For our last unit of 2019, we focused on three concepts. First, the beat poetry movement, second, the history of the 1950s, and third, Star Wars. This project was for our winter exhibition this year, and we performed some of our poems. Our driving question for this unit was:
How can we use poetry to reflect our perspectives on people, places, issues, and beliefs?
We started by writing poetry every day. We wrote train of thought verses at the start of each class to start to get our creative minds running. Then we wrote our own spoken word poems. My poem I wrote about a snowy day. It is titled “The Cloud” and you can read it in my poetry book linked below! It was made up of many different poetic devices and we had to learn how poetic devices change the meaning of text and emotions of a story. I’m very proud of my poem for this assignment, and it was still favourite poem I wrote.
Next, we wrote short pieces about the beat poetry generation. Beat poetry is a genre of writing that was popular in the 1950s based on rebellion. It was different than typical poetry at the time as it was based on controversial topics such as drugs or sexuality compared to more tame topics at the time. I wrote about Diana Di Prima, who was had a large influence on the movement at the time.
Here is my piece!
Next, we wrote a poetic analysis based on two different poems. This meant that we annotated the pieces with poetic devices and answered related questions about them. This gave me a better understanding of what the author wants the reader to perceive from their work. This is important because it allows for a more surrounded way of writing. Seeing the bigger picture in someone’s work allows the reader to better understand what was going on in their world and how the piece relates to today.
Lastly, we had to create a collection of poems. I called mine Open Book. I worked very hard on these poems, and I’m quite proud of how they turned out. I took inspiration from a variety of things, from events in my life, to simple objects around me. Then, I wrote some ideas down and then created verses from them. I included many poetic devices, such as metaphors and imagery. Then, on the night of our exhibition, I performed them.
Our bar setup
Our exhibition was based on Star Wars, so we had to connect our writing to that. We created our room to be a replica of the Cantina on Tatooine and built a bar, stage, and tables for guests. I was in charge of food and drinks. We created multiple recipes based on Star Wars food, such as Hubba Gourd (cantaloupe) and Dust Crepes (spanakopita).
Throughout this unit, I’ve found it fascinating to see text through both a perspective of the 1950s and through the perspective of Star Wars. I’ve exemplified this especially through my Bio of a Beat card, my Poetic analysis of Diane do Prima, and my Cantina contributions. I also took pride in my literacy skills and specifically poetic devices through my final poetry book as well as our poetry analysis.
Overall, our exhibition went very well and showed our learning efficiently. I worked very hard on this unit, and enjoyed performing my poetry.