Poetry Out Loud

I am reading Apollo by Elizabeth Alexander. The poem touches on racism and the author's own struggle to fit in in her life. In the poem, the Apollo missions are occuring and men are walking on the moon. At the same time, the US is going through a time of turmoil and the main characters in the poem are members of a black family. Alexander reflects on how the Apollo missions unite the US together and let them see past the racism that has been widespread. She mentions that men walking on the moon are "stranger, stranger even than we are." With such bounds being made in human development, the racial walls start to break down, even if it is only for a moment.

There are many aspects to convey in the reading of the poem. The narrator is a member of the black family that goes down to a public area that they would not normally be welcome in to watch men walk on the moon. They aren't noticed like they would have been, and I think this is important to convey. I will read it as if I am a younger member of the family, and use more of a contemplative and curious tone. The narrator isn't aware of the meaning that the author is putting into the poem, so I will have to find a way to incorporate that as well as the younger aspects.

5 Part Para EX Credit

Earlier in the year, I wrote on how I don't think through my ideas and also have bare-bones commentary, concerning my 5 part paragraphs. Since then, I have improved my skills greatly in the area of paragraph writing. When writing my paragraph this time through, I went over my ideas and carefully thought out every aspect of what I was going to say. I did type it up faster than I should have, but I am more comfortable with the quality of the content this time through. It also helped to have a greater understanding of the subject material in question, I had a pretty good grasp of what I was writing about. As I typed, my ideas took shape and I gained a deeper understanding of the poem than I could ever hope to gain just reading it. My proofreading didn't improve a whole lot this time through, but I feel like my errors were greatly reduced just my thinking about what I was going to say in the first place. Overall, I think my performance was greatly improved over the earlier paragraph.

Camouflaging the Chimera
RipRap
Kubla-Khan
A supermarket in California
Apollo

1. A supermarket in California is funny and a fresh approach to poetry.
2. Kubla-Khan is too old english for me.
3. I would choose either Apollo or A Supermarket in California. A supermarket in Calif. is very long, and that would be the only reason that I wouldn't do it.
4. It's a new beat, and defies expectations on classic poetry. It will engage the audience and be fun to recite, if I can memorize the whole thing. It also matches my personality and I feel like there are many hidden meanings buried within.

Generally, I have enjoyed public speaking in the past and have had no trouble with physical presence. I always make eye contact with my audience, and almost never get "stage fright". My voice and articulation will also be simple to master. I am very comfortable with higher vocabulary and once you understand what the author is saying, adding your own personal flair will become very simple. I don't like working harder than I have to by nature, and I am inclined to pick the easier option of one is available. For that reason, level of difficulty is going to be a challenging criteria. When I memorize passages or poems, I have the tendency to rephrase what is being said in my own words. It makes more sense to me and usually helps the audience understand what is being said. Unfortunately, that will detract from my score and will be something I will have to watch when reciting the poem.

Writ on the Steps of Puerto Rican Harlem

Jackson had a deep understanding of what the poet was trying to convey, both emotionally and idealistically. Jackson's performance was a success because he retained the core ideas of the poem while at the same time conveying his own beliefs throught his facial expressions and gestures.

Forgetfulness

Hille is completly comfortable with his audience, and it feels like he is relating a tale to us instead of reciting osmeone else's work. He captures the humor and adds his own personal tone to the poem at the same time.


If I put a large amount of time into memorizing and perfecting my technique, I believe I will get in the top ten. I don't have much of a desire to go beyond that, but if I do win, I will decide whether or not I will go on. I want to read ASIC, but in the end the length might discourage me from tackling it.