The Poet X: Poetry and the student writer: Teaching Discussion 4.6.2021

4/6/2021

Teaching poetry to young readers and writers can be challenging and also exciting. Prior to fake spring break, we spent two weeks looking a verse--poetry and a novel written in verse. We close out looking at verse and young adult readers with The Poet X, which mixes a bit of both.

Your prompt this week asks you to think about how you would engage students with poetry. You can consider all of the texts we've explored over this time, but do be sure to include The Poet X.

This Week’s Prompt: Let’s say that you managed to convince the faculty and parents at Brockton High School to let you teach The Poet X in a 12th grade English class that meets the outcomes for the International Baccalaureate Programme. Th IB is sort of like an internationally recognized version of AP. You can read about it here. Some quick facts about Brockton High (from Wikipedia, so, you know, grain of salt) and in general:

The high school is 60.9% African American, 20.8% White, 2.5% Asian, 12.3% Hispanic, and 3.5% other. In 2016 it was made so everyone could get free lunch. Out of its 4,250 students, 2,161 are male and 2,089 are female.

In 2008, Brockton students had a higher level of improvement on the English MCAS than 90% of the Massachusetts high schools. By 2010 it was one of the highest performing schools on the MCAS.[7]
Keep in mind that 12th grade Lit is often a British Literature Survey. The IB syllabus is a little more adventurous. This might help or hurt.
Try to be specific in both HOW you would teach this text and also HOW YOU MIGHT USE IT to teach poetry in general. For the purposes of thinking about that second part, Here is a link to the IB curriculum at Brockton High. This takes you to the IB page for Brockton High. Click on the English HL link for the actual syllabus.

11 Comments

Demi Riendeau

4/6/2021 03:21:07 pm

I think I would use this text as a teaching tool to get students to write poetry. It is always difficult get students to engage with poetry and get out of the mentality that poetry needs to rhyme or adhere to some set of rules. It has also been said many times that students engage best with poetry that they know what is expected of them and what structure is expected. My goal for using this text is to have students select and three poems from the book and rewrite it. I want students to adhere to the structure that X uses in some ways. They would be able to choose if that is rhyme scheme, syllables, lines, one image (such as the apple) or anything else. The goal with this is to get students to engage with the text in a way that connects to them. They get to rewrite X’s poem in a way that represents them. I think this text would be easily accessible to students, due to their high MCAS scores, and then they could work on that deeper level of writing poetry in a similar way that expresses new ideas. I also think students might engage with having certain familial expectations and guidance that is prescribed as “correct”, even if that may not be the case.
Through using this book as a template, students will be able to wade into the unknown of poetry. Poetry is so stressful for students because there is so much possibility it is difficult to start and to break some of the ideas, we have of poetry that were built from our early educational career. This text would create a valuable and practical bridge for students to be able to write about intense emotions, this is mainly focusing on how I would use this text.
For how to teach this text, I think this text would be a great one to use for independent home reading and then book club conversations in class. In doing this, it would honor each student’s own experience in the text (such as Rosenblatt’s transactional theory) and then come together to share ideas and create new ideas. Through this teaching method (with scaffolds and supports) students would interact with this emotional text in a unique way that was less hindered by expectations and prescribed “correctness”. I think that is important in this text, because it is shorter and can be used as an example of authentic aesthetic experience, that will be valuable to the students.

Ashley Munoz

4/6/2021 03:26:04 pm

So, in designing a poetry experience for our test class I tried thinking of how I can incorporate a meaningful text as well as something that will keep them engaged and learning aesthetically. One of the ways I thought to possibly do this was to have them read “The Poet X” on their own outside of class (as it is a quick read through). And then discuss how they felt about it, what experiences were the same and what they found realistic/relatable. Thinking of this as well, since it was discussed in class, I may also assign Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds in the hopes it will keep the males in the class engaged. Considering that Brockton schools are also very diverse I feel that the students will enjoy these stories more compared to something you would normally see on the high school reading curriculum. For classwork, I think then I would have them go on to choose 1 of 3 poem prompts to write their own in a similar style – as if journaling it to themselves.
1. When was the last time you felt free?
2. What rules do you live by? (at least 4)
3. What do you stay quiet about that you feel you shouldn’t?

Alex Mitchell

4/6/2021 06:56:36 pm

I had similar ideas for teaching The Poet X! I think it would be a great assignment for students to write a poem like you say "as if journaling it to themselves". I understand why you might suggest prompts for this particular assignment and the prompts you do suggest are perfect given the novel's content. I'd perhaps also consider allowing students to work outside of those prompts (after proposing their ideas to you as the teacher of course) if you plan to take the assignment a step further than just classwork like as a project or assessment. I do really like the prompts you've come up with though, I think they're relevant and would make for great poems.

