Option 1: The Luminous Object

At the risk of appearing foolish, a writer sometimes needs to be able to just stand and gape at this or that thing—a sunset or an old shoe—in absolute and simple amazement. --Ray Carver, "On Writing."

Write a free verse poem about an object. Describe it with as much specific, intense, concrete detail as possible, using all of your senses.  Keep reflection and explanations to a minimum. Simply make the object vivid and present through language, respecting its thingness. Help your reader (and yourself) see "the thing itself."

You may use our in-class raisin exercise for this project.

It might be interesting (but isn't mandatory) to imagine your chosen object from some very unusual perspective—that of an animal, for instance, or someone from another country or planet. (An English 322 student once wrote about a rifle, for example, from the perspective of a deer, calling it "a branch that barks." )

Another tip: pick an object which intrigues you or puzzles you or even bugs you in some way. DO NOT pick something whose meanings to you are obvious.

Read:

Elizabeth Bishop's "The Fish," "Giant Toad," "Giant Snail," "First Death in Nova Scotia," "Twelve O'Clock News."
Charles Simic, "The Fork."

Option 2: Doomed Republics

Write a free verse poem about some significant, puzzling, terrifying, or otherwise intriguing event, person, or place in your childhood.  Rely almost exclusively on concrete language and images, letting the details speak for themselves.  Do not editorialize about your subject or explain it; simply describe or reenact it as accurately and as vividly as you can, using your senses. 

If necessary, review/look up definitions of "concrete," "specific," "abstract," and "general." These words are used in a specific way when applied to literary writing.

Be sure especially to avoid sentimentality: writing which evokes predictable, obvious, and pre-digested emotion; writing which is trite, cheesey, or cute; writing in which emotion is "unearned" or "in excess of its object." Write a poem instead which discovers NEW feelings and surprises your reader (and yourself).

For some models, read Simic, Ponge, Bishop, Stafford.

Evaluation Criteria

To understand criteria for good poems, you may want to read A Poetry Checklist.

Outstanding = A. Meets all instructions exceptionally well. Excels in inventiveness, originality, and energy, relative to work produced generally in the Governor’s School English program. Shows almost no standard “beginner’s errors” such as cliches, overly easy or strained rhyme, etc. All writing is well-edited for clarity and concision, and proofread for mechanical errors such as typos, comma splices, fused sentences, and unmotivated tense shifts. Possibly publishable in a journal for younger writers.

Good = B. Meets all instructions, or meets several of them exceptionally well, despite a weak performance with others. May be especially striking in spots, despite noticeable minor flaws. May show a few standard “beginner’s errors” such as cliches, overly easy or strained rhyme, etc. Very competent, but may lack originality or inventiveness, relative to work produced generally in the Governor’s School Program in English. Very few editing or mechanical slips.

Fair = C. Meets some instructions, or meets all of them only partially. Uninspired but minimally competent; or very inspired but lacking competence in key areas. Many “beginner’s errors.” May show some inattention to, or misunderstanding of, instructions. Weak proofreading and editing.

Poor= D. Meets few of the instructions. May not not heed or understand instructions. May be sloppy, unproofed, unedited, and/or very perfunctory and uninspired. Unsatisfying work, saved by at least minimal attention to at least one facet of the assignment.

Unacceptable = F. Work either fails to meet any of the stated criteria, or demonstrates severe oversights or weaknesses in significant areas.