FOUND POETRY

"I want to use this world rather than my own invention." -

Ellsworth Kelly

"Found" poems are essentially built from bits of broken text. The poems are
original as poems; their themes and their orderings are invented. Their
sentences are not. Words can be dropped, but not added. In the course of
composing such poems, the author's intentions are usually the first to "go."
A nineteenth century Russian memoir of hunting and natural history yields a
poem about love and death. A book of nineteenth century oceanographic
data yields a poem about seeing. This is editing at its extreme: writing
without composing.

THE ASSIGNMENT:
You are to develop a found poem which has the following required elements:

-at least 20 lines

-at least one line demonstrating alliteration
-a clear, central TONE
-a THEME, whether obvious or ambiguous
-at least two figurative images (metaphors, similes, etc)
-at least two sensory images (sight, sound, touch, taste, smell)

You need to create an original piece of poetry that “borrows” from the
poems that we have read in class. You can use only ONE poem, you can use
PIECES of all the poems, whatever you choose. You must have AT LEAST 20
LINES and you must list the poem or poems from which you “borrowed.”

Finally, in a one-paragraph reflection, you are to explain your reasoning

(why did you use the poem(s) that you did, what were you aiming to do),
assess your work (what do you think of it? Do you like it?), and identify
your required elements (alliteration, metaphor, sensory images, etc).

WE will be working on these poems TODAY and TOMORROW only!

Your ‘found’ poetry is DUE WEDNESDAY!