it in as a ghazal rather than a sestina. The feel that I wanted for the poem was a returning kind of feel. Meaning, I wanted the reader to always come back to a central place. The sestina was too long and winding for a poem that should have been more focused and descriptive. It was difficult trying to link each stanza.

Blog 21

Overheard conversations:

" If your birthday is on February 29, wouldn't you be only like 5?"

"Nobody knows anything about hockey, but we were all rooting for the U.S."

" Since when has Gucci Mane been this good?"

"Usher is 32 with two kids and an ex wife. He's too old to be making this kind of music."

"His suit has no buttons."