Poetry Exercise

Exercise: Write a Compilation Tribute Poem.

A compilation tribute poem is a poetic form that pays tribute to a famous music industry icon who has passed away. Each line in the compilation tribute poem comes from one of the songs on one of the famous recording artists albums. So, if, for example, that artists album had twelve different songs on it, then the compilation tribute poem would have 12 lines in all, not including the title of the poem. Your job, as poet, is to choose those lines that best illustrate your chosen recording artists message on that album. The RULES of the Compilation Tribute Poem: 1. Choose a famous recording artist who is dead. 2. Choose a famous album that was recorded by that artist. 3. Choose one line from the lyrics of each song that is on that album. Sorry, for this poem, you cannot choose lines from lyrics of songs from other albums by that artist. Sorry, do not choose lines that contain vulgar or obscene language that do little to contribute to making a poem that will pay tribute to the message the artist intended to portray. 4. Arrange those lines in order so that you have a poem that flows, that makes sense, and that reflects the message that the artist is trying to convey on that album. Punctuate your poem. This is where your tribute to the artist comes through. 5. Give your poem a title. 6. State clearly on the page of your poem: the name of the recording artist you have chosen, the artists date and place of birth and date and place of death, the title of the artists album you have chosen, the date the album was recorded and the record label the artist recorded the album on, the titles of the songs from that album along with a mention of which of those songs held a position on the pop charts and for how long they held that position. 7. On pages separate from the compilation tribute poem you create, provide the lyrics to all the songs from the album you chose and underline or highlight the line from the song that you chose to be in your poem. NOTE: There should be no spelling mistakes in the words of the songs. Often song lyrics found on the Internet contain many spelling errors. HINTS to help you: a) b) c) d) e) If at all possible, try to find the official web site dedicated to your chosen artist. Check the spelling of the words. Try to choose an artist whose work you like. Give yourself a deadline to complete the exercise. Share your poem.