As I begin to explore more and more poetry, I find that I am drawn towards certain types of poetry. Especially with my Latino poetry blog post, I found that poetry is so much more than working with a small anecdote and applying that to a bigger picture, which I feel we have looked at a lot lately.
Jenkins' poetry seems to do just this. He starts off with a snap shot of an event that may/may not have happened to him and then he zooms out to the larger focus. His style is different to Martins' as it does not fluctuate from snap shot to larger picture over and over again.
Football is a poem that I found hard to fully understand. I think that it's about life and the opportunities we get. The football itself represents all the unique chances we have in life to create a change, positive or negative. The narrator analyzes his options as he's about to pass the ball and realizes he's got a support system and different option, which in my opinion represents the different changes we have in life and it is up to us whether or not we pursue them, although this is something I'd like to ask Mr. Jenkins. Jenkins also talks about a pancake and about the different syrups he uses. The syrups represent the different socio-economic status' that the narrator has exeprienced. I think that when he is about to throw the football, he stops and think about where he's come from and what he's accomplished and finally decides against throwing the ball.
The Afterlife is a poem that is easy to relate to. We've all walked out of a cinema saying those exact comments. When I look at older people and hear them talk about their past experiences it sort of sounds like this. The poem reminds me of all the regrets we have in life, how it wasn't perfect. When was the last time you walked out of a movie and said "That movie was perfect! I wouldn't change a single thing!"? Our lives aren't ever perfect but I think Jenkins wants to get to the point that we have to enjoy what we're given and run with it. In this poem, I like the transition from being inside the theater to outside walking. It's a walk where you just process everything you saw for the last two hours, or ~80 years. I found that the poetry that Jenkins uses makes the factual content of the poetry easy to use but as always, you have to dig deeper and find the hidden meaning of the poem which is a little harder to do.
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Observation poem
Blades
Sharp to the skin
Wet
Prickly
Shades of green
Moss crawls all over the floor
Leaves provide refreshment
Speaking of leaves, they're yellow
The air feels cooler
In just a few months this ground will
be covered in snow
Wait why am I focused on this
It's nice
The sun is out
The leaves are still green
Sharp to the skin
Wet
Prickly
Shades of green
Moss crawls all over the floor
Leaves provide refreshment
Speaking of leaves, they're yellow
The air feels cooler
In just a few months this ground will
be covered in snow
Wait why am I focused on this
It's nice
The sun is out
The leaves are still green
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Latino Poetry Journal
I chose to do Latino poetry for this Journal for two reasons: the first one being that during the whole poetry course, we have encountered no Latino-inspired poetry and I wanted to explore a little more of its origins. The second reason being that Mr. Wensman has suggested that I dig deeper into my own Guatemalan experiences, which from my point of view seems a little cliche primarily because that's the identity I've grown up with/around. As a result, my experiences, different culture and way of life seems normal to me, where as to you, the readers, it will be completely new. Therefore, I'm going to give it a shot and see where I will take this next chapter of my poetic writing.
The online poetry journal I found was the Acentos Review, a tri-annual journal that includes 9 poets in each issue. All of these poets have Latino/Chicano roots and most of their writing if focused on Latin experiences. I found that many of the writers focused much of their content on Mexican themes. Perez, is one example some of her writing focused on the struggle that Mexican-Americans face. I found this not only unappealing but my "shields" were immediately put up once I found out what she was writing about. I think that's because from a very young age, us Guatemalans are taught that Mexicans are inferior to us. To a certain degree, it's racist but it's really a cultural thing where both cultures hold resentments towards each other.
Instead, I decided to focus on Roy Guzman's work. From his content, I figured he was from Honduras and there isn't as much social tension between the two countries so I found it easier to actually enjoy his writing. I found that Guzam's style of writing somebodies much of the Latino culture itself. Guzman's lines are longer than most of the other poems we have read so far in class (other than W.W.'s) which reminded me of how Latinos often just talk for hours without stopping, I believe Guzman is attempting to convey this with the longer lines. He includes an overwhelming amount of references to Latino food and slang which he writes in Spanish, and that just adds to the over all ethnicity of the poem. The Spanish words in the poem have such a pivotal meaning in my opinion that without understanding them, and their context, more importantly, it would be hard for a reader to fully grasp the concept of his writing.
The online poetry journal I found was the Acentos Review, a tri-annual journal that includes 9 poets in each issue. All of these poets have Latino/Chicano roots and most of their writing if focused on Latin experiences. I found that many of the writers focused much of their content on Mexican themes. Perez, is one example some of her writing focused on the struggle that Mexican-Americans face. I found this not only unappealing but my "shields" were immediately put up once I found out what she was writing about. I think that's because from a very young age, us Guatemalans are taught that Mexicans are inferior to us. To a certain degree, it's racist but it's really a cultural thing where both cultures hold resentments towards each other.
