FINAL POETRY PORTFOLIO (+ Reflective, Self-Evaluation Essay)
No need for any fancy packaging with this portfolio: a staple or a binder clip is fine. Start first with the poems, then put the essay last. Please include your name at the top right of each page.
CONTENTS
I. 5 revised poems:
You are welcome to order your poems in whatever way makes sense: thematically; chronologically; in order of your favorite or strongest poems; with a narrative or overall developmental arc in mind.
FYI: I will be reading and grading these poems as if they are the finished product. There should be no typos or spelling mistakes.
II. Reflective, Self-Evaluation Essay
A reflective, informal essay (at least 2 pages, typed & double-spaced):
– Strive to be candid and genuine.
– Please avoid stuffing this essay with “empty filler.”
– If it makes the composition of this informal essay easier, imagine that you are composing a letter to me or to a close friend/family member.
Your essay should contain an articulation of the following elements:
– Which poem do you believe is your most successful poem this semester? Explain why?
– Name a specific craft technique or poetic device that we covered this semester (e.g., poetic speaker, addressee, dramatic situation, tone of voice, lyricism, the free verse line, line length, enjambment, image, metaphor, objective correlative, alliteration, assonance, consonance, rhyme, repetition, rhythm, apostrophe, syntax/sentence structures or rhetorical figures [inversion, parallelism, anaphora, parataxis, aposiopesis, chiasmus, antithesis, anacoluthon], etc.) that particularly appealed to you and that you employed intentionally in poems.
– Which poetic form (e.g., calligram, concrete, list poem, free verse poem, metered poem, sonnet, pantoum, villanelle, persona, dramatic monologue, sestina, elegy, ode, pastoral, complaint, epistle, aubade, etc.) was the most challenging? What did it teach you?
– Which one poem from a published poet from our required texts [HPF], [SRP], [CP] stood out to you the most—either it was the most striking, surprising, emotionally resonant, or it was a poem that you wished you could write. Why this poem?
– What is the best critique you received this semester (either from me, a peer response, or from workshop feedback)?
– Which specific “revision tips” helped you the most as you revised your poems?
– Overall, what do you feel you do best in your poems? What do you think you have yet to improve in your writing of poetry?
DUE = Thursday, April 30 @ 3:00 PM
(Bin outside my office: 5 College Way, Rm. 401).
You can turn in your portfolio anytime up to this deadline!