1
Poetry is imaginary gardens with real toads in
them Marianne Moore's definition of poetry,
"Poetry," Collected Poems, 1951

• Mrs. Cone
• 6th Grade Language Arts
• Hope Middle School

2
Walt Whitman

• Background Info Walt Whitman was born in 1819.
  He was one of 9 children living in New York.
  Whitman didnt go to school, but taught himself.
  He read the Bible, Dante, Shakespeare, and Homer
  (all old and tough to read!). Whitman worked as a
  newspaper writer and publisher for part of his
  life. He lived in New Orleans for a while and saw
  the viciousness of the slave trade. During the
  Civil War he visited the wounded in a hospital
  and stayed to work there. Whitman was poor for
  most of his life, but spent what money he had
  supporting his family.
• Why we like him Whitmans poetry (at the time)
  was
• considered to be very controversial. He was fired
  when
• his boss found out who he was. Now his poems are
  loved
• and respected. The famous poet Ralph Waldo
  Emerson
• read and praised Whitmans poetry even though it
  was
• thought to be edgy.

America's Poet
Source http//www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/126
3
O Captain! My Captain! Walt Whitman
O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,
The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize
we sought is won, The port is near, the bells I
hear, the people all exulting, While follow
eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring
But O heart! heart! heart! O the bleeding
drops of red, Where on the deck my Captain lies,
fallen cold and dead. O Captain! my
Captain! rise up and hear the bells Rise up- for
you the flag is flung- for you the
bugle trills, For you bouquets and
ribbon'd wreaths- for you the shores a-crowding,
For you they call, the swaying mass, their
eager faces turning Here Captain!
dear father! This arm beneath your
head! It is some dream that
on the deck, You've
fallen cold and dead. My Captain does not
answer, his lips are pale and still, My
father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor
will, The ship is anchor'd safe and sound,
its voyage closed and done, From fearful
trip the victor ship comes in with object won
Exult O shores, and ring O bells!
But I with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.
4
Emily Dickinson
Why does she matter? Dickinson is one of the
major poets in American history. She is known to
many as the most famous American woman poet. Why
do we like her? Dickinson is well known for
writing poetry about both loneliness and
happiness. Although her poetry is widely read
now, her work was published after she died and
her journals were discovered by her
family. Interesting Facts Emily Dickinson was
born in Amherst, Massachusetts in 1830. She lived
in seclusion, rarely leaving her home. She never
married and communicated with friends primarily
through written notes. Lets Learn More!
Source http//www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/155
5
Hope is the Thing with FeathersEmily Dickinson

• Hope is the thing with feathers
• That perches in the soul,
• And sings the tune without the words,
• And never stops at all,
• And sweetest in the gale is heard
• And sore must be the storm
• That could abash the little bird
• That kept so many warm.
• I've heard it in the chillest land,
• And on the strangest sea
• Yet, never, in extremity,
• It asked a crumb of me.

6
Paul Lawrence Dunbar

• Background Info Dunbar was born on June 27, 1872
  in Ohio. His mother was a former slave and his
  father had escaped from slavery and served in the
  55th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment and the 5th
  Massachusetts Colored Cavalry Regiment during the
  Civil War. The family was poor, and after his
  father left, Dunbars mother supported her
  children by working in Dayton as a washerwoman.
  Though the Dunbar family had little material
  wealth, Matilda, always a great support to Dunbar
  as his literary stature grew, taught her children
  a love of songs and storytelling. Having heard
  poems read by the family she worked for when she
  was a slave, Matilda loved poetry and encouraged
  her children to read. Dunbar was inspired by his
  mother, and he began reciting and writing poetry
  as early as age 6. Dunbar was the only
  African-American in his class at Dayton Central
  High, and while he often had difficulty finding
  employment because of his race, he rose to great
  heights in school.
• Why we like him Dunbar is the first African
  American poet to receive national critical
  acclaim. His poems address how difficult it was
  to be an African American in America

Source http//www.dunbarsite.org/biopld.asp
7

• Legacy of Language NPR
• Dunbar's Influence on Other Artists
• William Grant Still is a composer who was
  inspired by Dunbars words to create
  Afro-American Orchestra which features some of
  Dunbars poetry within it!

8
SympathyPaul Laurence Dunbar

• I know what the caged bird feels, alas!
•    When the sun is bright on the upland slopes
• When the wind stirs soft through the springing
  grass,
• And the river flows like a stream of glass
•    When the first bird sings and the first bud
  opens,
• And the faint perfume from its chalice steals--
• I know what the caged bird feels!
•  
• I know why the caged bird beats its wing
•    Till its blood is red on the cruel bars
• For he must fly back to his perch and cling
• When he fain would be on the bough a-swing
•    And a pain still throbs in the old, old scars
• And they pulse again with a keener sting--
• I know why he beats his wing!
•  
• I know why the caged bird sings, ah me,
•    When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore,--
  