Lindsay Everson

4/6/2021 03:55:44 pm

I would teach both The Poet X and Long Way Down in order to show students how poetry does not always have to follow strict forms. First, I would focus on long way down, and ask students to find specific moments in the text where the speaker is describing pain without directly stating it. This allows for a basic literary analysis while also inviting students to learn what makes poetry its own genre of writing. I would also ask students to write their own poems and give them a few “shackles” in order to guide them in the right direction and to give them a challenge. Some options would be, describe what it is like to be in pain using mostly verbs or describe what it is like to be happy using mostly verbs. This breaks students out of the pattern of using too many adjectives/ describing words in poetry and shows them how poetry can reveal new ways of expression. If they have other ideas for their poems, I would welcome those as well because it is important to keep their interest through allowing creative freedom. Next, I would have students read The Poet X and ask them to find ways that the speaker expresses intense emotions through her poetics. For example, the way she repeats words for emphasis, how she uses metaphors to describe what she is feeling in the moment, or how she uses physical reactions to describe how she is feeling in the moment. If students are struggling, I would direct them to the specific poem which is titled “After” because we see the speaker’s exhaustion of having to fight her own battles. She is sick of being sexualized and we can see that through her use of repeated phrases and physical reactions that she describes which could help students analyze this novel. Lastly, to bring the novel to life, I would have a poetry slam in the classroom where students come up and read their poetry to the class. There would be no restrictions on what a student could write, as long as it is not offensive. I also agree with Ashley that these novels would be great choices when considering the diversity in the classroom. As we learned through reading theory, students all have different experiences in life, therefore they will have different reading experiences. It is important to think about that when considering the books, you pick for a classroom, and I feel that Long Way Down and The Poet X are both relatable, but also help expand one’s worldview if they are not familiar with the experiences and cultures of the characters.

4/6/2021 06:46:53 pm

The Poet X would be a great text for a grade 12 IB English course at Brockton High. It fits into the IB curriculum and the program’s focus on student identity and culture as well as students’ ability to “communicate with and understand people from other countries and cultures”. The novel The Poet X is rich with both identity and Xiomara’s culture. If I were teaching this text at BHS, I would focus on the themes of identity, culture, and religion. My end-goal for teaching this text would be to have students write two different poems. One of these poems would be an extension of The Poet X written from Xiomara’s perspective. This assignment would allow students to connect with Xiomara’s character, mimic the author’s poetic style, and show their understanding of another person’s life experiences. The extension need not take place after the end of the book; students would be able to choose any point in the novel to write from. The second poem I would assign would be a piece of slam-poetry in which students would be given creative freedom to write about something meaningful to them. With these summative assessments in mind, I would prepare students throughout the unit with a poetry journal of their own. The journal would be graded mostly on participation/effort, but I’d also ask them to choose one of their quick-write poems to add onto and create a draft for a writer’s workshop. Because the novel is written in poetic form and the assignments I have in mind, The Poet X would require using a poetic lens as well. By grade 12 students should have a pretty strong understanding of poetry and how to analyze it. That being said though, part of my teaching the novel would definitely include an analysis of poetic elements and form throughout the reading process. On top of that I would also assign outside mentor texts such as Smokey Robinson’s “A Black American” and “Looking for Your Voice” by Pages Matam. (links below) Professor Torda brought up a concern that I also have in regards to this particular novel and that’s the fact that it’s written from a girl’s point of view and most boys won’t really enjoy or connect with the book. I think that the particular mentor texts I mentioned would be helpful in tackling this concern because both are poems performed by men with similar themes.

“A Black American” Smokey Robinson https://youtu.be/iIkNsj6cDGc

“Looking for Your Voice” Pages Matam https://youtu.be/pfcNIpBL_e8

4/6/2021 06:48:27 pm

P.S. I didn't mean to make this post a reply to Lindsay. My bad!

Maria Pestilli

4/8/2021 01:15:59 pm

Hi Lindsay,

I also thought that Long Way Down would be a great companion piece for The Poet X. I fell like they compliment each other they both deal with tough topics but it is not the same tough topic. I also think both stories are a great way to have students see that Poetry is not stiff and that it can be easily understood and entertaining. I really liked the stuff you brought up good job!

