Portfolio Opportunity #15

 

Check after the jump for portfolio opportunity #15

Portfolio Opportunity #15

By now, hopefully, you have read something that you've enjoyed, found interesting, or don't totally despise, at least. Maybe you've found a poem that you've read a few times. Maybe you've read it out loud. I do that sometimes, read poems aloud to myself. Most often, I read by myself, which, really, is a shame. Poetry is meant to be shared! not closeted in bedrooms and classrooms! 

For this portfolio opportunity, share your favorite poem that you've read this semester with somebody. You can read the poem to anybody -- a stranger on the subway (but, please, ask first -- don't just shoot first and ask questions later -- you are not Dirty Harry), a friend, a family member, another professor -- but there is a stipulation. After you finish (and you should mention this to the listener beforehand), have the listener ask you one question about the poem (remind them that "I don't get it" is not a question). Take this one question, and answer it (duh). But you can answer it in a variety of different ways: you can write a straight, 1-2 page answer to the question that exercises what you've learned in class this semester (flex that intellectual muscle!), use the question as the title to a poem then use the poem to expand upon the question (you could do the same for a picture or a collage or some other creative reaction), or you can use it to continue a discussion with whomever you have read to (make sure to transcribe this discussion so you can hand it in).

Lastly, if you plan on reading a poem to somebody, make sure that you practice. Read it aloud and try to find a manner that you feel is appropriate to read it. Make sure to breathe. And you don't have to pause at the end of each line. Just read it straight through. And read it slowly. Think of it as a handshake.

Due 5/20