Thursday, February 23, 2023

Paper #2: The America We Don’t See (due March 2)

Paper #2: The America We Don’t See

INTRO: For this paper, another ‘conversation’ paper, I want you to consider how poetry and pictures can help us see the normal, everyday world in a different light. We get up, get dressed, and go to work or school and think “same thing, different day.” But every day could be wildly different based on how we see it, and even the most normal experience could hold incredible tragedy and power…for you, or for the other people around you.

PROMPT: Use the poems in this book to start a conversation about something that most people don’t see or think about on a daily basis, but is actually very common. It could be violence, death, mental health, divorce/break-ups, war, isolation, personal safety, etc. etc. Why don’t we talk about this more often, or how do we talk about it in ways that aren’t helpful or useful? Why is it easy to avoid talking about it? What is the danger of not talking about it? Make sure we understand “why this matters,” and more importantly, why YOU think it matters.

CONVERSATION REQUIREMENTS

·      Use 2-3 poems to develop this conversation, quoting from them and showing how the poems help us ‘see’ this conversation more clearly.

·      Use 1-2 stories from Humans of New York that you think also shed a light on this conversation, either from the stories themselves, or even just the pictures. How could one of the images become a metaphor for this topic?

·      OPTIONAL: you can also use outside sources on the topic to help you discuss this issue, though you don’t have to. It might add to your conversation, but you’re only required to use the 2 books in class.

·      Be sure to introduce every poem and HONY story with context: the poet/title, or the person in the story. Cite page numbers for quotations.

·      A Works Cited page that lists both books in class. For example…

·      Purupra, Lia. “Proximities.” American Journal: Fifty Poems for Our Time. Minnealpolis: Graywolf Press, 2018.

 DUE THURSDAY, MARCH 2nd BY 5PM [no class that day]

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