• When he beats his bars and he would be free

9
Robert FrostRobert Frost Current Event

• Background Info Robert Frost is considered one
  of the greatest American Poets to have ever
  lived. (So, hes pretty important!) He was born
  in San Fransisco in 1874 but lived much of his
  life in New England. When you think of Robert
  Frost, think New Engalnd. He attended both
  Dartmouth and Harvard (very famous colleges), but
  never earned a degree. Frost wrote poetry his
  entire life and became famous. Before he died in
  1963, Frost had won many awards. Even President
  Kennedy said of him, "He has bequeathed his
  nation a body of imperishable verse from which
  Americans will forever gain joy and
  understanding."
• Why we like him Robert Frost is well known for
  his use of common words in a musical way. He
  writes with common language, but it sounds
  beautiful. Often his poems are vague, leaving the
  reader with multiple ways of interpreting the
  poem. Robert Frost seemed to enjoy as critics
  tried to figure out what he really meant. We
  love a writer with a sense of humor!

10
The Road Not TakenRobert Frost

• Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
• And sorry I could not travel both
• And be one traveler, long I stood
• And looked down one as far as I could
• To where it bent in the undergrowth
• Then took the other, as just as fair,
• And having perhaps the better claim,
• Because it was grassy and wanted wear
• Though as for that the passing there
• Had worn them really about the same,
• And both that morning equally lay
• In leaves no step had trodden black.
• Oh, I kept the first for another day!
• Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
• I doubted if I should ever come back.
• I shall be telling this with a sigh

11
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy EveningRobert Frost

• Whose woods these are I think I know.
• His house is in the village, though
• He will not see me stopping here
• To watch his woods fill up with snow.
• My little horse must think it queer
• To stop without a farmhouse near
• Between the woods and frozen lake
• The darkest evening of the year.
• He gives his harness bells a shake
• To ask if there is some mistake.
• The only other sound's the sweep
• Of easy wind and downy flake.
• The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
• But I have promises to keep,
• And miles to go before I sleep,
• And miles to go before I sleep.

Stopping by Woods audio
12
Langston Hughes inspiring others

• Background Info Langston Hughes was born in
  1902. He was
• Raised by his grandmother until he was 13. Then,
  he moved to
• Illinois with his mother. It was at 13 that
  Hughes began writing poetry. He
• had many jobs as a teen, including working on a
  ship that took him to
• Africa and England. He eventually moved to
  Washington, DC and
• published his first book at the age of 22. He was
  noticed soon after by
• Critics and became well known for his writing.
  His influences were Walt
• Whitman, Paul Laurence Dunbar, and Carl Sandburg.
• Why We LOOOOOVE him Hughes wrote during the
  Harlem Renaissance. Just like the Renaissance
  in England was a time of rebirth for art, the
  Harlem Renaissance was a time in American History
  (during the 1920s) when there was a rebirth of
  African American art. The Harlem Renaissance
  brought us Jazz, great poetry, and new ways of
  thinking. Hughes was one of those poets who
  challenged the way people thought about African
  Americans. We love his use of rhythm! (You can
  almost dance to his poetry)

Source http//www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/83
13
DreamsLangston Hughes

• Hold fast to dreams
• For if dreams die
• Life is a broken-winged bird
• That cannot fly.
• Hold fast to dreams
• For when dreams go
• Life is a barren field
• Frozen with snow.

14
Dream DeferredLangston Hughes

• What happens to a dream deferred?
• Does it dry up
• Like a raisin in the sun?
• Or fester like a sore
• And then run?
• Does it stink like rotten meat?
• Or crust and sugar over
• like a syrupy sweet?
• Maybe it just sags
• like a heavy load.
• Or does it explode?

15
Gwendolyn Brooks
Background Info Gwendolyn was born in Topeka,
Kansas on June 7, 1917, the granddaughter of a
runaway slave, and grew up in the slums of
Chicago. Her parents were David Anderson Brooks,
a janitor, and Keziah Corinne Brooks, formerly an
elementary schoolteacher. Gwendolyn grew up
poor. She loved to read, but was an average
student. She began writing after she took a
workshop about writing poetry. She was married
and slowly became a well-known poet. She has won
many awards for her writing.
Why we like her Gwendolyn Brooks is described as
an objective poet. She writes about what she
sees and doesnt say what is right and wrong. She
used to sit by her window and write about the
people she saw walking by. Her favorite subject
is writing about the lives of different African
American people- their joys and their sorrows.
Source http//www.nathanielturner.com/gwenbrooksb
io.htm
16
We Real Cool"We Real Cool" audioNPR
conversation

• THE POOL PLAYERS.
• SEVEN AT THE GOLDEN SHOVEL.
• We real cool. We
• Left school. We
• Lurk late. We
• Strike straight. We
• Sing sin. We
• Thin gin. We
• Jazz June. We
• Die soon.

