Entry 49: Tanku Poem

The Tanka poem is very similar to haiku, but Tanka poems have more syllables and they use simile, metaphor and personification. There is no rhyme scheme, and it is written in free verse, which is to say there is no specific pattern of stress, feet, or meter. It has very few distinct rules or boundaries. The only rule with a Tanka poem is that it has to have five lines and the five lines have to have the correct number of syllables.

Here is an example of a Tanka poem:

Line one - 5 syllables	Beautiful mountains
Line two - 7 syllables	Rivers with cold, cold water.
Line three - 5 syllables	White cold snow on rocks
Line four - 7 syllables	Trees over the place with frost
Line five - 7 syllables	White sparkly snow everywhere.

Tanka poems are written about nature, seasons, love, sadness and other strong emotions. This form of poetry dates back almost 1200 years ago.

It is important to use sharp, concrete images in your Tanka. Look at the example above: cold water, white cold snow on rocks, trees with frost, white sparkly snow. All of these are concrete images that really make you “see” the picture being described. The one fairly weak adjective use is “beautiful.” Beauty is an abstract idea, and it can mean different things to different people. It is also a rather general term, so it doesn’t tell us much. It is better to show what is beautiful about the mountain than to simply tell us that they are beautiful.

Please write three Tanka poems. Choose themes from above, or come up with your own theme. When you write your Tankas, try to make a very clear picture of something, some place, some event, or some person in your mind. Really visualize it—its colors, sounds shapes, motions, smells, and any other sensations you can remember. Don’t start to write until you can see a picture in your mind.

Tanku 1
Sky blinking yellow
Strangers walking on the street
Trees shaking lightly
Over the crowds of people
I look up towards the sky

Tanku 2
Sitting on the grass
Feeling the cold breeze pass by
Watching the kids play
Under the scorching bright sun
I sit in silence, thinking

Tanku 3
Hearing Sarah talk
Makes me want to laugh out loud
She likes to act smart
Making her very nerdy
She's the nerd of juniors

Entry 48: Haiku

Haiku is a poetic form and a type of poetry from the Japanese culture. It often revolves around nature and natural things in the universe. Haiku combines form, content, and language in a meaningful, yet compact form. Haiku poets, which you will soon be, write about everyday things. Many themes include nature, feelings, or experiences. Usually they use simple words and grammar. The most common form for Haiku is three short lines. The first line usually contains five (5) syllables, the second line seven (7) syllables, and the third line contains five (5) syllables. Haiku doesn't rhyme. A Haiku must "paint" a mental image in the reader's mind. This is the challenge of Haiku - to put the poem's meaning and imagery in the reader's mind in ONLY 17 syllables over just three (3) lines of poetry!

The pattern for Haiku is the following:
Line 1: 5 syllables
Line 2: 7 syllables
Line 3: 5 syllables

Please write three Haiku for today’s journal entry. 

Haiku 1
Sarah is a nerd.
Yes, she's a junior nerd.
Oh! Nerdy Sarah.

Haiku 2
Sarah likes to lie.
Sarah likes to lie to friends.
She's a big liar.

Haiku 3
Sarah likes James Lai.
She is all over James Lai.
She's James Lai's lover.

Entry 47: Real or Romantic

In Whitman’s “I Hear America Singing,” a feeling of acceptance or even contentment runs through many of the voices. Considering the long hours and low pay of laborers in the nineteenth century, would you say that Whitman is romanticizing or idealizing the lot of workers? Or do the songs express a realistic and positive aspect of American life at that time? Would workers now be more or less likely to express the kinds of sentiments that Whitman celebrates? Explain your response, using specific examples from the text.

• Considering the long hours and low pay of the laborers in the nineteenth century, Walt Whitman is both romanticizing and idealizing the lot of the workers just by writing down his impressions of the different workers (and he may not be fully aware of what the workers do). He writes his poem in this way because he has never experienced the hardships of a worker (since he was a writer). The ideal society that Walt Whitman described in his poem "I Hear America Singing" is a society that Whitman hopes to see. However, the poem may still depict part of the realistic and positive aspect of American life at the time because of religion - everyone sincerely believes that they must work hard and be a honest and optimistic person in order to reach salvation and  go to heaven when they die, and not go to hell. The workers nowadays are less likely to express the kinds of sentiments that Whitman celebrates because the majority of workers are becoming less and less religious, and not really accepting their fate of always being hardworking. They no longer feel the feeling of acceptance. To sum it up, the workers are generally becoming more pessimistic.

