Wednesday, April 02, 2003

Anne Sexton Poems aren't postcards to send home. - Anne Sexton Today I used some of Anne Sexton's poems in my Pre-AP classes:  "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," "Music Swims Back to Me," "The Moss of His Skin," and "Ringing of the Bells." I think they went over pretty well, though "The Moss of His Skin" brought everyone down.  It's not exactly the type of poem you read to someone who needs cheering up. I do wonder whether or not my students understood how I was trying to show them that's its possible to take everyday things or situations and just look at them a little differently.  Just change your perspective a little, and even the most ordinary thing, like a fairy tale or a song you haven't heard in years ("Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" and "Music Swims Back to Me" respectively), and turn them into metaphors for important lessons that life is dying to teach you.  Or perhaps lessons you are dying not to learn. I saved "Ringing the Bells" for last because I want my students to be like the speaker in that poem -- not locked up in a mental hospital (necessarily), but instead questioning why they are doing what they are told.  I don't want my students to just ask questions in order to be annoying (like a couple do), but to ask questions in order to understand what the world is trying to do to them, and if possible, use the answers they get to have a little more control over their lives and to make a little more of them.  I feel that people in general don't ask enough questions, or even when they do, not the right questions.  I'm not saying that one day of reading Anne Sexton's poems is going to change their worlds, but at least for a few it might be a start. Here are a few links for more about Anne Sexton.  If you are someone wanting to be a poet on any level, you'd do well to know more about her and her work. Modern American Poetry:  Anne Sexton entry EmpireZine: Anne Sexton - Biography Anne Sexton poems - Plagiarist.com's extensive collection The Complete Poems of Anne Sexton - Just read the reviews peope have left for it on Amazon's site. Anne Sexton:  A Biography - Great book to get if you want to know all about her life.  Highly recommended. 8:26:14 PM     |

Hate It When That Happens Don't you hate when you screw up and it seems like the whole world is watching?  One little mistake and everyone is laughing, not with you, but at you.  I especially hate it when a photographer with an international news organization is there to capture the moment on film.  Even worse when some jerk decides to then post it on his website.  Damn, I hate that! Sarah Hughes of the U.S. falls while performing her qualifying skate at the World Figure Skating Championships in Washington, March 26, 2003. Hughes is the 2002 Olympic champion. REUTERS/Shaun Best 6:37:16 PM     |

© Copyright 2005 Alex L. Mauldin.