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POETS AND POETRY

Module II: Poetry and the World Around You

Research Project: Student Handout

Rita Dove
Former Poet Laureate of the United States

Here was a living, breathing, walking, joking person, who wrote books. And for me, it was that I loved to read but I always thought that the dream was too far away. The person who had written the book was a god, it wasn't a person. To have someone actually in the same room with me, talking, and you realize he gets up and walks his dog the same as everybody else, was a way of saying, "It is possible. You can really walk through that door too." That was the important thing.
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RESEARCH FOCUS
There is more than one type of poet

RESEARCH CHELLENGE
Rita Dove describes how amazed she felt when she met a writer in person. He was just like everyone else and not some super-human individual. It made her see that she too could achieve her dream and become a writer too. Writing poetry is something many people do to express themselves whether or not they are ever published. They write about things that happen to them. They write about their lives and work. They write about the natural world and other things that inspire them. They write to communicate their feelings.

Have you ever heard of cowboy poets? Some cowboys really do write poetry and in fact every year have a cowboy poetry festival in Elko, Nevada. They write about their lives as cowboys and what it's like to live in the west and carry on the cowboy tradition. Thousands of people come to hear them present their poetry. Poets do come in all varieties with many different interests. There are nature poets, religious poets, humorous poets, poets for children, and of course literary poets. Can you think of others?

RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Use the following research questions to get started. Add your own throughout the research process.
   1. How do poets use poetry to express their unique interests and life experiences?
   2. What are examples of special types of poets?

RESEARCH OUTCOMES
Choose one of the following research outcomes to express your finds.

• Research cowboy poetry or another type of poetry and create a short anthology of poems that you like. Write short profiles of the poets you find interesting in this area.
• Identify your own poetic interests. Create five poems and start your own anthology. To get started use the work of your favorite poets as models.
• Write a description of how landscape plays a role in poetry you like to read and the poetry you feel inspired to write.