Entry 46: Work Songs

Look at the poem “I Hear America Singing” by Walt Whitman (Text p. 365) in which Whitman celebrates the American enterprise, in all its forms, through the varied songs of men and women who take pride in their occupations. Why do you think a poet who celebrates America would focus on work songs? List a few of the jobs you would expect to be celebrated in an American poem today? Would they be the same or different from jobs celebrated in Taiwan? Elsewhere?

• A poet who celebrates America, one like Walt Whitman, would focus on work songs and use it as a topic because the poet knows that work during that period of American life is the basis of everyday life. To the Americans in that time period, working is important, essential, and necessary because it is the thing that provides the Americans a living (with the food that they grow). Also, by writing about work, the poet will be able to convey to others the hardworking quality and characteristic of the American society.
• In American poems, I believe that the most celebrated topics are usually about idols and stars. In other words, famous people. Why? Because people like to see things about the idols and stars that they admire. Sometimes famous athletes will also be used as a topic because of the same reason - they are popular. One of recent popular athlete that is discussed all over the world is Jeremy Lin, an American of Taiwanese decent who is in the NBA and is starting to gain popularity because of his ability to lead the team and eventually win a game that seems as if there was no hope. This example can also be used in Taiwan (because Jeremy Lin is of Taiwanese descent and everyone feels proud of him). Basically, poem topics in Taiwan is very similar to the ones that might be used in America - idols and stars. Sometimes both countries will use topics about daily life because that's what people care about.

Entry 45: Acrostic

Today you will write an acrostic poem. Start by writing the letters of your first and last name down the left margin of your paper. Then use those letters to start short sentences or phrases about yourself. For example, if your name is “Tom Jones”, you would start by writing this:

T
O
M
J
O
N
E
S

Then use each letter to start a line that says something about you. When you finish the poem about yourself, write another one about someone else using the same form. Choose anyone you want, real or fictional.

Poem About Myself
Wanting to do something with my hands
And trying to pay attention while doing so
Not falling asleep because I had enough sleep
Yes! It's me
In class


Casting a glimpse towards the clock
Heads up! It's time!
Out the class
Unto the hallway and back to the lockers.

Poem About Another Person (Vivien Li)
Venturesome and wild
Interactive and funny
Vivien Li
Is on the way!
End your activities
Necks turned and ears perked

Look and listen
It's the terminator!

Entry 44: Barbaric Yawp

You’ve already studied some of the American poets who preceded Whitman—Longfellow, Bryant, Bradstreet—as well as other Romantics. Based on what you know about the Romantic poets and other writers and their styles and beliefs, what do you think Whitman means when he describes his own poetry as his “barbaric yawp” (from line 3 of “Song of Myself” number 52)?

• I believe that when Walt Whitman described his own poetry and said that it was his barbaric yawp in the "Song of Myself", he is telling to the world that he is going to change the world by bringing in his new ways of doing things, such as being more optimistic, being more unconventional (such as in clothing and behavior), and creating brand new poetry that does not conform to any type of traditional poetry - free verse. He uses the words barbaric because he believes that he may be considered barbaric by many people during his time, since many people then were religious and conventional people.
• In present day, Walt Whitman's poetry is no longer considered as barbaric anymore, because it has become the common way of using language to speak, write, and express ideas to others. Free verse has become a part of lives. Also, most poetry no longer conform to the strict ways of poetry in the past. Poems that do conform may in fact even be considered as old fashioned and rigid!
• The poems that the American Literature Honors class has to write this year must take the form of Walt Whitman's free verse "I Hear America Singing".

Entry 43: What I Hear Singing

How does Whitman's America differ from the America you know? How does it differ from Taiwan or the world at large? How have social, historical, religious, and ethical influences changed from his time to yours? Reflect upon your own life, and then create a catalog of items that describe America or Taiwanese society as you see it today.

