Poetry

[augie]

This has nothing to do with tea, unless you drink while reading.

Is anyone on this forum a poetry reader? If so, would you be so kind as to take a few minutes of your time and tell me your favorite Author/Poet and their genre? You can tell I'm an idiot, I know nothing about poerty! Thanks in advance if you are able to help me. I am asking everyone whose path I cross this week!

[tseirPsaduJ]

I like alot. I can't choose a favourite, but Alfred Tennyson, Shakespear, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Lewis Carroll of course, and various strange rhymes passed down through the ages with no known author. I also enjoy the simplicity of certain musicians' poetry. I collect lyrics. I was thinking of compiling a few of my favourites with some really good art/photography as a tea table book. What about you? Do you have a favourite, or favouriteS?

P.S. Sorry about not telling Genres but generally the authors/writers I like do many, or I'm not quite sure how to categorize them. Especially since people tend to disagree on labels alot.

[Victoria]

Oh there are so many but Edna St. Vincent Millay is my favorite. She wrote many types so it would be hard to classify but I'd call her a lyric poet.

You can read about her here:
http://classiclit.about.com/cs/profiles ... millay.htm

My favorite of her works, Renascence, here:
http://www.bartleby.com/131/1.html#210

Her style is very addicting!! Enjoy!

[augie]

Thank you for your replies. To answer tseirPsaduJ: I know nothing of poetry, which is why I asked for some suggestions. I am reading a very fascinating book, "The Brain that Changes Itself", by Norman Doidge MD.
http://www.normandoidge.com/
Each chapter is devoted to a different brain researcher who has pioneered development in neuroplasticity (the ability of the brain to change and adapt at any age).

There is one teacher who uses poetry (among many other techniques) to help develop children's brains. That particular teacher/researcher suggests that removing music/art/poerty from school curriculum is the cause of many learning disorders/ADD/ADHD among children.

So, I was checking into poetry and didn't want to just go to Amazon.com w/out some suggestions.

Thanks a bunch!!!

[hop_goblin]

Ahh! Poetry! Nothing encapsulates the charm and wonderment of poetry than my favorite poem - "Beans the Magical Fruit" - Author Unknown

[Victoria]

Oy hop!! LOL

[hop_goblin]

Oy hop!! LOL

I am happy you got the humor behind my little joke.. After I typed it, I started to feel bad has the question that was presented was intended to be serious... But then again, I said, what the heck this is Teachat!

[Victoria]

Yeah, hopefully Augie won't make you stand up and recite in in front of the class!

[olivierco]

Poetry is sometimes difficult to appreciate when it is translated.

Two of my favorite poets:

Gérard de Nerval

El Desdichado (le déshérité)

Je suis le ténébreux, - le veuf, - l'inconsolé,
Le prince d'Aquitaine à la tour abolie :
Ma seule étoile est morte, - et mon luth constellé
Porte le soleil noir de la Mélancolie.

Dans la nuit du tombeau, toi qui m'as consolé,
Rends-moi le Pausilippe et la mer d'Italie,
La fleur qui plaisait tant à mon coeur désolé,
Et la treille où le pampre à la rose s'allie.

Suis-je Amour ou Phébus ?... Lusignan ou Biron ?
Mon front est rouge encor du baiser de la reine ;
J'ai rêvé dans la grotte où nage la sirène...

Et j'ai deux fois vainqueur traversé l'Achéron :
Modulant tour à tour sur la lyre d'Orphée
Les soupirs de la sainte et les cris de la fée.



Gaius Valerius Catullus

Passer, deliciae meae puellae,
quicum ludere, quem in sinu tenere,
cui primum digitum dare appetenti
et acris solet incitare morsus,
cum desiderio meo nitenti
carum nescio quid lubet iocari
et solaciolum sui doloris,
credo ut tum gravis acquiescat ardor:
tecum ludere sicut ipsa possem
et tristis animi levare curas!

[tseirPsaduJ]

Thank you for your replies. To answer tseirPsaduJ: I know nothing of poetry, which is why I asked for some suggestions. I am reading a very fascinating book, "The Brain that Changes Itself", by Norman Doidge MD.
http://www.normandoidge.com/
Each chapter is devoted to a different brain researcher who has pioneered development in neuroplasticity (the ability of the brain to change and adapt at any age).

