Week 39: College Reading and Writing: Bob Hicok and Colin Goddard

Week 39: College Reading and Writing: Bob Hicok and Colin Goddard

to annotate: to make notes on something to help you understand it better

to summarize: to put something in your own words

to analyze: to consider a question on the text, providing supporting examples from the text

to imitate: to create an original piece of writing based on something you have read

We are doing the twenty-fourth poem and response in the book today, starting on page 84.

Exercise: Read and annotate

1. Read the poem and response out loud and underline any words you need to look up

2. Write any questions you have in the margins or in your notebook

3. Put tricky parts into your own words in notes in the margins or in your notebook

Exercise: Questions for comprehension of the poem

1.     What does the “you” do in this poem?

2.      What is the speaker suggesting by saying “murder is abortion”?

3.    What effect do the speaker’s questions have on the reader?

Exercise: Summarize the poem

Write a paragraph summarizing the poem with quotations, in-text citation, and a Work Cited Page.

Example too-short summary, incorporating quotation and in-text citation:

Bob Hicok’s poem “Throwing a Life Line” tells the imaginary life of a young woman who was “one of the thirty-two” (84) killed in a mass shooting from the perspective of her professor. The speaker of the poem questions the use of imagining her life in poem form, they say, “[p]oems make horrible . . . bullet-proof vests, so brittle” (Hicok 84).

Work Cited Page (for today’s poem)

Hicok, Bob. “Throwing a Life Line.” Bullets Into Bells: Poets and Citizens Respond to Gun Violence. Ed. Brian Clements et al. Beacon Press, 2017.

Exercise: Questions for Comprehension of the response

1. Who is “we”? And who must “we” challenge?
2. What are the two types of politicians, according to Goddard?
3. What kind of issue is gun violence, according to Goddard?

Exercise: Summarize the response

Write a paragraph summarizing the response with quotations, in-text citation, and a Work Cited Page.

Exercise: Analysis

Question for analysis: Both Hicok and Goddard write about the role of teachers/professors and politicians in relation to gun violence. Do Hicok and Goddard agree in challenging the actions of politicians? Closely examine the two texts and write an analysis where you explore the similarities and differences in the authors’ opinions.  Use lines from both the response and the poem to answer this question.

Exercise: Imitation

Write a poem where you ask the reader to stand in your shoes and imagine someone you have lost. Use elements from Hicok’s poem that you admire.

Homework:

1. Summary of Poem
2. Summary of Response
3. Analysis of Poem and Response
4. Imitation of Poem

About this class:

In this class, you are welcome to submit homework for a grade.  If it’s not strong enough to earn an A, I’ll give you some comments to help you revise it, and let you do it over again. You have as many chances as you want to complete and perfect the work in this class, and you are welcome to do more than one week’s worksheet for homework at a time; ask me for sheets you’ve missed.  Students who complete 15 weeks of graded assignments and a longer paper can qualify for college credit.  When you get close to completing 15 weeks, I’ll help you get started on your longer paper.