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Consider the following poems. Select one that best answers this question:                     Which of these poems best serves as a mirror, window, and/or sliding glass door for the reader?  Why might that matter? Write an analytical response that clearly addresses the prompt’s purpose.                           Include a thoughtful thesis statement and use an appropriate structure with text-based evidence and elaborations that directly support the thesis.         

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Consider the following poems. Select one that best answers this question:                     Which of these poems best serves as a mirror, window, and/or sliding glass door for the reader?  Why might that matter? Write an analytical response that clearly addresses the prompt’s purpose.                           Include a thoughtful thesis statement and use an appropriate structure with text-based evidence and elaborations that directly support the thesis.         

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https://docs.google.com/document/d/18IQvUxNuhb-13-RwtHuVcj9mx0XHPpUfv7aCvZQXUgM/edit

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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uv07mxwByCQsjie0rBMFxR4zny08wEe_/edit

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Susan Strauss on Amanda Gorman's "The Hill We Climb"

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Susan Strauss on Amanda Gorman's "The Hill We Climb"

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In one of Amanda Gorman’s expressive hands, she holds a mirror as a reflection. In the other, she opens a window to the momentous occasion surrounding her. With that in mind, Inaugural Poet Laureate Gorman’s poem, “The Hill We Climb,” offers both a mirror and a window, reflecting the inner world of both the reader and the writer, much like an expansive yet highly personal interpretation of the American dream, one not always offered to children of color.

The poet boldly asserts herself in the inauguration of President Joe Biden, a pivotal though fractured point in history, as she paints the picture inside her head and out. She is living a very exclusive dream, one “Where a skinny Black girl descended from slaves and raised by a single mother can dream of becoming president only to find herself reciting for one.”  Ms. Gorman, the youngest inaugural poet ever, grasps the mirror firmly and holds it up against the brisk blue sky, inviting everyone to consider it a window and join her as an eyewitness to history. As she closes her poem, her invitation transforms into a clarion call, stating, “For there is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it, if only we’re brave enough to be it.”

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Amanda Gorman's "The Hill We Climb" creates windows and sliding glass doors through its buoyant, assertive tone and apt, relevant detail. For example, the allusions to Hamilton evoke both the pop energy of the musical, as well as the echoes of momentous occasions in US history.

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Amanda Gorman's "The Hill We Climb" creates windows and sliding glass doors through its buoyant, assertive tone and apt, relevant detail. For example, the allusions to Hamilton evoke both the pop energy of the musical, as well as the echoes of momentous occasions in US history.

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"Sequestrian" most closely serves as a mirror to my life.  First, the title grabs me: it speaks to my experience of being sequestered, solitary, and alone.  The title sets the stage for the poem elaborating the separateness that has characterized my pandemic experience.  And after that, the detail of the couple frozen, debating whether to open the door after the package is left resonates.  I recall the uncertainty of knowing if the virus could be transmitted by touch and the fear connected to that.  At the same time, the package represents that which is desired, requested, or even necessary.  Perhaps it is toilet paper, hand sanitizer, or in my case, a book.  (I've done a lot of reading over the past months.) In any event, the pandemic has reinforced and heightened our need for contactless deliveries, and this poem mirrors, or captures, our desire to avoid public interactions.  To be continued...Mark Afram

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"Sequestrian" most closely serves as a mirror to my life.  First, the title grabs me: it speaks to my experience of being sequestered, solitary, and alone.  The title sets the stage for the poem elaborating the separateness that has characterized my pandemic experience.  And after that, the detail of the couple frozen, debating whether to open the door after the package is left resonates.  I recall the uncertainty of knowing if the virus could be transmitted by touch and the fear connected to that.  At the same time, the package represents that which is desired, requested, or even necessary.  Perhaps it is toilet paper, hand sanitizer, or in my case, a book.  (I've done a lot of reading over the past months.) In any event, the pandemic has reinforced and heightened our need for contactless deliveries, and this poem mirrors, or captures, our desire to avoid public interactions.  To be continued...Mark Afram

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In her poem, "How Will the Pandemic Affect Poetry, author Julia Alvarez uses poetry as a metaphor for human interaction and communication where she ponders how we might interact and communicate in a changing world of possibilities and limitations brought upon a cataclysmic global pandemic.