17
Maya Angelou (One of my favorites!)
NPR interview

• Background Info Maya Angelou was born in St.
  Louis in 1928, but grew up in Arkansas during
  segregation. Her life is filled with tragedy, but
  she writes about overcoming those hard times and
  growing stronger. Her life is filled with
  accomplishments she worked with Martin Luther
  King, Jr. as a civil rights activist, she was the
  first female African American director in
  Hollywood, she has lived all over the world and
  has fought in many different ways for peace and
  equality for all people. She has written both
  poetry and books.
• Why we ADORE her Dr. Maya Angelou is a
  remarkable Renaissance woman who is hailed as one
  of the great voices of contemporary literature.
   As a poet, educator, historian, best-selling
  author, actress, playwright, civil-rights
   activist, producer and director, she continues
  to travel the world, spreading her legendary
  wisdom.  Within the rhythm of her poetry and
  elegance of her prose lies Angelou's unique power
  to help readers of every orientation span the
  lines of race and Angelou captivates audiences
  through the vigor and sheer beauty of her words
  and lyrics. Angelou Website

18
Still I RiseAuthor's PerspectiveThe Power of
Words
19
Still I Rise (excerpts)Maya Angelou

• You may write me down in history
• With your bitter, twisted lies,
• You may trod me in the very dirt
• But still, like dust, I'll rise.
• Does my sassiness upset you?
• Why are you beset with gloom?
• 'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
• Pumping in my living room.
• Just like moons and like suns,
• With the certainty of tides,
• Just like hopes springing high,
• Still I'll rise.
• Did you want to see me broken?
• Bowed head and lowered eyes?
• Shoulders falling down like teardrops,

You may shoot me with your words, You may cut me
with your eyes, You may kill me with your
hatefulness, But still, like air, I'll rise.
Out of the huts of history's shameI rise Up
from a past that's rooted in pain I rise I'm a
black ocean, leaping and wide, Welling and
swelling I bear in the tide. Leaving behind
nights of terror and fear I rise Into a
daybreak that's wondrously clear I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am
the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise I
rise I rise.
20
Billy Collins

• Billy Collins was born in New
• York City in 1941. He is the author
• of several books of poetry. His poems
• are humorous because of Collins dry,
• witty sense of humor. His monotone
• voice adds to the humor as he reads
• his poems that are often musings on simple,
  ordinary things in unexpected ways. I hope you
  enjoy him as much as I do!
• Collins was poet laureate for the US in 2001. He
  was New Yorks poet in 1992.
• Billy Collins Interview

21
Litany

• You are the bread and the knife,
• The crystal goblet and the wine... Jacques
  Crickillon
• You are the bread and the knife,
• the crystal goblet and the wine.
• You are the dew on the morning grass
• and the burning wheel of the sun.
• You are the white apron of the baker,
• and the marsh birds suddenly in flight.
• However, you are not the wind in the orchard,
• the plums on the counter,
• or the house of cards.
• And you are certainly not the pine-scented air.
• There is just no way that you are the
  pine-scented air.
• It is possible that you are the fish under the
  bridge,

22

• And a quick look in the mirror will show
• that you are neither the boots in the corner
• nor the boat asleep in its boathouse.
• It might interest you to know,
• speaking of the plentiful imagery of the world,
• that I am the sound of rain on the roof.
• I also happen to be the shooting star,
• the evening paper blowing down an alley
• and the basket of chestnuts on the kitchen table.
  
• I am also the moon in the trees
• and the blind woman's tea cup.
• But don't worry, I'm not the bread and the knife.
  
• You are still the bread and the knife.
• You will always be the bread and the knife,

23
Robert and Emily Barrett Browning

• Background Info These two poets are famous
  separately, but their love story ties them
  together. Emily Barrett was a well known poet
  before meeting Robert Browning. She grew up in a
  wealthy family, but was sickly through her youth.
  Her father kept her secluded for her health.
  Robert Browning (who was younger than her)
  originally came to Emily Barrett for discussions
  about poetry. Soon, the two fell in love. They
  kept their feelings secret because they knew Mr.
  Barrett would not approve. Finally, the two ran
  away together and eloped. On their honeymoon,
  Elizabeth presented her husband with a book of
  love poems which he had published after her death
  because he felt they were too beautiful to keep
  from the word. The book, Songs of the
  Portuguese has some of the most famous love
  poetry today. You would probably recognize more
  than one poem.
• Why we love them Other than their mushy love
  story, we also love their poetry! Robert Browning
  is famous for his ability to put the microphone
  to a subject and let them speak in his dramatic
  monologues.

24
How Do I Love Thee?Elizabeth Barrett Browning

• How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.I
  love thee to the depth and breadth and heightMy
  soul can reach, when feeling out of sightFor the
  ends of Being and ideal Grace.I love thee to the
  level of everyday'sMost quiet need, by sun and
  candle-light.I love thee freely, as men strive
  for RightI love thee purely, as they turn from
  Praise.I love thee with a passion put to useIn
  my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.I
  love thee with a love I seemed to loseWith my
  lost saints, --- I love thee with the
  breath,Smiles, tears, of all my life! --- and,
  if God choose,I shall but love thee better after
  death.