We haven't really talked about form yet because we've only read free verse poems. But there are many other different kinds of forms which follow rules such as rhyme schemes or fixed syllables or line lengths. One such form is the haiku, invented in Japan in the late 19th century, but popularized in the West in the early 20th century. Check out Joyce Clement's "Birds Punctuate the Days" (15) which was originally published in Modern Haiku. How has Clement adapted the haiku to this poetic situation?
Check out the pictures on the Course Outline page of Blackboard (you'll have to sign in). How many of these birds did you know in Clement's poem before you saw their pix? Why do you think so few people know the names of birds in the modern world? Does it matter?
Remember the magnet activity last week? Fixed forms are another manner of creative constraints in writing. Feel free to experiment with haiku or other forms over the next few weeks as we discuss poetry.
Welcome to the blog for Prof. John Talbird's English 102 class. The purpose of this site is two-fold: 1) to continue the conversations we start in class (or to start conversations before we get to class) and 2) to practice our writing, reading, and thinking on a weekly basis in an informal setting.
I only recognized three birds from the pictures. Clement's poem urged me to look up the birds i did not know about. In my experience not many people are familiar with the multiple varieties of the bird species. Most people only know about the more popular ones. The reason being, if a person is not passionate about a certain subject they will most likely not educate themselves on it. Yes, it does matter we should constantly want to educate ourselves with new information.
ReplyDeleteI think few people know the names of birds in the modern world because sometimes people don't really like to go deep into learning abouth news things besides what they already know from heart.so the ones who do these birds are really into learning to things abouth nature around them.
ReplyDeleteI only knew two birds. I think people do not know the names of birds because they do not know much about what they contribute to the everyday life. Or just people just don't care. But when reading a text that involves Birds, it would be helpful to do research about the birds to help your understanding of what the text is conveying.
ReplyDeleteI recognized the wren and the wild geese. I don't really know specific names of most birds and i usually go by how they look. I tend to remember birds that have distinctive features or colors.
ReplyDeleteJoyce Clement's adapted the haiku into her poem ,"Birds Punctuate the Days" (15) by describing a multitude of images. She uses three line segments to help paint multiple pictures. She really captures moments within her very brief lines.
ReplyDeleteThe haiku style definitely present in this poem by associating a variety of literary symbols like the comma, the asterisk, the colon, the question mark, and the period with different kinds of birds. There is no rhyme, and the poet found an amazing way to associate the literary symbols with the actions of specific birds. Of course to do this the poet must have been familiar with eh action of these birds . The action of the birds punctuating the days implies that their actions makes up part of the events observed during the day. In other words, when one sees a bird its performing a specific action. When one sees a bird in another environment on that given day is performing another action. These actions form breaks in the day. The actions have been associated with literary symbols that forms breaks in reading. Before looking at the pictures there were approximately two birds that I was familiar with. Familiarity stems from exposure. If a person was not exposed to these birds in their environment, in their readings, in their academic or social life or brought to their attention by someone else then the knowledge would not be present. It's difficult whether to say if it matters or not because a person doesn't need knowledge on everything in the world to be able to survive or even to comment about it. If there is a particular topic that interests a person then they make seek additional knowledge on it. If that topic is not someone else's interest then it can be researched.
ReplyDeleteHi Andrea: This is a great response. Many poems bring two unlike things together to shed light on both, in this case punctuation and birds. I wonder if part of our ignorance about birds is b/c we live in the urban environment? I wonder if people who live in more rural locations know nature more thoroughly than we do?
DeleteThank you for a response! I am of the opinion that people who live in more rural areas are closer to the environment and nature than people who reside in urban areas. For example, many people in my family are from rural areas in foreign countries and they seem to know a lot about animals, birds, insects, plants and other things in nature as compared to the knowledge that I have being born and growing up in the bright lights of a city.
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