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Please begin with an introductory post that introduces your purpose: to reflect on your learning and development as a poet and critic as well as make an argument about how you have met each of the learning outcomes, below. 

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Please begin with an introductory post that introduces your purpose: to reflect on your learning and development as a poet and critic as well as make an argument about how you have met each of the learning outcomes, below. 

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Howdy!

Throughout this semester, I have embarked on a transformative journey in which I have honed my skills as both a poet and a critic. Through the exploration of various poetic forms, analysis of literary theory, and engagement with thought-provoking discussions, I have expanded my understanding of poetry and deepened my appreciation for the power of words. Throughout this course, I have developed and showcased effective close reading skills, enabling me to delve deeper into the impact of poetry. By carefully examining language, structure, and imagery used in Modernist era poems, I have been able to connect a deeper understanding of the Modernist era as well as the Imagist movement. Through my analysis, I have examined the influence of poets, and uncovered hidden symbolism. I have increased my analysis and synthesis skills through engaging with a diverse range of poems and have increased my ability to identify and analyze various literary devices, such as metaphors and alliteration used by poets of the Modernist Era. I have delved into the works of prominent Modernist poets, such as E.E. Cummings, William Carlos Williams, Ezra Pound, Langston Hughes, and H.D. and analyzed their poetic techniques, experimentation with form, and thematic explorations. These achievements have allowed me to grow as a poet and critic, deepening my understanding and appreciation of poetry as a powerful art form.

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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RS3lyQAY7GDAewIDh7HJ9XBZOil5azG0OQCU-eY9-fw/edit?usp=sharing

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Identify your strengths as a reader and a writer: what are some things that you feel confident or proud about? Give examples/evidence from your work this semester--whether they are research-driven (as in seeking sources about Stein's literary take on cubism, for example) or craft-driven (as in taking risks in language use for one of your own poems). What are some things that you still find challenging about reading, writing, and revising poetry as well as researching in this realm? 

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Identify your strengths as a reader and a writer: what are some things that you feel confident or proud about? Give examples/evidence from your work this semester--whether they are research-driven (as in seeking sources about Stein's literary take on cubism, for example) or craft-driven (as in taking risks in language use for one of your own poems). What are some things that you still find challenging about reading, writing, and revising poetry as well as researching in this realm? 

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I think I showed strength in my attention to word play and meaning. Inspired by Pound's "A Few Don'ts by an Imagiste" and his poem "In a Station of the Metro"  I wanted to reflect my understanding of Imagist poetry. I wrote the following poem:

on a Sunday, under the Stars

voices hiss

faces crack by fire

closer to heaven

here with every view

we take flock sitting

on the aspen pew

In this poem I used exact language and nouns to set the scene of an outdoor place of worships. The fire and aspen pew lets the reading connect to images of the outside and connects to the title's location being "under the Stars". I used attention to capitalization to connect images of heaven and Sunday church to the narrator's holy space found in nature. These contrasting images juxtapose nature and religion and let the reader come away with images of church pews and a star lit sky around a crackling fire.

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I struggled to connect Pound's theory to my modernist critical essay that examined H.D.’s “The Sheltered Garden” and E.E. Cummings’ “[the bigness of cannon]” In my essay I provided the following summary, "Ezra Pound, a well known imagist poet defines the importance of using imagery in his essay stating, 'an ‘Image’ is that which presents an intellectual and emotional complex in an instant of time' (A Few Don'ts by an Imagiste)."  While this summary introduce Imagism it did not delve in deep enough to connect the theory to the poems. I believe I got to carried away into a gendered analysis and didn't spend enough time connecting Pound's history with H.D. or analyzing his strict views of Imagist poetry. While I provided a brief explanation I didn't continue to connect his views of Imagism to the ways H.D. and E.E. Cummings use of it.

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Select an artifact from your work this semester that showcases your ability to make connections between Imagist, Lost Generation, and Harlem Renaissance poetry (as well as other cultural productions if you'd like to gesture to visual art, music, etc.) and contemporary poetry (or other cultural productions).

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Select an artifact from your work this semester that showcases your ability to make connections between Imagist, Lost Generation, and Harlem Renaissance poetry (as well as other cultural productions if you'd like to gesture to visual art, music, etc.) and contemporary poetry (or other cultural productions).

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In my responding to Stein padlet I examined "A Patriotic Leading" and how Stein's play with words and attention to words' meanings. In the padlet I stated the following:  "'A Patriotic Leading' breaks tradition with the breaking of grammatical rules and structure as the poem opens with a series of questions that are marked as statements. Additionally, Stein uses imagery to paint the themes of Americana and patriotism, with the description of stars and weddings. I found verse III interesting as it didn't state marriages, but focused on the weddings which seems like an attention to symbolism displayed in ceremonies. Focusing on the wedding details feels like an attention to Capitalism and its traditions / growing cultural symbols." Connecting her play with words and focus on the ceremonial details of a wedding as opposed to the marriage itself can be connected to modern themes of tradition and aesthetics that take over the real matter at hand. Seeing our modern society's obsession with wedding culture along side our divorce rates sets an ironic tone. Modern society feels fascinated with performance and the appearance of happiness. The focus is on the big wedding and not the relationship that follows. "A Patriotic Leading" holds a sarcastic tone as Stein plays with words meaning. And in modern times, given the current political atmosphere and continual gaslighting that comes from the news and our own government, words continue to change and flip their meaning. And as Stein states in Verse III, "We are worthy of everything that happens."

