Week 7: Poetry
Instructions for Weekly Online Activities/Assignments

ENGL 231: JC Clapp (North Seattle Community College)

Due no later than Thursday, November 12th, 2009 by 11:00 p.m. PST:  Choose one poet that writes primarily for children under the age of 12 years old. There are many lists in Chapter 8 of your textbook to help you to select a poet, if you need help getting started.  Then, study this poet by finding out whatever you can about them.  Consider questions such as:

How would you characterize this poet's work in style and usual content?

What can you find out about his or her personal background?

How might the author's personal experiences be reflected in his or her poetry?

Does the poet maintain a website?  If so, link to it.

Once you've compiled a bit of information about the poet, write a paragraph or so telling us about the poet you chose.  Then, move on to select one of the author's poems that you find particularly interesting.  Continuing in the same post, evaluate the poem you chose by using the evaluation criteria on page 350 of your textbook (or online at: http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0073378569/student_view0/chapter8/evaluation_guides.html). Be specific in your evaluation and give examples from the poem itself to support your assessment.  Include the bibliographic information for the poem in your post.  Title your post with the poet's name.

Due no later than Monday, November 16th, 2009 by 11:00 p.m. PST: Read all of your classmates posts with the goal of simply becoming more familiar with various poets.  Then, see if any of your peers assessed the same illustrator that you did.  If so, compare your findings and assessment with that of your peer.  Participate in a discussion by responding to at least two posts.  As a class, see if there is a clear "winner" or two in the field.  Was there a particular poet (or quality of poet) that many people found to be strong?