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Katie Jaroch expounds upon "Keeping Quiet" by Pablo Neruda.

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Katie Jaroch expounds upon "Keeping Quiet" by Pablo Neruda.

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"Keeping Quiet" serves as both a window and a mirror, shedding light on the world's constant buzz of activity and drumbeats of violence while reflecting a universal yearning for human connection to others and our core selves amid the noise and omnipresence of death.
Neruda's

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Gorman's poetry, and poignant lines like, "we did not feel prepared to be the heirs of such a terrifying hour," serves as a mirror for the pain, the uncertainty, the loss, and the so. many. Zoom. calls. we currently endure. Through poetry like Gorman's, we have a chance to empathize, to encourage, and to exhale.

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The central paradox in Hughes' poem "Let America Be America Again" is central to our nation's current fragmented state. The speaker's exhortation, through apostrophe, is to "let America be America again--/The land that never has been yet." This contradictory statement nevertheless rings true, because the American Dream, myth though it may be, is still integral to what it should mean to be an American. How, then, can we all believe in the golden dream of opportunity when it has been withheld from so many? And how can addressing issues around race help unite our country in these troubled times?

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In Neruda’s Poem, Keeping Quiet, the reader connects to his idea that we would all be better off in the world if we valued silence and introspection. This serves as the best window for us to look through as we imagine what a quieter and calmer world could be; it could be a world without war and killing and perhaps a slower and more enjoyable one. In this chaotic and scary world this resonates very strongly for the reader. We imagine a world where we “walk about with their brothers in the shade, doing nothing”, rather than one with “wars with gas, wars with fire”, or in our current case wars with viruses that lurk within our very beings. At its core the poem touches on the stressful nature of our culture and enables us to imagine a very different, more fulfilling and peaceful world. The imagery of walking with our “brothers” in the “shade” touches the reader’s need to connect with our loved ones more and of taking a moment to be still and quiet- something our western culture often glosses over as we strive to succeed and ever keep moving toward the next thing we want to accomplish.

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The poem "Our Real Work" by Wendell Berry is seen as a mirror because it challenges ideas of identity and purpose.  There are two questions with which humanity grapples:  Who am I? and Why am I here?  Berry implies that busyness can get in the way of real purpose, or satisfying endeavors, in our lives. We "come to our real work" (2) when we've distanced ourselves from society's demands or some inner drive instilled by parents, teachers, the environment, or other forces, and then we can actually decipher our God-ordained talents and develop our innate interests that ultimately lead us to a satisfying expression of who we are meant to be.

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Rough Draft1 Thesis:In Amanda Gorman’s poem,  we see the power that words have to create a mental sliding door that opens into our worlds , present day moments, we are all sharing.

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Rough Draft1 Thesis:In Amanda Gorman’s poem,  we see the power that words have to create a mental sliding door that opens into our worlds , present day moments, we are all sharing.

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In Neruda’s Poem, Keeping Quiet, the reader connects to his idea that we would all be better off in the world if we valued silence and introspection. This serves as the best window for us to look through as we imagine what a quieter and calmer world could be; it could be a world without war and killing and perhaps a slower and more enjoyable one. In this chaotic and scary world this resonates very strongly for the reader. We imagine a world where we “walk about with their brothers in the shade, doing nothing”, rather than one with “wars with gas, wars with fire”, or in our current case wars with viruses that lurk within our very beings. At its core the poem touches on the stressful nature of our culture and enables us to imagine a very different, more fulfilling and peaceful world. The imagery of walking with our “brothers” in the “shade” touches the reader’s need to connect with our loved ones more and of taking a moment to be still and quiet- something our western culture often glosses over as we strive to succeed and ever keep moving toward the next thing we want to accomplish.

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When Gorman asserts that "history has its eyes on us," we are called to act to create a Union as the Founders did, but similar to Lin Manuel Miranda's creation, we act as a diverse citizens with agency, as opposed to simply powerful white men drowning out everyone else's voice.

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What might be some ways we can help America be (an even better) America again?

As we work to unite our country, what might be some ways that addressing issues around race might help?

Write a well-developed paragraph that supports your argument. Include specific reasons backed by evidence to support your claim.

