Finishing up w/ poems and etc.

Someone asked this week why poets can't just be clearer--"say what you mean and mean what you say." I think about clarity as relating to the kinds of essays many of you were probably required to write in ENGL 101. Most likely none of your profs in that class asked you to write a poem, or read one. In fact, you may never have been asked to write a poem before this class. Maybe you've never read a poem that wasn't required for school. So my question to you is "Why poetry?" If you have something to say, why not write a ENGL 101-type essay? What do you think?

Regarding this week's poems:

1. "Smalltown Lift" is what we call a prose poem. If we look in the table of contents, this is listed w/ the poems, so the editor thinks it's a poem, probably the author thinks it's a poem. Do you think it's a poem? Why or why not? What makes it a poem and not, say, a story or a flash essay? How does it use italics? Onomatopoeia?
2. "Porn": Compare this to the story "William Wei" that we read earlier in the semester. Like that piece, this also describes porn in graphic details. Also, like that story, this is written by a woman. Why do you think these women authors are drawn to pornography as a subject? Isn't porn usually (though not always) marketed for men?
3. "Trouble in Mind": Who is Ketty-San? Why is she a "sidekick chum"? What do you make of the poem's conclusion? What does it mean to "meep"? 
4. from Winehouse: This is a from a series of poems about music artist Amy Winehouse. It's what we call a persona poem. Kevin Young is writing from the point of view of Winehouse. In fact, the italicized lines are direct quotes from her song "Rehab." Young is an African American poet and Winehouse is a white British singer of R&B music (which was invented by black Americans artists). How is Young's poem about race? Here is the video for the song:

Also for this week on the blog, I'd be interested in knowing what you learned this semester about yourself as a writer/reader/thinker. How do you think this experience will affect the writing and reading you do as you move forward in your college career and beyond?

Other announcements:

I will not be holding the virtual classroom tomorrow (Tuesday 5/12). However, I originally planned to have class readings on Thursday, our last class period. I still plan to do this in the virtual classroom from 12:10-1:30. Please do not be late as I will only hang around until 12:30 in an empty classroom. If you would prefer not to come to this class period, you can meet the requirement of the reading by recording yourself reading a selection of your work and posting it to the blog (you can insert a video by clicking on the clacker icon on the ruler to the left of the smiley face).

Reminder: The final collection is due this Thursday at 2 pm. If you cannot meet this deadline, then I urge you to drop the class by the end of the day on Thursday so that you don't get an F on your GPA. Since the collection is worth 65% of your final grade, it is impossible to receive a passing grade if you don't turn it in. If you neglect to do drop the course by the deadline and you receive a failing grade, you can still transfer a class to C/NC up until 6/25. You can make either of these changes on CUNY First. If you decide to take either option, esp. if you receive financial aid, I would confer w/ your advisor before doing so.

Let me know if you have any questions.