Knights of the Green Room

Brigadier

Brigadier · Sep 7, 2017

Session _1_ : Reviewing Poetry

During this workshop, you will be working independently to complete the coursework below. It will start with questions to ask yourself and respond to in a 10 min word war, which you then must link in your first response, followed by information for you to read and respond to if you choose, and then we'll get on to reviewing.

Intro Questions:
1. What do you think makes a good poetry review? And what do you like to focus on when you review poetry?
2. What elements or aspects do you think are the most important when writing a poetry review?

The Basics:
Imagery - Descriptive or vivid language used to add depth to the poem that usually appeals to the human senses.
Flow - How well the poem reads.
Theme - The message that the poem is attempting to convey.
Tone/Atmosphere - The overall emotion that the author wants to get across.
Voice - The narrative voice or speaker in the poem (also referred to as a persona).
Structure - The form or physical structure of a poem (how a poem looks and sounds).

First Response
1) Assignment: Use Word Wars to write for 10 minutes on the questions we started with. Copy them onto your Word War, and then begin to write either with the questions, or beneath them. Either copy the results over, or copy the url and post it.
2) Food for thought: After reading about the basic elements of poetry, tell us what you think! Did you already know it? Did you learn something new? Do you think we need to redefine one of them? Tell us in your first response.
3) Post your first response with "First Response" at the top.

Activity #2
Once you've posted your first response, read the following poem and respond to the questions below.

Early Morning Thoughts

i look out through the dark shades wrapped around my eyes
gathering my thoughts before the sun takes to the skies
the morning air whips around my face
as i gaze to the black and silent
horizon sitting before me
edging towards a contest

in the back of those thoughts, i think of you leaving
on your plane, just like our friend johnny
never coming back again
floating through the skies eternally
i shouldn’t have left
and you should’ve blamed it all on me

your ghost sits beside me and i feel the teardrops rolling
but the salty tears never touch my lips
as the morning air whips around my face
and i let go of the bit of you i have left
the particles fall from my scarred hands
and fall into the early wind

1. What are your first thoughts after reading this poem?
2. What did you like and dislike? Why?
3. What did you think the meaning of the poem was?
4. Was there anything that seemed "off" to you? Why did it seem "off"?

Second Response:
1) Answer the questions about the poem.

Homework:

Go forth as a Knight to the Green Room and conquer 5 poems using Activity #2 's questions, and post links to the results here once you're done.

If you've received feedback from the reviews, share what they thought, and if you have questions or comments about the reviewing style, ask away.

Once you've finished your homework, you have successfully completed Poetry Reviewing Workshop 101

[size=200]Session _1_ : Reviewing Poetry[/size]

During this workshop, you will be working independently to complete the coursework below. It will start with questions to ask yourself and respond to in a 10 min word war, which you then must link in your first response, followed by information for you to read and respond to if you choose, and then we'll get on to reviewing.

[size=150]Intro Questions:[/size]
1. What do you think makes a good poetry review?  And what do you like to focus on when you review poetry? 
2. What elements or aspects do you think are the most important when writing a poetry review?

[size=150]The Basics: [/size]
Imagery - Descriptive or vivid language used to add depth to the poem that usually appeals to the human senses.
Flow - How well the poem reads. 
Theme - The message that the poem is attempting to convey.
Tone/Atmosphere - The overall emotion that the author wants to get across.
Voice - The narrative voice or speaker in the poem (also referred to as a persona). 
Structure - The form or physical structure of a poem (how a poem looks and sounds).

[size=150]First Response[/size]
1) Assignment: Use [url=https://www.youngwriterssociety.com/wordwars.php]Word Wars[/url] to write for 10 minutes on the questions we started with. Copy them onto your Word War, and then begin to write either with the questions, or beneath them. Either copy the results over, or copy the url and post it.
2) Food for thought: After reading about the basic elements of poetry, tell us what you think! Did you already know it? Did you learn something new? Do you think we need to redefine one of them? Tell us in your first response.
3) Post your first response with "First Response" at the top.

[size=150]Activity #2[/size]
Once you've posted your first response, read the following poem and respond to the questions below.

[b]Early Morning Thoughts [/b]

i look out through the dark shades wrapped around my eyes
gathering my thoughts before the sun takes to the skies
the morning air whips around my face
as i gaze to the black and silent
horizon sitting before me
edging towards a contest

in the back of those thoughts, i think of you leaving
on your plane, just like our friend johnny
never coming back again
floating through the skies eternally
i shouldn’t have left
and you should’ve blamed it all on me

your ghost sits beside me and i feel the teardrops rolling
but the salty tears never touch my lips
as the morning air whips around my face
and i let go of the bit of you i have left
the particles fall from my scarred hands
and fall into the early wind

1. What are your first thoughts after reading this poem?
2. What did you like and dislike?  Why?
3. What did you think the meaning of the poem was?
4. Was there anything that seemed "off" to you?  Why did it seem "off"?

[size=150]Second Response:[/size]
1) Answer the questions about the poem.

[size=150]Homework:[/size]

Go forth as a Knight to the Green Room and conquer 5 poems using Activity #2's questions, and post links to the results here once you're done.

If you've received feedback from the reviews, share what they thought, and if you have questions or comments about the reviewing style, ask away.

Once you've finished your homework, you have successfully completed Poetry Reviewing Workshop 101