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Change is hard. Change that involves addressing a belief system over 400 years old might seem overwhelming. Change involving an exorcism to the head and heart might seem beyond possible considering the enormity of the problem and the ugly disturbing fact that vast inequities still exist. When the poet, Langston Hughes, asks the reader to "Let America Be America Again," he asks that we focus on changing not the history of the past, but the one of the future, the one we being written at this very moment.
Hughes forces us to face certain hard truths about America. He asks that we envision an America where "Liberty is crowned with no false patriotic wreath, but opportunity is real, and life is free, equality is in the air we breathe." If we truly believe in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Thomas Jefferson that "all men are created equal," then why might it be so difficult to live up to the tenets of basic human rights? Somehow, we must focus on the part that we can do, the part that moves us all forward so that at long last, America might actually be the version of utopia that Jefferson, Dr. King, and Hughes longed for and dedicated their lives toward realizing.

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In order to move forward as a nation, and as a community, we must first have a truthful reckoning about the past and present. Achieving the promise of the dreams in the Declaration of Independence requires honest reflection about how the some powerful people and institution have drawn a "veil across the stars" for other Americans. For example, every child deserves a chance to dream of a future, and that dream should be based in possibility, not fantasy. Yet how are we to let that be a possibility without acknowledging not only the legacies of stolen lands, broken treaties, and chattel slavery, but also the legal housing segregation that has continued even into the 21st Century? We need to make sure all children are safely housed so that they may dream. Additionally, if law enforcement furthers racial hierarchy, and Black children are not able to feel safe in their communities, this also defies the promise of liberty and

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Addressing issues around race is key, and Hughes doesn't shy away from that.  (He insistently restates that America isn't free, and he has not experienced its promise.) That said, Hughes pushes a message of unity--that most of its people suffer, regardless of race.  The poem catalogues various people groups, from Native Americans, to immigrants, to the youth, to Blacks, and the lone farmer who plows in the rain.  In these exhaustive lists, the poem profiles individuals who struggle and strive to achieve the promise of America.  Hughes doesn't shirk from acknowledging the devastating pain that African Americans have uniquely suffered--far different from the immigrant who opted to come here--yet he also highlights a the sense that everyone struggles.  And rather than separate, impose artificial hierarchies, or fight, America must acknowledge the truth that most cannot achieve its dream.  Instead, he advocates for a land where "opportunity is real...[and] equality is the air we breathe."  This starts by coming together and making "every man...free."

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Addressing issues around race is key, and Hughes doesn't shy away from that.  (He insistently restates that America isn't free, and he has not experienced its promise.) That said, Hughes pushes a message of unity--that most of its people suffer, regardless of race.  The poem catalogues various people groups, from Native Americans, to immigrants, to the youth, to Blacks, and the lone farmer who plows in the rain.  In these exhaustive lists, the poem profiles individuals who struggle and strive to achieve the promise of America.  Hughes doesn't shirk from acknowledging the devastating pain that African Americans have uniquely suffered--far different from the immigrant who opted to come here--yet he also highlights a the sense that everyone struggles.  And rather than separate, impose artificial hierarchies, or fight, America must acknowledge the truth that most cannot achieve its dream.  Instead, he advocates for a land where "opportunity is real...[and] equality is the air we breathe."  This starts by coming together and making "every man...free."

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Was America ever the ideal idea that it has promised to be? For many immigrants and or people of color, including Langston Hughes, this promise has yet to be fully realized. America's promise must be realized and must include all of the citizens from all "benighted shores" to do so. We must embrace all cultures and celebrate instead of fear our diversity. For too long, and even quite recently, people have governed by fear and racism, further dividing our nation. Instead of seeing the shared humanity and reaching a hand to help the poor immigrants literally fleeing for their lives, our former President Trump chose to separate immigrant families, putting children in cages and forever ruining their lives and changing who they might have been in life. These types of policies have divided us and prove that America is not and never was the ideal it has promoted and promised. We must educate our youth and adults about the racist past and present in our country and we must teach tolerance and conduct anti bias training. Companies are beginning to do this as a response to protests against their racist treatment of people of color. Starbucks is undergoing anti bias training for all employees in response to a law suit brought against it due to an employee calling the police and getting two black men arrested for merely sitting in the establishment. We must teach our youth in schools and hopefully create more diverse communities where children have friends of all different backgrounds and view these differences and normal and something to celebrate. In order for "America to be the dream the dreamers dreamed" as Hughes so beautifully reminds us, we must teach tolerance and reform our racially bias laws as well as celebrate and encourage diversity in all areas of American life.

