Introduction

Literature is an amazing tool for gaining perspective on the time during which a piece was written, as well as an instrument for insight into writers, their experiences, and their surroundings. If you are willing to examine their works closely, you can discover glimpses of the writers and their personalities in their writing. Poetry is particularly useful for this purpose; it is a unique platform of expression for writers in which they can break the rules of writing and use the resulting freedom to express their thoughts and style.

For this exercise, you will read poems by different poets who have different styles and cover different topics. Then you will choose one of the poets and a specific poem of his or hers, and write a poem of your own that incorporates one or more of the unique features of the poet's work.

Poets and Poems to Explore

Poets (http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/58)
Prairie Poetry (http://www.prairiepoetry.org/main.html)

Directions

Start with the "Poets" Web site. Click on the "Langston Hughes" link and read " Dreams." Then click on the "Emily Dickinson" link and read " It's All I Have to Bring Today." Finally, click on the "E. E. Cummings" link and read " maggie and milly and molly and may." After you have finished exploring that Web site, go to "Prairie Poetry." On this site, scroll down and click on the "Back Issues" link, then on "2006," and then click on "March." Then select " Afternoon Heavy with the Closeness of Rain."

1.	Once you have finished exploring the Web sites, select one of the poems that you read and explore that poem's unique style, use of language and imagery, and topic. Then write your own poem that incorporates one or more of the features of the selected poem. After you have written your poem, identify what you incorporated into your poem from the other poem.