Reading poetry etches beauty into your mind.
Memorizing poetry stores it in your heart.
Reciting poetry gives your soul to the world.
Memorizing poetry stores it in your heart.
Reciting poetry gives your soul to the world.
By Tuesday, I want you to choose your WW Fenn performance piece. We will begin the memorization and performance process immediately--and it is a multi-step process! Performance implies mastery, not simply memorization.
This contest originally started out as a poetry recitation contest. Over the years, the original rules have been bent and distorted to the point where it is sometimes hard to tell that it is supposed to be a celebration of "greatness" in literature, not a mimicking of a speech seen on TV or in a movie; not a silly comic piece or sing-songing children's story, and not a shallow barrage of clever words set into a story.
I want you to have an experience that will live on in you and for you through as many years as you walk this earth; I want you to remember your words for the power that gives those words timelessness. I want to get back to the purity of the original source and lifeblood of the WW Fenn contest.
If you need some sources, start here: (I'll post more tonight)
Guidelines:
This contest originally started out as a poetry recitation contest. Over the years, the original rules have been bent and distorted to the point where it is sometimes hard to tell that it is supposed to be a celebration of "greatness" in literature, not a mimicking of a speech seen on TV or in a movie; not a silly comic piece or sing-songing children's story, and not a shallow barrage of clever words set into a story.
I want you to have an experience that will live on in you and for you through as many years as you walk this earth; I want you to remember your words for the power that gives those words timelessness. I want to get back to the purity of the original source and lifeblood of the WW Fenn contest.
If you need some sources, start here: (I'll post more tonight)
- Poemminer: this is my site with a bunch of my favorite poems.
- Poemhunter: this site has about every good poem on the planet.
- Bartleby.com: this site has literature of all sorts
- Great Passages: this site has super-meaningful quotes from literature, but you will need to go find the full passage on your own--but it will probably be worth it!
Guidelines:
- You may choose a poem, ballad, or a passage from a longer piece of classic or singularly great literature, which includes: novels, short stories, or essays; moreover, you may choose to recite a traditional myth or cultural story.
- The piece must be at least two minutes long and not more than four minutes. Less than two minutes cannot receive an A.
- Find a piece and post the words on your blog with a short reflection about "why" you choose your piece.
- Learn a portion of your piece each night, so that you can practice more in class and receive the feedback you need to do the best you can.
- Your grade will be based on the quality of the piece you choose.
- Your performance in front of the class.
- A podcast or video of your piece posted on your blog.
- On a personal narrative essay you will write after your performance is completed.
- On the feedback you give to your classmates.