Thursday, May 30th, 2013

The Class Poem (Collaborative Poem)

What we’re going to do:

1.      Circle up.

2.     Each write a line of poetry.

3.     Fold the paper so the next person sees only our line.

4.     Pass!

5.     Repeat!

Here’s an example: 

• What are its strengths, things we want to emulate? 
• What are its weaknesses, things we want to avoid?

Exhaustion

The tree leaned into the wind

Fighting against a force it did not understand

An endless battle of two of nature’s forces

A battle with many casualties

Like the Alamo

People were dying left and right

Dropping like flies

Hurt to my eyes

Hurt to my heart

Pieces so far apart

Like a puzzle I used to put together

Oh hey, how about this weather?

The birds were singing and the sun was shining

And a warm breeze blew through the air

I took a deep breath and continued on my journey

Giving all my attention to the bald eagle flying above me

I gave no notice to the happenings around me

I fell into a dreamless sleep, the day finally collecting its toll

Like a smugly satisfied turnpike operator

Grinning madly from inside his glass booth.

Writing a Class Poem Guidelines

1.      Respect the line you’re given; follow the idea(s) you’re presented with.

2.     Write a fresh line each time you receive a poem; don’t have a theme or word you put in every time you get a poem.

3.     Use only appropriate language and topics (no beer, bodily functions, sexual innuendos, etc.)

4.     Look only at the one line in front of you; fold the poem after you write so that your line is the only one the person to your right sees.

5.     Don’t pass until you hear the signal.

6.     Initial in the left margin each line you write.

Now

1.     Write the last several lines of this poem, based on the line you see.

2.    Pass it to your right.

3.    Read the whole poem carefully.

4.   Edit as needed (gender and tense shifts, etc).

5.    Give it a knock-out title (NOT “My Crazy Class Poem”, etc.).

6.   Raise your hand if you want to read yours aloud.