Poetry is a language spoken around the world.
Although you may not regularly sit down and read poetry, chances are you are exposed to some form of it every day. Do you jump rope? If you do, you may sing a song like this to keep your feet moving.
Down by the seashore, down by the sea,
Johnny broke a bottle and blamed it on me.
I told ma, ma told pa,
Johnny got a spanking, ha-ha-ha!
If you jump rope, sing or rap, you are participating in a form of language art that has been around for thousands of years! Recently, poetry has been reinvented through poetry "slams." At poetry slams, poets perform to a lively, critical audience. But, no matter what form poetry takes, all poems use words to express ideas, feelings, thoughts and images.
National Poetry Month is celebrated in April each year.
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"H" is for Hyer, Helen von Kolonitz (1896-1983). Poet, writer. While still in her teens, Hyer published her first poems. She joined the Poetry Society in 1920. Her first poetry collection, Santee...
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Meet Marjory Wentworth, one of the state’s most underappreciated artists. Wentworth, who is a poet laureate, discusses what exactly a poet laureate is. She completely breaks the expectations of what a...
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So, Tom used simile and metaphor in his poem. He even gave it a name! Small Victory Like enormous snails a bunch of munching cows cross the road, chewing their cuds as green, gloppy paste drips from...
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Michael Carey's two most basic tools for saying more with less are simile and metaphor. Michael teaches that these tools of comparison add even more meaning to a poem. A simile is a comparison that...
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Rhythm and Line Breaks There are even more ways that Tom Slack can improve on his word "painting." Michael Carey teaches that rhythm and line breaks are basic tools that add meaning to poems. Like a...
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Begin with the Basics, Not Rhyme, Part 2 By avoiding the immediate urge to rhyme, the author of a poem can concentrate on its meaning. Enter Tom Slack... This morning, Tom was later to work than usual...
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Begin with the basics, not rhyme... The Sea Deep glass-green seas chew rocks with their green-glass jaws. But littles waves creep in and nibble softly at the sand. - Lilith Norman The Things I Hear in...
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"Say the most you can in the fewest words." - Michael Carey, Poet and Teacher We have explored the importance of poetry to people around the world. There are as many, or more, different types of...
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What Is Haiku? "Simply what is happening in this place at this moment." - Matsuo Basho Traditional haiku describes a moment in time using words that awaken the senses. Matsuo Basho, a famous haiku...
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Grace Freeman S.C. Poet Laureate 1985 - 1986 Grace Freeman was named poet laureate of South Carolina by Governor Dick Riley in 1985. Grace was born in Greenville County, and her poems, stories, plays...