Samantha Yidiaris

4/7/2021 08:22:08 am

Before I would have my classroom read The Poet X, I would hand out a paper with a very brief synopsis of the book, explaining something that has to do with poetry inspiring Xiomara and being her creative outlet. On the same paper, I would have my students answer these Questions:
1.) What inspires you?
2.) How do you feel about poetry?
3.) What similarities can you find between spoken word and rap music?
By answering these questions, hopefully the students will have some sort of idea of the text before we read it as a class.
After reading the text as a class, I would love for my students to write a short poem about what inspires them. I think that writing your own poetry can be very intimidating for students, I know when I heard that in class it always scared me. But pairing this assignment with The Poet X, and seeing how writing poetry was such a creative outlet for Xiomara, the students would have a better understanding of how to go about writing their own poetry. I would also give them back the paper that they did in the beginning and give them some feedback and encouraging comments to help them come up with an idea for their poem more easily. This way, they already have what inspires them written on paper. Lastly, I would love to give my students the opportunity to read their poem out loud to the class. I would make this optional, and possibly for extra credit, because I know not everyone feels comfortable sharing something personal to them with an entire classroom. After the end of this assignment, the students would hopefully have a better understanding and a new appreciation for poetry.

4/10/2021 09:53:59 am

I love the warm up before they even read the text! I think that is a great way to get the engaged in the poetry before even starting the piece and will hopefully open up some of the students who may not be interested in poetry. I think maybe what I would also do is have them write what inspires them as a short poem first, and then rewrite it once the text has been read to see how/if that has changed anything about how they perceive poetry. That way they can see how engaging poetry can be and how it can affect them even if they weren't consciously thinking about it.

4/8/2021 01:13:34 pm

First off, this book tackles some more adult topics so before I taught it, I think I would bring up to my students the mature themes so that they were aware about it before reading it. I would also give them a heads up about the fact the book has a lot of Christianity in the book just in case there are students that are uncomfortable about it. I think it is good to talk to students about the themes they will face in a story before reading it, so they are prepared. I would never want to cause a student trauma or trigger them in anyway. I tried to look at the IB program, but the link was broken from some reason. As for how I would teach this story I would have it be something we read as a class so that we can stop and discuss important moments in the story. I would also like to give students the chance to walk out if the book becomes too much for them. I know for myself at least the heavy focus on religion, specifically Christianity is triggering for me because I was personally attacked by religious kids at my school for being a lesbian. Its because this story triggered me that I want my students to be in as safe a place as possible when reading it. I think after reading this book or during it I would do a quick unit on slam poetry and I would give my students the chance to make their own slam poetry. It would be great if my students got to perform their poetry for the class when they were done with it. After the book was read I could also ask my students to pick a few of the poems in the story, the whole story is made mostly of poems, to take a closer look at and write an analysis on. I think a good companion book to The Poet X would be Long Way Down because they are written in a similar style but it might be hard to have parents be okay with both stories since they both deal with pretty heavy subject matter. But if I could get both of them in, I think it would show students that Poetry isn’t just about rhyming or Shakespeare. Poetry is an art form in of itself and I want to show my students that.

Grace

4/8/2021 05:29:39 pm

To teach the Poet X, I'd want to talk about how the poetry comprises a whole novel—there’s no traditional chapters, but there’s a full story. I want to engage the students in the idea that Xiomara is very selective in what she records; her poetry is hers alone, and almost singularly deals with difficult topics or turbulence in her life. She doesn’t waste time writing what she thinks people may like—she writes with meaning.
We often think of poetry having a significant amount of nature imagery (a rose by any other name, two paths diverged). The Poet X--set in New York--does not have anything overtly floral. I would introduce this concept to the students, asking them, if it’s not trees blowing in the wind, what is poetry “about”? There are no wrong answers, but answers I’d hope to find would be 1. Something written from emotion that creates an emotional response in the reader, and 2. An art form, a painting sans paintbrush.
Then, as a class, we’d watch the documentary Louder than a Bomb, about four teams of teens from Chicago preparing and competing in the world’s largest youth poetry slam. This movie solidifies the idea that anything you can wrap your mouth and mind around is poetry. It’s a great film.
Finally, I’d ask the students to write their own poetry, any poetry. As they begin this endeavor, I’ll show them the Barbaric Yawp clip from Dead Poet’s Society: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6xyHna-NuM
To quote: “I don’t mind that your poem had a simple theme, sometimes the most beautiful poetry can be about simple things…poetry can come from anything with the stuff of revelation in it. Just don’t let your poems be ordinary.”
We would then host a poetry slam of our own, encouraging any and all poetic works.

The Poet X: Poetry and the student writer: Teaching Discussion 4.6.2021

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