write a response after reading poems
1- Read: Peterson’s After Before and After (excerpt) (Links to an external site.), Nguyen’s “White Boy Time Machine: Software,” (Links to an external site.) and Shockley’s “Explosives”
Write: a creative response in which you select a single poem that we read for homework and respond to it with a poem of your own (around 100 words). This poem should speak to your own experience regarding the theme of the poem you’re responding to, and should attempt to echo the style of that poem. You should then write a short paragraph (around 100 words) description of how you approached the task of writing the poem; for instance: how did you know what words to select? why did you focus on one thing (an object, an idea, etc. relating to the theme) rather than another?
2- Read: Williams’ “Of Darker Ceremonies,” (Links to an external site.) Hieu Minh Nguyen’s “Probe,” (Links to an external site.) and Espinoza’s “It Is Important To Be Something.” (Links to an external site.)
Write: an analytical response in which you select one of the above poems and analyze its construction in at least one of the following categories: language/diction, cultural context, and/or poem organization (line breaks, white space, etc.). In ~250 words, you should argue how the element you’ve selected helps the poet to guide the reader towards the poem’s goal (and identify what that goal is).
