Unfortunately I was not there on Monday but my opinion of the poem is that the writer was trying to write about his past experiences. He is actually talking about his past experiences with his child. The word Bicentennial means something that happens in the past for example 200 years.As he remembers he relate it to his readers.

Gist of what was discussed: In class writing 02/26

              The section my partner and I were given from the poem "Bicentennial" was section 3. In this section we noticed that the poet had very optimistic views of the bicentennial, yet there was a hypocrisy of what he described about the day. When first reading the section we can see that there is a lot of positive vibes and happiness in the air, but after re-reading it we noticed something else. What we noticed was it was as if the poet was saying that it seemed that no one was truly happy they just pretended to be happy because they felt as if they should be. It was stated in lines 12-13 that, "Everyone acting as though it made them happy To be apart of this country...". I personally viewed this as the people were using this national holiday to create some type of happiness for their mundane lives. As if this was a day to step away from all of their stresses and just the little things in life. The poet being a child at the time of the bicentennial, makes it understandable that he viewed this moment in his life as positively as he did. Also this was the first time that the poet had truly experienced nationalism. Though he was a child he was aware that the bicentennial was a very important or rather he was aware of how impactful the bicentennial is for the country. 

Bicentennial

Section one

      In the first stanza I believe that Chiasson was trying to say that he had a lot on his mind, and that he needed someone to talk to listen to him. in the second stanza, chiasson was trying to say that he has something he was to say to someone or about something, but he was afraid that what he had to say would be accepted in the wrong way, and the third stanza I think what chiasson is saying is that it could either hurt them, or worse not even bother them.  I think that the way the poem is structured says a lot about what the poem, and the way author is trying to send his messages. why did the author chose to break the poem up in to seven sections? The poem was hard to follow at first, but after we broke it up in class and we went over piece by piece. I got to understand a bit, about how and what he was trying to do in the poem. it was literally like going for a walk through his mind and seeing things from his past, and present.     

Biocentennial Section 2

Biocentennial
Section 2

Right after mentioning where the princess died in a certain spot  he started reminiscing on his past about taking drugs in parties/bars with his friends and remembering the altered feeling it gave himself and others which concluded to something "beautiful" even their faces when seeing their reflection. I think he says that because this might not have been the best time in his life and these drugs altered his perception into something delightful but only temporarily. He then mentions owing thanks to complete strangers perhaps relating it to buying drugs in an alley and to royalty greeting and saying thanks on occasions.
At the end of section 2 he describes a song that was being played and how he can feel the same emotion of the song which was sadness and loneliness.

Bicentennial Section 4

The Section 4 part of Bicentennial is about how the boy was being taken care of by the nuns. Originally when his babysitter died he would pay respect to him, by visiting a lilac that his family planted to honor him. When he was with the nuns, they would care for him by showing acts of kindness. Such as giving him toys, to play with. Kindness seemed to be the main point of this section because it is used three times. it was the nuns code as said "Had a distinct folk, flare, and kindness Radiated from the mousy students, almost as though it was part of their code?" (paragraph 3 line 4). These are the three main ways kindness was used in this section. by his babysitter watching him play, in the chapel that had it coming from the students, and then the nuns. by him being shown kindness through the section he eventually seems to understand kindness as part of what he was taught when he was younger while growing up around nuns.

Bicentennial by Dan Chiasson

The first section dissect what is going on the speaker's mind. There many thoughts that are unorganized and he needs a company to clear them out. Then in the second stanza, he stated " I am afraid, will move my mind one inch", from my perspective, I think he is afraid of honesty, like telling the truth will leave him a negative impact. In third stanza, he created a mess of his thoughts, then he retrace it.

"Bicentennial" Section 4

This section overall is discussing a code of conduct. The code being used by the babysitter, the nuns and the students is kindness. The narrator describes how these people are living by this code as a sign of who they are. The narrator has also adapted a code of kindness by showing the respect the dead babysitter deserves. The girls in the dormitories had attended prayer in the chapel as if they were being trained to live by the same code as their nuns (Stanza 3 Lines 2-5).