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Select an artifact from your work this semester that showcases your ability to make connections between the works of criticism/poetic theory we read (by Pound, Stein, and Hughes) and poems written by Modernist poets. In order words, how do these poetic theories influence the poems created during this time? Give examples/evidence from your work this semester, such as linking to Craft Padlets or Perusal annotations or quoting from your Modernist Critical Essay.

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Select an artifact from your work this semester that showcases your ability to make connections between the works of criticism/poetic theory we read (by Pound, Stein, and Hughes) and poems written by Modernist poets. In order words, how do these poetic theories influence the poems created during this time? Give examples/evidence from your work this semester, such as linking to Craft Padlets or Perusal annotations or quoting from your Modernist Critical Essay.

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From examining Hughes' writing in his critical essay  "The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain"  and his poem "Let America Be America Again," I came away with a deeper understanding of double consciousness and the Black experience during the Harlem Renaissance. With in my Craft Padlet I expressed:  "Hughes acknowledges the hurdles that Black creatives have to navigate while unpacking not only their art, but their own bias towards themselves. Hughes highlights the importance for Black creatives to embrace and celebrate their culture and racial and cultural heritage. He advocates for them to draw inspiration from their own experiences, traditions, and folklore, rather than trying to imitate or conform to the set standard that are informed by white supremacy." From this understanding I was able to make connections to the Modernist poems read. In Gwendolyn Bennett's "Song" I connected her descriptions and of jazz music and Black women's bodies to her expressing Black existence and excellence. Bennet's depictions of her culture, music, and identity was a form of resistance to the society that sought to constrain her. In my Perusal annotations I provided the following connection, "Music is a large theme that continues through out the poem and ties in specific sounds that relate to the Harlem Renaissance, such as jazz. This poem shows its resistance to the constraints and oppression placed upon Black identity and culture and shows how music is a release from these binds. This poem explores the idea that Black pride, happiness, and excellence is a tool to their freedom. Resistance against their oppressor can be used through their own success and wellness, not there grief or violence." Bennett's poem is a artifact to Hughes theory as it shows the resilience of the Black community and the ways that art and music provided them financial freedom, creativity, and expression of their experiences.

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Select an artifact from your work this semester that demonstrates your ability to analyze (aka: "unpack" or "look at in small parts") a poem we read together. Discuss how you used evidence from your analysis to synthesize information (aka "draw a conclusion" or "make an interpretation"), combining prior knowledge and experience with new information from my lectures or peer comments. Include specific examples/evidence 

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Select an artifact from your work this semester that demonstrates your ability to analyze (aka: "unpack" or "look at in small parts") a poem we read together. Discuss how you used evidence from your analysis to synthesize information (aka "draw a conclusion" or "make an interpretation"), combining prior knowledge and experience with new information from my lectures or peer comments. Include specific examples/evidence 

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In Anais Nin's poem "Risk" I closely examined her use of flowery images and rigidity to be symbolic for female sexuality and conformity. In perusal I connected the following: "the use of buds, and Blossoms can be referring to female anatomy and sexuality. The pain and risk that is mentioned sets a theme of constraint and control. Viewing this poem through a queer / sexuality lens can connect these ideas together and show how the narrator feels oppressed by their tight conformed bud - the initial home and starting point of their life vs an open and free expression of their identity and sexuality." Understanding Nin's additional work and use of femininity and sexuality as themes in her poetry helps to unpack the symbolism of the buds and Blossoms of this poem. Flowers and fruit are often used to symbolize women's sexuality, female anatomy, and reproduction.

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Select two artifacts from your work this semester that demonstrate your ability to read poems closely, interpreting the works based on the poetics (writing choices) made by the author; you can discuss lineation choices, use of figurative and/or emotional language, attention to sound, etc. in your response. Include specific examples/evidence (such as quotes from your Modernist Critical Essay or links to/screenshots of Perusal annotations) as support. 

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Select two artifacts from your work this semester that demonstrate your ability to read poems closely, interpreting the works based on the poetics (writing choices) made by the author; you can discuss lineation choices, use of figurative and/or emotional language, attention to sound, etc. in your response. Include specific examples/evidence (such as quotes from your Modernist Critical Essay or links to/screenshots of Perusal annotations) as support. 

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In E.E. Cummings' [the bigness of cannon], I examines his use of "large descriptors" as a way to express the irony of war. IN perusal I expressed the following: "The continued use of larger descriptors, "bigness, enormous, huger, carries the weight of inferiority and insecurity. War is often seen as a man's game, and the use of large guns and weaponry is often compared to the commander's/nation's manhood and sense of control/power. The bigger the gun the bigger the power. The repeated use of these large descriptions shows this dynamic while also revealing the fragility that is held in this contest for grandiosity. A large cannon is skilful, but in the end it is not about the larger cannon, but the depth of the silence coming from the wave of deaths that follow its boom." E.E. Cummings was known for his use of misspelling as well as playing with capitalization to add to his poetry's meaning. Through out the poem Cummings' use of grand words feel misplaced and at odds with the title itself being undercapitalized.

I showed my ability to close read poetry as well in Anais Nin's "Risk" when I explored her use of repetition. In perusal I stated the following: "After the statement of the day arriving the "when the risk" line sets a shift in tone as the poem begins to examine the concept of risk in remaining constraint and tight like a bud. This turn set the poem up for its main "thing" and makes the word risk stand out even more when it is later repeated." In poetry, specifically Imagist poetry, every word carries intention and meaning. Seeing a word repeated is not done so carelessly and a close reading can clue the reader into examining the repeated word choice deeper to find more meaning and context.