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=**Iron Poetry Wiki**=

**On your page:**
2) A memory poem-- use sensory imagery, no end rhyme 3) An ode 4) A riff poem 5) A sonnet 6) A written analysis of your own poetry: Minimum 1/2 page long single-spaced in Word (then pasted into wiki). May focus on key features/themes or new poetic techniques that you used. Should include analysis of specific parts of poems (explain choices, structure, word choice, or figurative language, etc) 7) Detailed Study: Minimum one page long single-spaced in Word (then pasted into wiki). Detailed analysis of both form and content of poet of your choosing. Should examine the poet's work by providing insight into both individual lines and the poet's work overall. Must make an argument about what is unique about the poet but not obvious to all readers. Must include excerpts from several different poems. Once you have marked up the poems of your choosing outline your ideas and conference with Mr. Block (before you start writing).** 9) Pimp your wiki! (Make it look nice with revised, polished work, clear labels, divisions between different parts...)**
 * 1) A quote about poetry
 * 8) A piece of artwork that you have created to accompany a poem.


 * Be ready to read a memorized poem on Friday, March 19th!**

**Guide to revising poetry (from Fooling with Words):**
- Eliminate cliches! - Use strong action verbs!** Fortify the physical character of the poem by using strong action verbs instead of linking verbs in the passive voice. Because active verbs and concrete nouns are more visceral, dynamic, and persuasive, they reduce the need for modifiers. Avoid overusing the "-ing" form of verbs because it dilutes and reduces their strength. It is like driving a speedboat without raising the anchor.
 * - Read your poem out loud!
 * - Make it concrete and unique!** Identify all abstract or general nouns and replace them with concrete or specific ones. Words like "love," "freedom," "pain," "sadness," "anger," and other emotions and ideas need to be channeled through the physical imagery of the five senses: Sight, Sound, Smell, Touch, Taste (SSSTT). Creating original metaphors is the most difficult part of poetry writing, not just for beginners, but for those who have been working with words for years. This, however, is what makes a poem distinctive and interesting.
 * - Cut, compress, and condense!** Compress, especially when the progress of the poem is impeded by imprecise or indecisive language. Try the following experiment. Put a gob of frozen orange juice on your tongue. This pure, concentrated slush, without any liquid to dilute its sweet potency, is so pungent it stings. Make your poem like that. Cut everything that can be cut until what's left penetrates the flesh with its sweet, burning flavor.
 * - Most important: Take risks and play with words and form!** Be daring in your writing. Experiment and take chances. Risk-taking adds originality and spontaneity to the poem, which leads to imaginative and linguistic breakthroughs. Read a wide variety of contemporary poets so that you will begin to understand the breadth of poetry's language and modern imagination.