There is one teacher who uses poetry (among many other techniques) to help develop children's brains. That particular teacher/researcher suggests that removing music/art/poerty from school curriculum is the cause of many learning disorders/ADD/ADHD among children.

So, I was checking into poetry and didn't want to just go to Amazon.com w/out some suggestions.

Thanks a bunch!!!

I agree about the learning disorders. I don't think children are made to develope BOTH lobes properly. I think lack of proper mental stimulation, and diet among other things are key factors, both of which schools today don't provide. Or parents.
Dostoevsky I added because you asked for "your favorite Author/Poet " so I mentioned him along with it. Lewis Carroll is absolutely wonderful for developing the brain, imagination, etc. And I happen to believe that the reason I did so well in my earl school years was because I was read to (nursery rhymes, the wind in the willows, beatrice potter, the "alice" books etc etc.), spent a great deal of time colouring, and I wasn't overloaded with toys. I had a few and I was taught to pick one up before the other was brought out. I really think that helped with concentration later, language skills(the book part not the toys), and logic. I don't see why they don't fill kindergarden with puzzles, crayons, coloured recycled paper goods and quote rhymes/poetry. Oh yes and let's not forget the classical music! I can feel parts of my brain heat up, it feels like a massage. Especially when you play music yourself (and I RARELY remember doing in school). Teachers ought to be flexible and have two ways of teaching everything, for the kids whom learn differently. But anyway yes, art/music/poetry/learning about cultures and traditions I think are marvelous for developement. Child and adult alike! I got more than a bit off topic.

[Cinnamon Kitty]

For children's poetry, Shel Silverstein is awesome. My cousin and I used to read his poems out loud to each other when we were younger. For more mature-level poetry, my favorites are John Keats' "Ode to a Nightingale" and T.S. Elliot's "The Hollow Men."

I, too, agree that reading has a big impact on a child's development, though not just poetry. I was read to as a very young child, learned to read before I started school, and was reading way above my level during elementary school. Reading and being read to definitely helped my concentration, my language skills, and my ability to learn. The only time it was not helpful was when I would get books taken away from me by teachers or librarians for reading my own things instead of paying attention to them.

[Mary R]

These are a handful of poets whose works have permanent spots on my bookshelf:

19th Century Britain:

Keats. Hands down, anything by Keats. I think he's got the most finely crafted lines of any who have written in English.

Blake: I've got to admit, I approach him as more of a cerebral game. I'm still trying to puzzle out his meanings.

19th Century America:

Whitman: His lines, man...his lines...he totally demolishes anything remotely akin to a poetic form. He must have spent Dryden's corpse a-spinnin'.

Dickinson: In some ways, the anti-Whitman. His form explodes...hers is quietly, skillfully contained. And she's often a little wry...you've got to love that.

20th Century America:

Allen Ginsberg: I find him very rewarding to read in conjunction with Blake and Whitman.

[osadczuk]

Call me the dark horse of the group - Sylvia Plath has always been my favorite.

Followed my the Shakespearean sonnets.

Then virtually anything Romantic, but I avoid Trandscendentalism like the plague.

[augie]

Ahh! Poetry! Nothing encapsulates the charm and wonderment of poetry than my favorite poem - "Beans the Magical Fruit" - Author Unknown

Thanks, Hop, we have that one memorized at our house. Did I mention this is for a 6.5 year old, so no dirty limricks: "There once was a girl from Nantucket . . ."

Although, I have lost my copy of the "Spam Haiku" if anyone has it . . .

JP wrote:"Teachers ought to be flexible and have two ways of teaching everything, for the kids whom learn differently.<<
Yeah, except we have this "No child left behind" government education mandate. My children's teachers are teaching them to pass tests. Art, music, humanities do not help kids pass standardized tests . . . Indianapolis Pub Sch are considering budget cuts in are/music education as a cost cutting measure. It just makes me sick to think that these are inner city kids who are economically disadvantaged and likely unable to get art/music ed on their own. Art/music/humanities should be a integral part of education -- NOT enrichment! *slap* *stop talking out loud* Sorry . . .

Cinnamon: I do have SS books, I need to *find* them! Thanks for the reminder. My 6 year old is in a "High Ability" class and reads at 1-2 grade level. Does excellent in math with his math facts. However, does not like word problems and work that he needs to show how he obtains the answer. I don't think it's a matter of forcing him to "just do it".