Instead, I decided to focus on Roy Guzman's work. From his content, I figured he was from Honduras and there isn't as much social tension between the two countries so I found it easier to actually enjoy his writing. I found that Guzam's style of writing somebodies much of the Latino culture itself. Guzman's lines are longer than most of the other poems we have read so far in class (other than W.W.'s) which reminded me of how Latinos often just talk for hours without stopping, I believe Guzman is attempting to convey this with the longer lines. He includes an overwhelming amount of references to Latino food and slang which he writes in Spanish, and that just adds to the over all ethnicity of the poem. The Spanish words in the poem have such a pivotal meaning in my opinion that without understanding them, and their context, more importantly, it would be hard for a reader to fully grasp the concept of his writing.
Monday, October 21, 2013
Two New Poems
Her
Her presence lights a
room up
Not always with her
words but
With grace only known
to Her.
For what takes us
places
Aren't buses, planes
or trains
No, it's something
that forever remains
It's that connection
that
Sparks fire, comfort
provides and grasps on
divides despite
Atitlan
“Yo, get up.”
Hands wipe across my face
Yawns, complaints, all gone
With that motion.
Step out tent.
Crunching beneath my feet
Sounds of volcanic gravel
All around us.
Look to either side
A cold, steep, unforgiving volcano
Surrounds me and my friends
Clouds hang low, visibility? Naught.
This isn’t what I got up for.
It’s 3 AM, too early to hike
Finally, sit down close to each other
One sleeping bag for the three of us.
“Just wait” it’s worth it, I promise.
Nylon is no match for these
Extreme conditions
Better be worth it.
We agree, just 5 more minutes.
2, 3, 4, start packing up our stuff
When suddenly,
A warm ray shines off the surrounding obsidian.
The black rock absorbs it all.
It’s a sign, the sun is soon here
We wait more, more
Suddenly, it happens.
Too fast for my mind to capture.
Colors bursting all around.
Red blue, every shade of hue.
The rays shining through the clouds.
Oh boy, what’s this.
A lake, the beach one on either side.
I can’t believe it for one moment.
This is my country, joy and pride.
Monday, October 14, 2013
Response to Chris Matins poems
Chris Martin's poems are unlike any I have ever read before. Not only the physical aspect of the way they are presented but also their content. Recently, in class, we have been looking at romanticism and poets such as John Keats who truly stick to the "classic" structure and content of poetry. Martin's poetry is very modern and uses topics that we experience in our every-day life. For example, his trip to the zoo is something that we have all experienced and we are each left to create our own imagery based off of our own experiences. This is another difference between the poetry we have been exploring previously to Martin's poetry where the classic poets use a lot of physical and emotional description and the reader is lead to a very specific place where the poet wants them to reach. In comparison, Martin uses every day events which allow us to reach our own conclusions based off of our own experiences. In a way, I really like this because it does not seem like you're being force-fed information. On the other hand, it is very casual and might not have necessarily have taken as much effort to write as John Keat's poems would have taken.
The structure of Martin's poetry is also very peculiar. When I first read the poem, I had a hard time reading the poem and stopping at every break. I soon learned that you have to just read the poems without pausing for them to really make sense. After reading the poem again, I was able to process the information Martin was presenting with much more ease. I found that Martin starts off by providing the reader with snapshots of his life and then focuses in on a serious topic. He did this in The True Meaning of Pictures when he started off writing about his trip to the zoo when he was stoned and then switches topic and questions who is in control in life. I found this to be a reoccurring theme in his poems. After switching into a "deeper" topic Martin then zooms out to a broader, not-so heavy scope but ends his poems with one liners which tie into the more complex topic.
The structure of Martin's poetry is also very peculiar. When I first read the poem, I had a hard time reading the poem and stopping at every break. I soon learned that you have to just read the poems without pausing for them to really make sense. After reading the poem again, I was able to process the information Martin was presenting with much more ease. I found that Martin starts off by providing the reader with snapshots of his life and then focuses in on a serious topic. He did this in The True Meaning of Pictures when he started off writing about his trip to the zoo when he was stoned and then switches topic and questions who is in control in life. I found this to be a reoccurring theme in his poems. After switching into a "deeper" topic Martin then zooms out to a broader, not-so heavy scope but ends his poems with one liners which tie into the more complex topic.
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