POL

My poem is "The More Loving One" by W.H. Auden. I immediately connected to this poem, because of how the narrator is looking up at the stars, thinking about their future. Why I connected to the stars aspect of the poem, is because I enjoy looking at stars. The one memory I have that I am always reminded of when I look at the stars is a night in Oregon with my dad. We were camping on the coast, and I remember not being able to sleep in our cabin. So my dad drove me to the Devil's Punchbowl, which is a huge sandstone bowl that has been shaped by the ocean's pounding surf. My dad and I were above the Punchbowl on the cliff overlooking it, and we both looked up. It was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life. You could not see the darkness of the night sky, because the sky was filled with so many stars. Every constellation was showing. So when the narrator is looking up at the sky, thinking about things, I immediately connected.

I really feel passionate about this poem, because I have a very sentimental connection to it. I also enjoy how the poem is some-what sarcastic. The language in which this poem is written is formal diction, so it is very easy to read-but it is somewhat harder to actually understand. I had to read it through quite a few times before I finally understood the view of the narrator.

Poetry Out Loud:

Part 1
1. Mulberry Fields by Lucille Clifton

2. Reverie in Open Air by Rita Dove

3. Analysis of Baseball by May Swenson

4. The Secret Garden by Rita Dove, Snowy Owl Near Ocean Shores by Duane Niatum, The River Now by Richard Hugo, Surfaces by Kay Ryan, A Boat Beneath a Sunny Sky by Lewis Carroll

Part 2

1.I enjoyed the poem Surfaces by Kay Ryan, mainly because of its references to the ocean. I also enjoyed Reverie in Open Air by Rita Dove. I especially enjoyed this poem, because how calm and relaxed the author sounds in her writing. It is explaining how we all acknowledge the fact that we're strangers, and we all are different. So you might as well kick off your shoes, sit down, and relax with the breeze blowing slightly in your face. Surfaces is telling how everything in the world has a purpose, and how everything does not last. As before, I liked the references to the ocean.

2. I did not enjoy The River Now by Richard Hugo, because the author is complaining about life, and that everything around him is falling apart.

3. I am interested in Surfaces by Kay Ryan and Reverie in Open Air by Rita Dove. Each spark interest in me that the other poems failed to do. I enjoyed reading each of the author's point of view on similar subjects, about how nothing ever lasts, and that being the point, relax and enjoy. That is how I interpreted each poem.

4. I personally connected with those two poems, on a level of psychological meaning. I have been interested in sort of the 'soul searching' aspect of life, just trying to find myself, and a purpose, as well as inner-peace. Each poem touched me differently, enlightening my aspect on each subject of looking at life.

Part 3.

1. The two criteria that will be easy for me to meet will be the projecting of my voice and confidence. I am confident I will do very well on this, because I have experience with talking in front of large audiences, as well as performing. 

2. Two pieces of criteria that may be challenging for me may be articulating each word perfectly and not fidgeting.

3. I must project to the audience, proceed at natural and easy pace, and not be too awkward while speaking towards the audience.

Part 4

1. Bilingual/Bilingüe

by Rhina P. Espaillat She had a very strong stage presence and clear and accurate articulate.

2. Frederick Douglass
by Robert E. Hayden This was a successful poem, because of how the young woman was dramatic, but still inspired. She also had precise articulation which made the poem even better.

Part 5

For POL, I know I will have to practice my stage presence, because the videos I watched of the students who recited poems, all had a very strong stage presence. I also know that I will have to choose a harder poem to recite, but I like the ones I chose. I liked the website because it was easy to read and easy to understand.