The Great Poem Hunt

Dear Readers,

I have set out to find a poem to memorize and recite to the class. This poem must be something I connect with and feel linked to.

Task number one:
1. Read a poem that begins with the first letter of your name.
         "A Dream Within A Dream" by Edger Allan Poe
2. Read a poem that begins with the third letter in your last name.
         "Not Waving But Drowning" by Stevie Smith
3. Read a poem that the person sitting next to you suggests. Suggest a poem to the person sitting next to you.
         They suggested "Medusa" by Louise Bogan. I suggested "Full Moon" by Elinor Wylie.
4. Chose two more poems to read.
        "The Film" by Kate Northrop and "The Vacuum" by Howard Nemerov

Task number two:
Of all of the poems in task one I must say the poem I connected the most with was "A Dream Within A Dream" by Edger Allan Poe. I liked this poem because he is talking about a perfect world that will never come true and that has every thing that he ever wanted. The poem that I least preferred was "The Film" by Kate Northrop. This poem just didn't reach out to me like the others and didn't leave me in aw. out of all of these poems I would want to work with "A Dream Within A Dream" I connected with this poem because Poe wants things to come true that may never happen, but he dreams anyways.

Task number three:
For the recitation of the poem I think that one of the easiest parts will be memorization because I am taking a Drama class and we are required to memorize all of our scenes. Another element that I think will be easy for me is the articulation because while presenting I keep a composed voice. A more challenging aspect will be physical presence, this will be because I have stage fright which I think Poetry Out Loud will help me with. One last thing that I will have the slightest trouble with is evidence of understanding. This will only be a problem until I have totally memorized my poem.

Task number four:
I watched a performance of "Writ On The Steps of Puerto Rican Harlem" by Gregory Corso, this performance was good because he put physical and vocal emphasis where it made sense. He also articulated his words and was very clear on what he was saying and knew what the poem meant. I also watched "My Mistress' Eyes are Nothing Like The Sun" by William Shakespeare. This performance was was done well with good understanding of the material and stage presence.

Task number five:
I am very excited for Poetry Out Loud because it is a very challenging yet fun assignment. After spending time on the website and looking through poems I think my final decision for a poem will be "Full Moon" by Elinor Wylie. I choose this poem because it reached out to me and made me want to read it again and again. As for the competition I think that overall the experience will make me a more knowledgeable person.