Lessons in My Stead

Here are all the activities I'd like you to complete before the exam May 3rd.

For Candide Readers

Here´s a recent musical version of Candide.

Vegetarian Physics by David Clewell and Questions

Given that tomorrow is the March for Science, I decided to read a poem with a science motif with you.

Here you can find the poem and the questions.

More practice for the exam?

Download the new Poetry magazine app. They re-designed it for Poetry month. In it you´ll find new poems. The podcasts are particularly good for studying: the poet reads her/his poem, followed by a brief discussion of the editors about the poem. I enjoy them, but I think they could also be really useful for practicing interpretation.

Please be aware the texts are college-level and as such may include profanity. 

New Spring Break Idea!

Forget about Cancun! You can now rent Emily Dickison´s bedroom! I am not kidding.




Read about it here. 

Worried About Your Score?

If you're feeling concerned about the exam, check out

The Sound of Poetry by Robert Pinsky - it's very short. Reading it would be a great way to study.

It's available in the curriculum resource library; please see Alonso.

Study Sheet

I've begun a study sheet for literary devices. Keep in mind, it would be just as useful to study the tone sheet. If you can find yours please use the search bar and it will appear. You may also want to review the syntax sheet.

Remember: linking form and content is more important than listing literary devices. Try to put together coherent analyses - that are reasonable or compelling even.

Anyway, here is the sheet. Please use your notes to fill in with definitions and better yet - examples.

May 2nd - Special In-class Study Day

Given that I will be on paternity leave starting April 25th, it´s really important that you make the most of preparation for this class yourself in my stead.

I´ve got Fences planned for the days leading up to the exam.

I promise after we complete the exam, I will be funnier and my poems will be better. There will NOT be a FINAL EXAM. As such, it´s up to you to come to class on May 2nd, to study for this exam together.

I´ll leave special activities for you. Everything will be posted on the blog. So please mark it on your calendars.

Reminder: Summative Exam On Friday

You should either finish your book or read up to page 300.

How to embed soundcloud in your blog?

Find some audio on soundcloud.com you'd like to share on your blog. Press the share button in the top left-hand corner of the player: Click on the Blogger button. If this is your first time posting audio to your blog from SoundCloud, you'll need to grant SoundCloud access to your Blogger account.


All of your sound poems should be embedded.

Fences It Is!

You've chosen Fences to study as your last work before the exam. Copies will be available on next Tuesday, April 25th. You do not have to bring these home or read these at home. 

I'd like some feedback on what was good this year with the course and what could be improved. Please fill out the following when you have the chance.

MC Summative Make-Up

Thursday, 2:15 April 20th is the make-up day for anyone who missed the summative multiple choice exam. 

As the exam will be different, it will have the following terms and works on it:

monologue

ode

elegy

sonnet

sestina

overstatement

euphemism

concession

oxymorons

archaisms

sestina 

The following works will appear:

¨January Dandelion¨

¨The Fair Singer¨

¨Clytie¨ by Eudora Welty 

You will in addition have to attend Opportunity Day, the following Monday, April 24th  to go over the exam.

Stop by For Your Copy of ¨Over Here¨ by Frank Sherlock

For our discussion on the Tuesday back, please pick up a copy of ¨Over Here¨.

Vacation Reading

Virginia Woolf reading

Please meet your reading goal over break. We´ll be having a summative assessment about your reading on Friday. You should have read nearly 300 pages by then.

Take a look at some student samples of Q3 from 2016.

Fences or A Streetcar Named Desire

We will read/watch one more work before the exam - that may help review terms and themes.

Our two options are the plays Fences or A Streetcar Named Desire.

Watch the trailers and vote on the sidebar by Friday.

Sound Poem Inspiration and Due Date

Need some sound poem inspiration? Try Yoko Ono's moving "Voice Piece for Soprano" or Tracie Morris's "Too Black".

Please upload your sound poems to soundcloud.com, then embed the soundcloud file in your blog. Do so by Friday, April 7th.

Homework for Wednesday

Given we've had a week and a half with our books, we should all be roughly one hundred pages in. If this is tough for you, why not try an audio book - many free ones can be found on Livrivox and others with a free trial for Audible.com.

Here's the rubric I'll be using to assess your post-its.