"Bicentennial" Section 3

     In section 3 the narrator seemed to feel many positive vibes surrounding him in this once in a life time celebration. As it described many great spirits and activities the people were involved In in this two-hundredth year anniversary of America being "born". The narrator expressed how the people showed how great it felt to be a part of America including how kind they were to the children. Also there was a part of the narrator, as he himself felt true nationalism "now it was 1976, and my body in my bed felt for the first time what being a part of a country feels like". The section brought the poem together as it described the fun activities done during this once in a life time celebration and it also help describe what the narrator and the people felt during this exciting day.

Bicentennial

     Throughout the group we discussed the first section and the conclusion that was drawn up, was that the author or whoever he is depicting the poem to be about had something to get off of his or her chest. Within the first line it states "moving as a mind moves across a math problem" my interpretation of this is that he or she is thinking of something that ways heavily on their mind. It's like the person longs to be able to say whatever it is they want without having consequences of them being treated differently or it resulting in a tragedy. The author refers many times to his experiences as a kid or to childhood, even the persons own children. The author uses flash backs to express how he feels to again coming to the idea that there is something that needs to be said but their afraid of the outcome.

Bicentennial

Ivan and I discussed section 7, the last section. We thought it was weird that the narrator's "tall, handsome daddy" was introduced this late in the poem. Who was he? Why did he never know the narrator? We discussed how the poem drops lots of these narrative threads and expects us to make something of it. I imagined that his dad was one of the hippies that he writes of, that his parents were "free love" hippies and that's why they didn't know ea. other, but who knows if that's right or wrong. I think that the poem is very much about the fact that we're all together, crammed into this giant country, that we're all (supposedly) equal, that we ea. have one vote and live in a community and that's a pretty good reason to throw a celebration.

The poem gives you lots of glimpses of the narrator at different times in his life. The poem works in the way that the mind works, in the way that the mind drifts through time. In fact, the poem seems to be playing w/ the very constructedness of time. Time is an artificial thing, it's something we created. Like Louie CK says, people living in 15 BC didn't know they were living in 15 BC, counting down to some year 0 so that they could then count forward.

Bicentennial

We've read some pretty brief poems ("Smalltown Lift"). I don't think any of them are more than a couple pages. So "Bicentennial" is a lot longer than the other poems we've read. Is that the only difference? Why does it need to be this long? What do the numbers do?

Do you know what a bicentennial is? Do you know when the US bicentennial took place? It's a marker for time and it seems that the poem is about time. If you agree, what ways is it about time? What does the bicentennial have to do with doing ecstasy or a princess or the young man who came home to die? What is the "blank / Where meaning would be..." (205)? The word "kindness" is mentioned multiple times in the poem. Why? Why does the narrator say "You are having your childhood now" (208) to his kids?

What questions do you have about this poem?

Public Writing Project

Here are a couple ways to meet the Public Writing Project:

"Porn" et al

What do you think about "Porn"? It's provocative. Do you find its imagery disturbing, titillating? Is it about something other than porn?

"Smalltown Lift" is what we call a prose poem. How is it different than the other poems we've read? Would you have called this a poem if it weren't listed under the poetry section in this anthology? Why or why not? Why isn't it a story?

What does it mean to "meep"?

Why is "The Difference" told in couplets?

What questions do you have about the poems?

In-Class Writing

Choose one of the poems for this week's reading. I want you to:

1) Find an example of metaphor (or some other figurative language)
2) Point out use of sound
3) Describe the spacing and configuration of stanzas. What does the poem's organization do for the reading experience?

Bonus question: "tendril" is used in both "Porn" and "Trouble in Mind." Is this just a coincidence or is "tendril" a particularly poetic word?

Contest

I wanted you to know about the attached contest w/ a deadline of March 5th (see below)Collective issue, the theme is about work/labor. If you have a text about work, I encourage you to submit it to both this contest and Collective. Either one can count as your public writing assignment.