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Here's my start (I didn't quite respond to the prompt just yet, haha) :

In his poem “Let America Be America Again,” Langston Hughes calls for a more inclusive America, and, by extension, for an acknowledgement of the pain inflicted on marginalized groups, especially. But, what is perhaps most compelling is his use of the word “again,” not only in the poem’s title, but also repeatedly throughout the poem. His intentional use of “again” serves to draw attention to the extent to which the initial “dream the dreamers dreamed” excluded the “poor white, the Negro, the red man, and the immigrant,” to use Hughes’ own words. By emphasizing the need to be America “again,” Hughes invites us to reimagine a hopeful new world in which ideals and opportunities deemed to be “American” can be accessible to these groups, as well.

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Diane Shires      The title “Let America Be America Again” is puzzling. Again? If we think of America as a symbol of opportunity, hope, prosperity, and happiness, we wonder who has captured this historical  goal. Walt Whitman writes about this land of opportunity in “I Hear America Singing,” as men, white men, sing together to build a strong America. Hughes disputes this symbol as opportunity,  as this hope is available only for some.But he does give some clues as to how to help America be a land of opportunity again, not just for some, but for all. He views this hope as a “dream it used to be.” as as a “pioneer on the plain.” The image is one of infinite possibility, no boundaries, all potential as far as the eye can see. Yet for some, for Hughes, “there’s never been equality for me,” never been equal opportunity, hope or potential.

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Dreamers

We must learn to dream again. In the 1930’s Hughes wrote about letting America be great again while simultaneously saying that dream was never really attainable for many people. He acknowledges though that in the American dream’s infancy, the act of dreaming was important for the dreamer. Hope serves a purpose. We may hope for things that never happen, but we have a better chance of making them happen if we can hope.

America needs a vision of the future that is both positive and possible. Then Americans need help getting there. Race issues needed to be righted surely. An admission that our country was founded on much hate and racism is needed. Removing statues and tributes to people who enslaved and killed others is a place to start. Reparations would help too. Also, productive discussion about what most Americans have in common, and are desirous of, would help.

We all want jobs, enough quality food, healthcare, and the ability to pursue higher education.

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ADRIANA: Draft needs edits:Thesis statement:  We can let America be America by small individual actions that can lead to micro changes in our world that will then affect the macro of all  America. Like ring on a lake when a stone is dropped in a lake and the rings circle the entirety , we would use intentional words in three specific areas our  lives: as an individual, with our families and close ones,  and then in our present-day interactions in our community. If we choose on purpose to improve the quality of our words that emphasize the dream of America, words that allow for freedom of thought, liberty of the individual, and respect for the common man, one by one we can each impact the ideological fibers of our country and overtime the fabric of our society may begin to reflect the dream of our forefathers. 

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ADRIANA: Draft needs edits:Thesis statement:  We can let America be America by small individual actions that can lead to micro changes in our world that will then affect the macro of all  America. Like ring on a lake when a stone is dropped in a lake and the rings circle the entirety , we would use intentional words in three specific areas our  lives: as an individual, with our families and close ones,  and then in our present-day interactions in our community. If we choose on purpose to improve the quality of our words that emphasize the dream of America, words that allow for freedom of thought, liberty of the individual, and respect for the common man, one by one we can each impact the ideological fibers of our country and overtime the fabric of our society may begin to reflect the dream of our forefathers. 

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The central paradox in Hughes' poem "Let America Be America Again" is central to our nation's current fragmented state. The speaker's exhortation, through apostrophe, is to "let America be America again--/The land that never has been yet." This contradictory statement nevertheless rings true, because the American Dream, myth though it may be, is still integral to what it should mean to be an American. How, then, can we all believe in the golden dream of opportunity when it has been withheld from so many?  And how can addressing issues around race help unite our country in these troubled times?