first the girl next door- goody-goody, giggly, pigtails and penny loafers.
A cliche is
then a 9 to 5 job, doing the best with what you got for a mushy meatloaf tv dinner.
A cliche is
love at first sight, a stay at home wife, *ding-dong-doorbell*, "Hi honey, I'm home!"
A cliche is
a bun in the oven, pink for girl, blue for boy, bottles, burps, and mobiles.
A cliche is
daddy's little girl - goody-goody, giggly, pigtails and penny loafers.
But it is not
sleepover secrets girls keep - "practicing," no complaints when you linger a little longer.
But it is not
lost in the dichotomy of gender binary - reject pink, crew cut, stuck in tomboy mode.
But it is not
a pilgrimage to Noho, reading herstories of Woolf, blasting Maddow on Air America.
But it is not
late night dates like bees create viscous honey, the persistent passing of nectar, bee to bee.
But it is not
the daughter disowned because she found her home in the Rubyfruit Jungle.
Responses to questions:
1) What was difficult or easy about this assignment and why?
For me, aspects of writing this poem were both difficult and easy for the same reason: the parameters we were given. Since I knew this had to be a list poem about cliches, I still had some opportunity for creativity, but had enough "rules" in place so my mind couldn't wander boundlessly. Having a specific assignment made it a little easier for me to contain my thoughts. I initially thought that using consonance and assonance would be really difficult, but it actually wasn't difficult once I got into it, and I ended up using both more than 3 times per respective stanza. On the flip side, I thought that controlling the length of lines would be easy, but it was difficult and it would have been easier if some lines could have been short while others could have been long.
2) How was writing the List Poem different than writing the Ars Poetica? Why?
Despite the many parameters we had to follow to write our list poem, I found writing the list poem easier than writing the ars poetica. For me, I think it had more to do with content than form (though I guess an ars poetica is truly a combination of both). I'm still unsure of my definition of poetry and how I see poetry, and because of that ambiguity, I had a difficult time writing my ars poetica. On the other hand, I know what cliches are, and I know how to make lists, so combining the two was actually really fun for me.
3) How does the repetition work in the poem in terms of movement, sound, pace, and rhythm? The same question applies to alliteration - how does alliteration change the movement sound, pace, and rhythm of the poem?
I think repetition adds to the movement, pace and rhythm of the poem. It makes the poem seem like it keeps moving forward, even intensifying. Alliteration also seems to affect the pace of the poem, too. When it’s a consonant sound that’s repeated, the pace of the poem seems to pick up. When it’s a vowel sound, it seems to me almost like it makes the words more gooey (does that make sense?) and slows down the pace.
For me, aspects of writing this poem were both difficult and easy for the same reason: the parameters we were given. Since I knew this had to be a list poem about cliches, I still had some opportunity for creativity, but had enough "rules" in place so my mind couldn't wander boundlessly. Having a specific assignment made it a little easier for me to contain my thoughts. I initially thought that using consonance and assonance would be really difficult, but it actually wasn't difficult once I got into it, and I ended up using both more than 3 times per respective stanza. On the flip side, I thought that controlling the length of lines would be easy, but it was difficult and it would have been easier if some lines could have been short while others could have been long.
2) How was writing the List Poem different than writing the Ars Poetica? Why?
Despite the many parameters we had to follow to write our list poem, I found writing the list poem easier than writing the ars poetica. For me, I think it had more to do with content than form (though I guess an ars poetica is truly a combination of both). I'm still unsure of my definition of poetry and how I see poetry, and because of that ambiguity, I had a difficult time writing my ars poetica. On the other hand, I know what cliches are, and I know how to make lists, so combining the two was actually really fun for me.
3) How does the repetition work in the poem in terms of movement, sound, pace, and rhythm? The same question applies to alliteration - how does alliteration change the movement sound, pace, and rhythm of the poem?
I think repetition adds to the movement, pace and rhythm of the poem. It makes the poem seem like it keeps moving forward, even intensifying. Alliteration also seems to affect the pace of the poem, too. When it’s a consonant sound that’s repeated, the pace of the poem seems to pick up. When it’s a vowel sound, it seems to me almost like it makes the words more gooey (does that make sense?) and slows down the pace.
4) Did you choose short lines or long lines? Why? What were the difficulties of this?
I decided to use long lines because I knew I had lots of ground I wanted to cover, so I figured it would be best to use longer lines. This did prove to be difficult, however, because while writing, it seemed more natural to have some lines be shorter and others longer. Controlling line length was definitely difficult.
5) You were asked to use all 5 senses - do you think you did a good job of implementing ALL five senses into your poem? Do you think it made your poem stronger? Weaker? Why?
I think I did a good job of incorporating sight, touch, and sound...taste and smell were more difficult. When I think about the sense of smell and sense of taste, they are very closely related, and I'm hoping that I was able to communicate the sense of taste, not just smell. I think using the 5 senses makes poems stronger, but I'm wondering whether it's necessary to use all five in ALL poems. I know that using adjectives and being as descriptive as possible helps to create more vivid imagery. I think I just have to keep trying harder to use smell and taste, which does seem unnatural to me when not talking about food specifically!
Classmate:
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the use of the "senses" in your poem. The cliche colors that the reader envisions during your descriptions of boys and girls is a vivid one indeed. Cliche is defined in this poem as that which is seen as normal, or the everyday. I particularly liked the metaphor of the buzzing bees which contrasts well with "Honey, I am home". I dont know whether this was intentional or not but it worked.
Instructor:
ReplyDeleteTo add the comment about the cliche as the normal/everyday...the cliche, like gender, is social construct--something that categorizes complex ideas. Think of cliches across cultures, as we think of them across other boundaries such a and gender, race, and so on. I would love to see this poem go even further with gender and sexuality. I love the last line "But it is not the daughter disowned because she found her home in the Rubyfruit Jungle." The *intertextuality* (a term that we will talk about in class) calls upon the Rita Mae Brown novel, and lesbianism. We end just as the topic turns from cliche to taboo. I really like this turn and think there is much more to be said about breaking several binaries...including poetry/prose (something for you to think about as you develop your definition of poetry).
I also love how your alliterative moments tend to be in line with the cliched girly sounds: "goody-goody, giggly, pigtails and penny loafers"...the p's and g's bounce around. And yes, it makes sense that assonance seems "gooey"...vowels stretch our mouths in such a way that those sounds do seem gooey!
Great work with this--I am seeing a happy union between content and form in this poem. I think the parameters actually helped you write one single poem with a (loose, but there) narrative that works both as a list and a subversion of that list.