Justin wrote:
[A Weird Nature Poem Formula]
I always hated that color by numbers bs. That exercise sounds painful.
I can't imagine the depth of horror your students felt upon reading the
instructions. Were there audible groans? It was hard enough reading
for a non-participant. That said, it seems to have worked passably well
for you, so what do I know?
- Patrick
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vermont Skiing Discussion and Snow Reports
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Justin Woods
> Sent: Tuesday, May 22, 2007 8:29 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: [SKIVT-L] warbler mind, stein's 5/19
>
> inspired by wes' valiant assaults on the flanks of sbn/s, and
> the excellent stein-
> tr... i thought i'd check it out up there on sat... given all
> of the rain in the
> forecast, &c. &c.
>
> it was nice. good capper (re-capper to the season). 20-30
> turns swatches
> followed by stidestepper-grassshooters to the next patch.
> what snow there
> wuz wuz nice. interesting to note: the ghost skiing was most
> entertaining.
> not wanting to carry the planks the rest of the way down the
> slope, i decided
> to see how the old jaks would do by themselves... oddly, they
> seek the
> straightest line, and they seem to stay righted for most of
> the journey... there
> were also some exciting drops and jumps. no damage of
> significance was
> incurred.
>
> the last pome is not so great, but i needed to create some
> sort of assignment
> to get my kids outside for some nature hikes. what follows
> is the activity--
> feel free to try it yourself without worry of copyright
> infringement (all rights
> left (tm)), and the pome follows it, as an example.
>
>
>
> Weird Nature Poem Formula
>
> Yes, you too can learn the secret of nature poetry by
> following the easy-to-
> use, step-by-step, line-by-line guide, guaranteed or your money back:
>
> 1. Select a natural object (plant, tree, bird, fern,
> mushroom, flower, cloud).
> Write it into a metaphor comparing the natural thing to some
> abstract idea
> (natural thing = adj. + abstract noun), as in "The
> Blackburnian Warbler is a
> firey burst of memory."
>
> 2. Insert a descriptive nature fact from a guide-book. Take
> it word for word,
> if it's interesting-if not, put it in your own words.
> ("Voice: very thin and
> wiry.")
>
> 3. Write 3-5 lines using sensory details, either directly
> related to your object
> or not.
>
> 4. Try using synesthesia in one or more of those lines-mix
> senses that
> wouldn't/shouldn't go together. ("I glimpsed the smell of
> apple pie rising from
> the plate" or "I heard the colors' trilling.")
>
> 5. Insert a habitat description from your guide.
>
> 6. Switch locations to something in your memory-and put the
> natural object
> there-also add some action; have the object doing something.
>
> 7. Have the object say something to you.
>
> 8. Address the natural object directly, using a nickname.
>
> 9. Use some personification or anthropomorphism or the
> pathetic fallacy (all
> essentially the same thing)-have the object do something you wouldn't
> ordinarily associate with it.
>
> 10. Insert some love-take one reproductive fact from your guide book.
>
> 11. Return to description/metaphor-compare the object's
> visual nature to
> something man-made.
>
> 12. Use the object's Latin name in a statement.
>
> 13. Return to your original metaphor, but extend it further
> or twist it.
>
>
> My example:
>
> Warbler Mind
>
> 1. Blackburnian Warbler, firey burst of memory,
> 2. with voice thin and wiry-
> 3/4. his songs taste like a squeaky wheelbarrow,
> hot to the touch, like a sunburn in spring-
> he flits through the hemlock against the sky,
> 5. and he ranges so high in the trees
> that I've forgotten what was on the grocery list
> 6. as I range down the produce aisle
> inspecting pears and oranges. Then, out of nowhere,
> he trills from a perch in the cooler section...
> "Don't forget the milk, the milk, the milk..."
> 7. O Audubon's imagination, I catch you
> 8. playing stride piano in the tops of trees
> like Fats Waller in Ain't Misbehavin'-
> 9. Breeding male, black and white,
> displaying his vivid orange throat
> 10. like the Slow sign at a construction site,
> 11. but, Dendroica fusca, it's only the perception
> of time that slows in the spaces around you,
> 12. these fleeting memories flickering into view.
>
>
>
> see you on the bike trails (anyone riding today?)
> --justin
>
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