• Walt Whitman's America is very different from the America I know. First, the most obvious difference is the economic gap between the two periods. In Walt Whitman's days, the majority of the population had jobs that were related to actual labor. In present day America, the population has oriented towards jobs that were related to service. Secondly, people in present day America are not that optimistic anymore. There have been many cases as well as studies created in America showing that there are many people who experience depression, and sometimes even commit suicide because of the extreme amount of pressure and depression. There are also very high crime rates in America, which may be another topic that creates the differences between present day America and Walt Whitman's America. The last difference may be that the people in Walt Whitman's days were very religious, but the people in present day are not that religious, compared to the past.
• Taiwanese society is also very different from the American society during Walt Whitman's time. Present day Taiwanese society is extremely fast paced. It has become quite a modern, mechanized, and industrialized country throughout the last decades, and can now be considered as a more developed country. Taiwan also has one of the lowest poverty rates in the world. Taiwan also has many service related jobs, or jobs that require high levels of skills. In Taiwan, education is also a very important aspect.

Entry 42: Elements of Poetry

When we talk about stories, we use words like “plot,” “character,” “setting,” “conflict,” and “resolution,” among others. In order to talk about poetry, we need to understand what it is made of. Aside from “words,” what are the elements of poetry? Do they share any of the same elements that we find in fiction? Explain giving specific examples from stories and poems you’ve read.

• The elements of poetry are basically very similar to the elements of fiction, except for the fact that it contains a few more elements. First, most poems, like fiction, contain a plot. The plot may be complete, or it may be partial. Second, a poem will have a character or characters, and it doesn't matter if it is the narrator, if it is the person/thing/item that the narrator is talking about, or if it is the person/animal that is actually doing the action. Third, there is always a setting for any poem or fiction. The setting of both of these gives the story a general mood and tone. Lastly, both of them have a conflict (or the issue that is being addressed in the case of a poem) and a resolution (depending on whether the author wants to give a resolution or not).
• Poems are different compared to fiction because of their structures. Other than free verse, poems follow a form or structure while fiction does not have any obvious form or structure. Poems also have rhythm and rhyme to give it a feeling of being sung rather than just said (many poems in the past are sung).
• An example of a poem is Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass. It contains characters (the narrator and the little boy who asked him a question at the beginning, etc.), a plot (the narrator trying to find out truths), etc.

Entry 41: American Poetry Today

Where do you find poetry in American life today? Are there "hidden" forms of poetry? In other words, is poetry sometimes present, but not recognized as poetry? Is poetry important to people today (especially compared with the past)? Why or why not? Is it important to you? Why or why not?

• Today American poetry can be found in many different places, though many people do not notice it. For example, the advertisements that we see every day contain poetry: the lines that are famous, or a famous small passage or speech in the advertisement may be in the form of poetry, though many people think that it's not because it's in free verse. Also, blogs that we usually come across in the internet are also types of poetry, especially when people are typing out their emotions (well, for me, I usually type out my feelings and mood in the form of free verse poetry, because it sounds better that way). Songs and speeches can also contain poetry. Poetry in songs includes rap and also just any normal lyrics. People us poetry in speeches to create mood. Lastly, the most common place where we can see poetry is in schools, starting from primary through intermediate, secondary, college, and finally to graduate school.
• In present day, poetry has become a subtle form of our lives. It is there, and it appears. It's just that we aren't aware of it because it appears to be too common, since most poetry today is in the form of free verse. People use poetry all the time, but they do not realize until someone points it out. Poetry is important to me because, as I mentioned above, it is the medium that I use to convey my own feelings.

Entry 40: Whitman and Dickinson

Look at the quotations on p. 353 of your text. Describe what you think Whitman and Dickinson are implying. Are their messages similar or different? How? Which do you feel most closely represents your own attitude toward life?

• Whitman: Whitman's quote is trying implying that he is everywhere, with the common people of the country. We can think of the quote as implying this because during this period, most working class people (the majority of the population) need to wear boots, mainly because they are the most durable type of shoe produced at the time.
• Dickinson: Dickinson's quote is trying implying that the "world", or everybody else on planet Earth except for her, does not pay attention to her, as well as her poems and her views of the world. I believe that she wrote her many "letters", or poems, to convey to the ignorant world what she is feeling and what her point of view of the world is.
• Whitman and Dickinson are very similar because both of them are trying to express themselves to the world. However, they are still different because they express themselves in different ways. Whitman expresses himself in a more extroverted way while Dickinson expresses herself in a more introverted way (partly because of her withdrawing from the world).
• I believe that I am closer to Dickinson because even though I want to express myself to the world as well, I wish to do so in a more subtle and introverted way.