Sunday, February 19, 2012

Who is your favorite poet or musician and why? (Due Friday, February 24th!)


A poet's work is to name the unnameable, to point at frauds, to take sides, start arguments, shape the world, and stop it going to sleep. - Salman Rushdie
 

Who is your favorite poet and why?  What are some of your favorite poems by that poet?  If you don't have a favorite poet or haven't read much poetry, then write about your favorite band or artist.  What are some lyrics they have written that you liked?  Why?  If you can include a specific poem or lyrics, then that's great!  REMEMBER: Your response must be a fully-developed, 5-sentence paragraph.  Below is an example response.


This is a tough question for me.  There are so many poets I love: Pablo Neruda, Emily Dickinson, Mary Oliver, Billy Collins... the list goes on and on.  I think my absolute favorite all-time poet, if I have to pick, is William Carlos Williams.  He is known for his short poems, which he wrote on prescription pads when he was a doctor. Though many of his poems are short, they contain touching and true reflections of the human condition.  He also wrote many poems which were musings about artwork.  I especially love the poem called "Landscape with the Fall of Icarus" about a Brueghel painting because it emphasizes the everyday world not as backdrop, but as even more important than the fall of a hero:



According to Brueghel
when Icarus fell
it was spring

a farmer was ploughing
his field
the whole pageantry

of the year was
awake tingling
with itself

sweating in the sun
that melted
the wings' wax

unsignificantly
off the coast
there was

a splash quite unnoticed
this was
Icarus drowning

8 comments:

  1. My favorite songwriter is Bruno Mars. I like his music and I know that he writes his own songs. He also wrote some of Flo Rida's songs and he also co-wrote Billionare, which is sung by Bruno and Travie McCoy. I also like him because he thinks of neat rhymes that I would of never thought of. He also comes up with different tempos, and styles for his songs. That is why Bruno Mars is my favorite songwriter.

    Darren

    Super Bowl XLVI Champions
    New York Giants

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  2. I do not listen to much music or read poetry... But, one of the songs I heard my older cousin, Eamon, was playing stuck out. It was irish music and per usual its lyrics were almost incomprehensible but I got the general idea that someone (the father) had died and the son was depressed. He and his mother both were both stricken with grief and drank and danced there worries away, as is the Irish custom. The tempo and instruments where interesting to say the lest and the story moving in an odd way. It was called the Rocky Road to Dublin and was wrote by the Dubliners. Enjoy!

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  3. I do not really have a favorite songwriter. I like Bruno Mars and Lupe Fiasco. My favorite Bruno mars song is Grenade, and my favorite song by Lupe Fiasco is The Show Goes On. The only thing I don't like about The Show Goes On is that the beat is the exact same beat as Float on. I like The Show Goes On because the lyrics are inspirational. I like Grenade because the lyrics are really creative. I could never think of the rhymes he comes up with.

    Jed Strickland
    #13

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  4. I have not read but a few poems, but out of the ones I have read Shel Silverstein's poems are my favorite so far. I own 3 of his books of poetry and even after reading them repeatedly they continuously make me laugh. I love his writing because he comes up with such amazing lines that I would never think of. My favorite poem written by Shel Silverstein is called The Cave. It is about a kid that walks into a monster child's cave and acts like he is just another one of his friends instead of making fun of him like other people do. That is why I like Shel Silverstein.

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  5. My favorite poet is Dr.Suess,I like him because when I was little my parents would read me his stories.My favorite is ooglop its about a king who gets sick of normal weather so he makes ogglop wich is a sticky substance that rains from the sky. I like Dr.Suess because of how funny his stories are.

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  6. My favorite poet is shel silversteen.I like him because he is a funny poet and writes lots of poems I like.One of my favorite musicians is jack because he is a good singer.He is also in movies like school house rock and kung fu panda 1 2 .they are the poet and the musician I like.

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  7. My favorite singer is Lil' Wayne. I like Lil' wayne because of the type of music he sing's Rap and Hip Hop. My favorite song is "MR.Carter" because it is well writen. I like Lil' Wayne also because he has well writen lyric's. That is why I like Lil' Wayne. BY:Daniel High Go #3

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  8. If I were to choose a favorite songwriter, I would choose John Lennon. He inspired and affected so many people with his music, and really touched the world with his good voice and talent. He was very creative in his lyrics, and I look up to him as a real musician.

    James

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