Found Poem Instructions

Found Poem: An exercise in looking beyond the “given” to make new discoveries

Step 1

Find a passage, not a poem or a set of song lyrics, that is approximately a hundred words in length.  It may come from one source or it could be a combination of sources.  Make sure the passage is interesting and employs interesting word choices and images.  You can use the internet to locate these passages or use sources such as advertisements, obituaries, letters, diary entries, news articles, junk mail, etc.

Step 2

Copy the passage TWICE into Microsoft Word.  SINGLE space the first passage, DOUBLE space the second one.

Step 3

Study the words you found.  Eliminate words that are dull, unnecessary, etc.  Your goal is to edit the original 100 words down to 50 words.  Feel free to change punctuation, however YOU MAY NOT ADD ANY WORDS at this point. 

Step 4

When you get your original 100 words down to 50 words,

REMOVE ANOTHER TEN, for a total of 40(ish) words.

Step 5

Read your edited draft one more time.  Study the remaining words and arrange them into a poem.

-         Consider how word choice emphasizes key words

-         Play around with rhythm and internal rhyme to heighten readers’ interest.

-         You may add a maximum of FIVE words to help smooth transitions. Please put these additional words in BOLD font

-         Read aloud as you arrange your words; before you paste the line on the page, perhaps read it aloud to a friend. 

-         Is there a better title than “found poem”?  If so, add it as your poem’s title.

-         Finally, at the bottom of the page, cite your source.  Always give credit where credit is due! 

Step 6

Print out your poem when you finish.  If you do not finish, save and send to your email so that you can finish at home tonight and bring the final product with you to class tomorrow. 

Sample Found Poem

Please format your paper as shown below:

Original Passage: 118 Words

Today was a good day.
I went out.
I was seen.
I would walk the earth over and over in this condition with Hunchie,
if I could go with my Mom and Lucy (and Betsy).
We went to Whole Foods and bought salmon for dinner.
Mr. Nielson grilled it up and everyone dined on fresh delicious fillets for dinner.

Mr. Nielson lay in bed with the children down the hall.
Lucy put Betsy down for the night and we talked about life last year and how totally different it is this year. Lucy read me a little bit from her journal. Last year my hair was buzzed, I was frightfully skinny and my baby was calling Lucy "Mom".

* http://nieniedialogues.blogspot.com/2010/02/my-sister-luc.html

My Found Poem: 42 Words

Last Year

Today was a good day.
I went, was seen,
walked the earth over,

and dined.

With the children down the hall,

Mr. Nielson and I talked about life last year,

when I was frightfully skinny

and my baby was calling Lucy, "Mom".

Periods 2, 3, and 12: Act IV Worksheet

Macbeth

Act IV, Scene iii

Malcolm and MacDuff

1. Choose a word to describe Malcolm’s attitude toward MacDuff at the beginning of the scene (lines 1-20).

2. How does Malcolm test MacDuff’s loyalty to Scotland in this scene? 

3. Malcolm claims to be more inherently evil than Macbeth.  List three examples of heinous personality traits Malcolm claims to possess:

a.

b.

c.

4. After listening to all of Malcolm’s claims and attempting to come to an agreement, MacDuff finally has enough and reacts strongly.  What does he say? (lines 100-114)

5. Once he realizes he can trust MacDuff, what good news does Malcolm reveal in regard to his preparation to fight Macbeth?  (130-137)

6. How does Malcolm differ from his father, King Duncan?

7. How does playing Apples to Apples apply to this particular scene?  How does the connection between what is written on a “green card” and what is written on a “red card” differ amongst the members of the group playing the game?  Please respond to these questions in paragraph form below:

Period 4: As Simple As Snow

A Perfect Sonnet

by Bright Eyes

Lately I've been wishing I had one desire
Something that would make me never want another
Something that would make it so that nothing matters
All would be clear then

But I guess I'll have to settle for a few brief moments
And watch it all dissolve into a single second
Try to write it down into a perfect sonnet
Or one foolish line