“ Whispers “

Tanaxya Howard

Tori Rocchio 

Jovaun Taylor 

Mary Barbowr 

Era Sen 

Jailene Collado 

Cool whisper from life’s shadow 

A moment beneath white urges 

Essential part of fiddle & iudcious petals cooked from sweat 

Near the purple juice 

Drool after lazy-ness 

My gorgeous mother, red raw gown 

Boiled to incubate the apparatus 

Friends are out in about 

After all there is two say 

None sing

Victoria Sorto Ivan Mangunes Alexandra Salome George P. Christian E.

She dreams of death as she invisions eternity

Through time and flooded storms

Lovely girl sings a delirious symphony

The enormous ship producing music next to a playful road

Those who lie & manipulate are crushed

Victoria Sorto

Ivan Mangunes

Alexandra Salome

George P.

Christian E.

"Life" By: Anjuman Ara,Matthew Guadogno,Balcumarie Persaud,Sarah Hernandez & Lyudmila De la rosa

                                                                     Life
 Anjuman Ara,Matthew Guadogno,Balcumarie Persaud,Sarah Hernandez & Lyudmila De la rosa




Some always lie
and fall weak.

but I say

Under the beauty of they sky
Think fast & live
Like honey.

Poems (2/14)

Which poem did you like best? Which did you like least? Why for both?

Have you been to the Gramercy Park neighborhood? How does the poem reference it?

Why poetry? Why does Teicher think? What do you think?

One of my favorite poem that I have written.

Hi class,
 I want to share one of the powerful and favorite poems that I have written during my English 101 and I had Professor Talbird that time. This poem speaks about Islamophobia and it affects on innocent Muslim people. As a Muslim girl, I also went through Islamophobic experiences and it motivated me to write this poem. I want to show how ugly society is and we are living in a country that is all about "equality", but we still fighting for many rights! Anyway, here is my poem and class, should I submit this poem for a Public writing project? Do you think this poem going to create awareness about Islamophobia? Please tell me about your thoughts based on this. 

Broken Freedom

Another town has just been struck

The ringing of MP7's in the background is piercing

No time to look back, you gotta know when to duck

There looks to be an opening in the forest clearing

Oh wait, Isis has already set up a base there

Time to choose, people or devils

I blend in with the trees and choose neither

Seeing one of mine dead, it's like seeing stones and pebbles

We make a break for the highway when I hear the rounds

My entire family shot down

A taxi driving ahead, elated at the sound

I flag it and it puts the metal to the ground

They follow me on my way to the airport

I run and try to get a ticket to America

They wait outside for me, my luck was running short

They deny me access because of the Muslim ban

I was at death row and plead for acceptance

I'll even join the U.S army I begged, just let me in

"NO, sir your kind isn't welcome"

I leave the airport with my soul already gone

But it comes back again and it haunts me.

"Sprite Slicing its way to disease" poem

                                              " Sprite slicing its way to disease"


Looking down on a pond of life

While drinking one full cup full of sprite

The difference in which they behold

Is that one sustains life

While the other is grasping a knife

Slicing its way to disease

Distorting everything in which you can’t see

The temple of your body

Mistreated

With all of its spirituality

It Taste so good

It Feel so good

But the reality is

It Aint so good

Exploding all of its power into your stomach

Just like a nuclear weapon that is atomic

Say goodbye to the beat of your heart

Because now you just took it apart

You’re fighting your way, so you could stay

Potentially being your last day

But yet you hold on with a little bit of faith

Since tomorrow is your birthday

It hurts so much

Can’t say too much

Can’t feel my touch

I regret this F***k

How could I’ve been fooled so easily?
Was I clearly too drunk to even see?

That although sprite felt so right

GMO products were destroying the best of me

Gaining conscious and awareness

Although my circulation is still airless

Starting to feel helpless
My change could have been enormous

The lights are off

The light are on

The lights are out

Now Im out

Monica Youn's "Hanged Men" poems

This poem is very unqiue. The structure is very different from other poems. At first, I was confused because it has numbers. I never saw a poem that has numbers and beginning letter wasn't capitalize. After last class discussion, this poem became clear to me. This poem responses with the picture. Also, the numbers is a sequence that poem follows.

