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“We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for.” ~ John Keating (Dead Poets Society)
“If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire can ever warm me, I know that is poetry. If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry.” ~Emily Dickinson
“Because poetry found me and story expresses itself through my poetry, who am I to argue against its voice?.” ~Louise Bernice Halfe
Poetry, like music or any other art form, is as diverse and varied as are the people who create and enjoy it. The connection one has to a favourite poem is as personal and unique as their connection to a favourite song, to a good friend, to a favourite kind of food. Poetry uses language to bring us to new places of understanding about the world: to bring us experiences through words and imagery, to encourage us to question our assumptions. Poetry jolts us out of complacency, pushes us beyond our comfort zone, and demands that we pay intimate attention to language, meaning, and the complicated beauties and horrors of being human. More than anything, poetry is experience.
In completing this unit you will explore a wide range of poems and poets, learn new vocabulary through which to discuss poetry, and will become intimately familiar with one poem. This year, Bishop Carroll students are participating in the national Poetry In Voice recitation competition. Each of you will select a poem from the PIV online anthology to learn, memorize, and recite. As well as being a required evaluation, this will also give you the opportunity to be considered for entry into the school wide poem recitation competition, which will determine our school champion, who will then have the opportunity to compete at the national level and the chance to win thousands of dollars in prize money. To learn more about the competition, and to get started on your hunt for poems, visit the website now: https://www.poetryinvoice.com/ .
For even more enrichment, you will write poems of your own and have the opportunity to publish your work and possibly see it in print in the Voices poetry journal.
The world of poetry is exciting, and the more curious you are to explore it the more you will get out of this unit. You will learn new words, be exposed to new ways of thinking and learn something about literature, culture, diversity, and being in the world. Enjoy!
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