'Cause that's all, that you'll get, so you'll have to accept
You are here, then you're gone
But I believe that lovers should be tied together
Thrown into the ocean in the worst of weather
Left there to drown
Left there to drown
In their innocence

But as for me I'm coming to the final chapter
I read all of the pages and there's still no answer
Only all that was before I know must soon come after
That's the only way it can be

So I stand, in the sun
And I breathe, with my lungs
Trying to spare me the weight of the truth.
Saying everything you've ever seen was just a mirror
Spent your whole life sweating in an endless fever
Now you're laying in a bathtub full of freezing water
Wishing you were a ghost

But once you knew a girl and you named her lover
Danced with her in kitchens through the greenest summer
Autumn came she disappeared
You can't remember where she said she was going to

But you know, that she is gone, 'cause she left you a song
That you don't, want to sing
Singing I believe that lovers should be chained together
Thrown into a fire with their songs and letters
Left there to burn
Left there to burn
In their arrogance

But as for me I'm coming to my final failure
Killed myself with changes trying to make things better
Ended up becoming something other than what I had planned to be

Now I believe that lovers should be draped in flowers
And laid entwined together on a bed of clover
Left there to sleep
Left there to dream of their happiness

ASSIGNMENT: Respond in 2 organized paragraphs.

As you’ve now discovered, ASAS lacks a traditional resolution for its reader however the Narrator receives one – what is it?

How does this song represent the narrator’s experience in As Simple As Snow? How is the narrator changed because of his relationship with Anna?

Periods 4 and 6/7: ASAS/The Great Gatsby

Period 4: please finish reading As Simple As Snow over break.

Period 6/7: please finish reading The Great Gatsby over break.  Also, re-watch both trailers for Baz Luhrmann's new film and make a list of differences between the two in order to determine why the director chose to edit and revise his original choices.  You can watch the original trailer here and you can watch the new version here.

Periods 2, 3, and 12: The Office Macbeth

Mirror of Macbeth -  The Office: The Coup

Task: Choose TWO of the following sets of quotes; blend the quotes with your own thoughts in a paragraph that connects the characters and themes found in The Coup episode of The Office to characters and themes from the play Macbeth. 

Set 1: 

Angela : Dwight, you should be running this office.
Dwight : Michael would never let me.
Angela : It’s not up to Michael. It’s Jan’s call. Talk to her.
Dwight : I could never do that.
Angela : Fine, sit back and do nothing and let us all get fired!

Set 2: 

Dwight Schrute: Ever since Michael dumped Jan for Carol, Jan’s been ******* out on him. Reject a woman, and she will never let it go. One of the many defects of their kind. Also, weak arms.

Set 3: 

Angela (to Dwight): “Fine, sit back and do nothing and let us all get fired”

Angela: I know that patience and loyalty are good and virtuous traits but sometimes I just think you need to (man up).

Set 4: 

Michael Scott: Business is like a jungle. And I am like a tiger. And Dwight is like a monkey that stabs the tiger in the back with a stick. Does the tiger fire the monkey? Does the tiger transfer the monkey to another branch? Pun. There is no way of knowing what goes on inside the tiger's head. We don't have the technology.

Set 5: 

Michael Scott (to Dwight): I guess that means you’re going to be acting manager of Scranton.  You’ve been my most trusted ally.   

Dwight: You said that?

Set 6: 

Angela: Congratulations, Dwight.
Dwight: Thank you, Angela.
Dwight: I just want to say, to the few of you who will remain under my employ, that I intend to lead you into the black with ferocity.
Angela : It’s really happening.
Dwight : Yes.
Angela : We can make a difference here.
Dwight : I will make a difference here.
Angela : You alone? ‘Cause I thought together…
Dwight : Oh, please, don’t be naive.
[Dwight turns around to head back to work. He pauses before leaving the room]
Dwight : You can be in charge of the women.

Period 4: Sophomores

Read the first chapter of As Simple As Snow.  The chapters are titled, not numbered, so follow that division.

Period 2, 3, and 12: Juniors

Macbeth Reading Assignment due Tuesday, December 4th:

Period 2: Scenes 2 and 3

Periods 3 and 12: Scene 2