Port Veritas: Day 5 (9/10th English)

Our 9/10 English students started the last day of our week with a performance by Jesse Parent titled, "To the Boy Who May One Day Date My Daughter."

Then, each student was given fifteen minutes to practice reading a poem they wrote this week.

Speaking and Listening Instructions:
1) The speaker should introduce themselves.  "My name is ____, the poem is titled____."  If it is untitled, just say so.
2) Each of the five students is given 15-minutes each.  3-5 minutes to perform, and an additional 5-10 for feedback and a second performance.
3) Read through once, get feedback, then repeat.

Here are some of the students we heard from today:

1) One student read a poem about fishing for lobsters.  Vivid descriptions about hauling traps and spending time with his grandfather added a level of authenticity to the poem that I loved.

2) Our next student read a poem titled, "Secret Soldier," which recounted the experience of going to war.  The poem ended with a fabulous line, "now, I make my departure."

3) Our third student presented a poem he'd worked on all week about his boat, speaking about the way he is abused by his owner and deals with crashing waves.

4) Our fourth presenter read a poem he'd workshopped about a baseball, using the image to describe time passing, age, and deterioration.

5) Our next student writer read her poem about a dusty, forgotten room that "would be destroyed by socialization, but it was already killed by it."

6) Our next writer read a poem about the Greek Titan Atlas, read from the perspective of the earth.  The poem told the story of Atlas from a perspective you don't normally hear.

7) The following student read a poem written from the perspective of a TV controller that wants to fight back from all of the treatment it takes.

8) Our last student presented a poem about pencils, how frequently they are disposed and

Port Veritas: Day 5 (AP English)

We began today's class by watching Neil Hilborn's performance of "OCD" (above) as a way to warm up our public speaking skills.

Then, each student was given fifteen minutes to practice reading a poem they wrote this week.

Speaking and Listening Instructions:
1) The speaker should introduce themselves.  "My name is ____, the poem is titled____."  If it is untitled, just say so.
2) Each of the five students is given 15-minutes each.  3-5 minutes to perform, and an additional 5-10 for feedback and a second performance.
3) Read through once, get feedback, then repeat.

Here are some of the poems we heard today:
1) One student read his sonnet on escaping the Maine winters for warmer climates.  When workshopping their poem with Robin yesterday, he put the poem in iambic pentameter! It was so cool! The sonnet was musical and punchy right when the student writer wanted it to be.

2) Our second student writer read his revised metaphor poem about a lemon, which became a personification of the bitter-sweetness of life.

3) Our third student read a poem she started last week using the Shakespearean sonnet.  The topic was about friends and dating, ending on the importance of the speaker's own heart.

4) Our fourth student read a poem about basketball and winning the state of Maine Class-D Girls' Basketball Championships.  Her rhymed coupled at the end showed how meaningful the championship was, ending with, "won the gold ball."

5) Our last student read her sonnet personifying the idea of time, using images of world clocks and people's reactions to time to stress how time affects us.

Some Tips: 
1) Look off your page! Be sure to look up as you say your lines to the audience.  Don't just read off the page.  Taking time to look at the audience and engage is an important part of public speaking.
2) Smile when it's appropriate.
3) If you have a line that ends with a single word, take a pause and deliver that word with gusto.
4) If you're going to deliver poetry that is personal and funny, and you're not sure how to deliver it, you can imagine a scenario that makes it work.  For example, delivering a poem as if the person you are talking about is at the back of the room.  Play around with your audience.
5) Always work on projection.
6) Stress words that you want stressed.  If you have trouble finding areas of the poem to stress, ask for help.
7) Don't rush off the stage after you finish reading! Pause and leave when it's appropriate.  If you are workshopping, you will need to stay "on stage" until you have received feedback and practiced reading your poem to the audience a second time.
8) Students with long or unruly hair, pull/push it out of your face so the audience can see you.