1. Unit 2 Unit 2 Reading Poetry --and liking it -- Chapter 21

2. Where to Begin Reading Poetry Responsively How can this be done? First, don’t let yourself be intimidated by the poetry Second, try reading the poem aloud a couple of times before reading it silently to yourself (don’t get too caught up in paying attention to the punctuation and stopping at the end of every line where there is no punctuation Give yourself a chance to respond to the piece before giving up on it (because its too hard to understand what the author is saying) What can the title tell us about the poem? It gives you an initial sense of what the poem is about

3. Marge Piercy’s “The Secretary Chant” My hips are a desk. From my ears hang chains of paper clips. Rubber bands form my hair. My breasts are wells of mimeograph ink. My feet are bear casters. Buzz. Click. My head is a badly organized file. My head is a switchboard where crossed lines crackle. Press my fingers and in my eyes appear credit and debit. Zing. Tinkle. My navel is a reject button. From my mouth issue canceled reams. Swollen, heavy, and rectangular I am about to be delivered of a baby Xerox machine. File me under W because I wonce was a woman. Read the following poem aloud a couple of times and make notes of what you find interesting or confusing. 1.What is your response to this secretary’s chant? 2.Is she trying to be Amusing? Sarcastic? 3.How does she describe herself and what do you think her emotions are?

4. The Pleasure of Words The impulse to create and appreciate poetry is as basic to human experience as language itself. From its beginning origins, poetry has been associated with what has mattered most to people

5. Why Read Poetry? What is special about poetry? What makes it valuable? Why should we read it? Who is reading it different from reading prose? ANSWER: Poetry pervades our world in a variety of forms, ranging from advertising jingles to song lyrics. Play is an important part of reading poetry (authors playing with words, spellings, sentence forms, etc)