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"We should read poetry because only in that way can we know man in all his moods -- in the most beautiful thoughts of his heart, in his farthest reaches of imagination, in the tenderness of his love, in the nakedness and awe of his soul confronted with the terror and wonder of the Universe."

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"We should read poetry because only in that way can we know man in all his moods -- in the most beautiful thoughts of his heart, in his farthest reaches of imagination, in the tenderness of his love, in the nakedness and awe of his soul confronted with the terror and wonder of the Universe."

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- Amy Lowell

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-I believe that this means we should read poetry because it's a way for us to understand what others are thinking and feeling which is a way for us to put ourselves in their shoes.

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How does my experience reading "A&P" by John Updike relate to this statement?

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How does my experience reading "A&P" by John Updike relate to this statement?

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- This quote relates to my experience reading "A&P" in several ways. I was able to relate by the characters actions. One way it related to me was because I was able to understand what Sammy was going through throughout the story. I put myself in his shoes when it came to his decision on quitting his job. It reminded me of the time I quit my job and was scared about what my parents were gonna think of it. Even though I was worried and scared, I still made my own choice and decided to quit to make myself feel better. With that being said, I was able to relate to Sammy's feelings and actions .

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-This quote was also a way for me to put myself in others shoes when I  read the short poem called "Quincinera". This poem was about a girl who turned 15 and realized it was time for her to transform into adulthood, but wasn't completely ready for it. An example of this was when she was putting away her old dolls. This illustrated that she was losing her identity as a child but would still continue to carry on memories of her playing with dolls as she adults. I knew exactly what she was feeling which was a sense of sadness and worry some. I felt this as I was remembering myself as a child with my favorite blanket. I would carry that blanket with me everywhere and when my mom took it away from me when I was getting older, I knew It was time for me to grow up and become an adult.

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- Another story that I related this quote to was "The House On Mango Street". The author,Sandra Cisneros wrote this based off some life experiences that she, herself went through, which helps relate to the main idea of the quote even more. I related to the character Esperanza multiple times throughout this reading. One way I was able to understand what she was thinking and feeling was when she started to show signs of maturity. She was starting to crush on boys, develop as a women by seeing changes in her body, and began to write as a way for her to escape her problems. This reminded me of the time I had my first crush in elementary school and when I noticed my body maturing. When Esperanza began to write, it right a way came to my mind of why I love to play soccer. She used writing as a way to get away from the world while I played soccer as a way to get away also. so by this I was really able to put myself in her shoes.

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-Reading the poem "Speech to the Young, Speech to the Progress Towards" really spoke to me as well. This poem was saying to live each day to the fullest and not always live by the rules. If you do everything for others people sake, you don't always get to enjoy yourself. By putting yourself in this authors shoes you could really change the way you see things for the better. If you never read poetry you might not ever understand others points of views on things and you'll just be stuck on your own mindset forever.

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- "Girl" by Jamaica Kincaid was another poem that I was able to relate this quote with. This poem was about a mother directing her daughter on how to live as an adult while giving her advice on what to do and what not to do. The way this poem was written, I was really able to understand the poem and its true meaning/reason. The mother wanted her daughter to grow up as a nice, mature, lady-like woman. For those reasons, I am able to say we should read poetry to get a better understanding of what others are thinking as the quote explains.

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-The next poem called "Those Winter Sundays" also relates to this quote. I say this because again,  we are able to understand this poets emotions. This poems all about memory. The author recalls the actions of a father who each Sunday rises early to make a fire and polish shoes for his son. As the son gets older the child becomes aware of all the hard work his father made. I could put myself in their shoes because my father was the same way. I realized all the hard work and effort he puts into my family as well. By reading such poems, you can truly relate to them without even thinking you would, which is why I value poetry.

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-"My Papas Waltz" is another poem that I enjoyed reading as well.This poem gives out a great reason as to why others should read poetry more often. In this poem the mind of a child conveys a sense of fun and threat at the same time. The author, Theodore Roethke,writes very clear so that you can understand what is happening. He wants you to get a sense of what the child is feeling and does so by his word choice and flowness of the poem.

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-"Fences" by August Wilson is a play that is relatable to this quote as well. Fences keep things in and keep things out, both literally and figuratively for the Maxson family. This play was written in a way that was easy for us readers to really picture what the characters were going through and just the overall meaning behind this literature piece.

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Show Clip - Fences - "What About My Lif?"

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-Author Sherman Alexie, of the short story "This is What It Means to Say Phoenix Arizona" also provides reasoning as to why  I believe we should read literature. This story is about two main characters Victor and Thomas who drive down to Arizona after the death of Victor's father. Thomas, whose mother died in childbirth, understands Victor's loss, and the two bond on their journey to retrieve Victor's father ashes and savings. This novel had a great story line that makes you wonder what life was like for these characters back in their time. The sense of culture is very different from how most Americans live so it made myself want to read even more to get a better understanding of how they lived on the reservation and what they went through on their journey. Alexie also added in a sense of humor which made the story even more enjoyable to read.

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Smoke Signals (3/12) Movie CLIP - How to Be a Real Indian (1998) HD

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-The last poem called "I, Too, Sing America" by Langston Hughes is a great poem that demonstrates this main idea. By refusing to buckle under the awful pressures of slavery and oppression, Langston envisions a greater America, making freedom the big goal. He makes it known that he too, is in fact part of America – a country that's all about equality and freedom. In very few words, and with imagery, Hughes is really teaching us how to be true Americans. Throughout the poem, the tone also changes from patriotic to anger giving us reasons as the quote says, "Only in that way can we know man in all his moods".

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-Aside from literature, we can listen to music and also get a sense of what the artist is feeling through their tone and word choice. Artist show their feelings through song lyrics while poets make works of literature to show their emotions. Both literature and music go hand in hand which demonstrates why we should expand our horizons and listen to what they have to say. By doing so, is the only way we can understand the true meaning behind their work of art.

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- My favorite work of literature was "A Lesson Before Dying". This was my favorite because the character Grant gave out some great lessons through Jeffersons trial. Jeffersons influence on others in this process was quite a lesson in the end as well. The plot and climax of the story was well done along with the emotional narrating. The author Ernest Gains, helped us readers truly see through a black mans eyes.