Public Writing Project

Public Writing Project

To meet this requirement, you can go to a reading. Here are some listings:

http://www.bookforum.com/events/

And check out the Center for Fiction in Midtown:

http://www.centerforfiction.org/

They have frequent readings and even a literary magazine that you can submit to.

There's also the Nuyorican Poets Cafe in the East Village:

http://www.nuyorican.org/

Bowery Poetry:

http://www.bowerypoetry.com/

And the Poetry Project at St. Mark's Church:

https://www.poetryproject.org/

 If you'd rather submit your writing to a publication, I'd suggest Newpages.com:

http://www.newpages.com/magazines/literary-magazines

or Poets &Writers:

http://www.pw.org/literary_magazines

Nowadays, many mags will allow you to submit your writing via the internet. We'll talk more about submitting your work, and I'd be happy to speak one-on-one w/ you about this too.

If you'd like to start a lit journal and publish yourself and your friends (inside or outside the class), I can show you how to set up your own blog on blogger (though there's a lot of free platforms like Weebly and Wordpress).

If you know of any other resources that aren't listed here, then please recommend them on the blog.

Collective and the Creative Writing Club

I want to bring your attention to the following opportunities to meet your required Public Writing Project. You may do one or more of the following:

1) Submit writing to Collective (note deadline and special theme on "work"--see below).
2) Attend either of the writing workshops listed below.
3) Join the Creative Writing club (write Ben Miller or simply show up at one of the meetings below).


Details:

 

Soft drink poem

Hi everyone,
I wrote my poem on soda which is first activity we done in class.  Now I finished the poem and wanted to see your thoughts on it.

                      Lemon and Lime

A castle of wonder,

built above the vast sea.

A translucent body of seltzer,

with an abundance of foam.

Familiar crackles and pops,

A home to inhabitants of effervesce

A garden surrounds the castle,

A prosperous sector of trees.

Trees of lemon and lime,

Each with its own personality.

The zing of lime,

An everlasting liveliness.

The sweetness of lemon,

A necessary comfort.

Both composed to bring a sense of escape,

An escape to the endless nights of adherence.

I relish that feeling of contentedness,

As I take flight

To that garden of lemon and lime 

Week of 2/04: Poetry

In class we'll do some freewriting on the blog about this week's reading. Outside, I would like you to also do some writing on the poems. It can be about anything that strikes your fancy, but one question I have:

How are these poems? They don't rhyme so it must be for another reason. Is it simply because it's broken up into lines? How would the poems be different if they were written in prose? Here is the first "sentence" of Ben Lerner's poem:

"Tonight I can't remember why everything is permitted or, what amounts tot he same thing, forbidden..." Why didn't he write this in prose? Also, why did Youn use numbers in her poem?

Monica Youn's "Hanged Men" poems

Many poets will write multiple poems on the same theme. Here is Monica Youn's "Interrogation of the Hanged Man":

https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/interrogation-hanged-man

Is the hanged man a metaphor? What is she doing w/ this image?

Reading Poetry

I know that reading poetry is new for many of you. Here are legendary poet, John Ciardi's rule for reading poetry:

 

1)  The poem is not to be confused w/ a paraphrase.

2)  Avoid speed-reading. Discover the natural rhythm of the work.

3)  Read it aloud.

Ben Lerner and "No Art"

I think that this is one of the most challenging of the four poems we're reading tomorrow, mainly for what Lerner doesn't say, than what he does say. This is something he's said about the poem, and the book which it comes from:

Your poetry collection is called No Art – an inviting no entry sign…
It is the title of a poem at the end of the book, which is a defence of feeling in poetry, and talks about love being more avant garde than shame. The poem is an argument against detachment. It is also about the way the title changes as you read, and the book changes in the light of that poem.

This comes from an interview he did w/ The Guardian. You can read the whole thing here. He says a lot of interesting and useful things about poetry.