Five other poetry blogs and their use of technology

1.  Tuesday Poem - http://tuesdaypoem.blogspot.ca

This blog uses technology in the form of illustrations and pictures to go along with the poetry that is posted.  There are also some video clips of people reading their own poetry through YouTube links.  The poems that are posted are different from one another and some of them are structured using word formatting software so that spaces can be left in the lines, to symbolize silence or breaths that are supposed to be taken.  This form of poetry/technology is useful in getting the reader to interpret the poem how the writer wants.

2.  Poets United  http://poetryblogroll.blogspot.ca

This blog gets other poets and bloggers to post their own poetry on it using pictures.  He recommends that people post pictures of scenic areas and then write corresponding poetry that reflects the picture.  He initiates the discussion on the website and starts by posting some of his own scenic pictures.  Then he encourages others to do the same and when people do, they link their own blog to his site and share their poetry that way.  It uses technology in the sense of using pictures to create poetry and also technology in the sense of having people link their blogs to his site so everyone’s poetry could be shared equally.

3.  Indie Feed: Performance Poetry http://indiefeedpp.libsyn.com

The form of technology used in this blog is similar to the Harriet Soundcloud where recorded poetry is the main form of technology that is used.  It uses performance as a form of poetry and focuses on spoken word where the writers post podcasts of themselves reading their own poetry.  There is a huge index on the side that will link you to all the different spoken word poets and some of the poems are very interesting because each writer reads their poetry in a way that captivates the reader and makes them feel a part of the poem. 

4.  Typewriter Poetry  http://typewriterpoetry.wordpress.com/tag/poetry/

This blog creates poetry using the typewriter and then pictures are posted of what was written.  The creator of this blog is passionate about the typewriter and finds that is one of the best ways to write poetry.  The typewriter was a tool that was discussed many times in class and a form of technology that was a first when it came to using machines to create poetry.  The blog also shows a writer who actually takes her pink typewriter to coffee shops and writes her poetry there using the typewriter.  It was interesting to see because you can see her on her typewriter, while everyone around her is using laptops which came across funny, at the same time, I found very original.

5.  Heights Technology Blog - http://heightstechnology.edublogs.org/?s=poetry

I liked this blog because they encourage classrooms around the world to participate in using technology to connect together and learn.  The blog is from Heights Elementary School from Sharon, MA.  Teachers from a computer lab have students visit once a week for 40 minute sessions where interactive lessons take place.  Poetry is one of the many exciting activities, and the blog contains assignments, including ones that involve creating, recording and posting poems that the students have created themselves.  They use programs such as “GarageBand”, “Animation-ish” and Glog to create and share their poetry.  It is a great resource for teachers.  Visitors from classrooms all over the world have participated or visited the blog, and they are tracked on the homepage which displays all the country flags and the amount of visitors from each.

Poetry Apps from the Seneca Library iPad

Poetry Apps from iPad

App 1:  Visual Poetry

This is a fun app where your own work can be turned into creative visuals.  You type out your poem and then you can see it arranged in a different variety of formats that make it look appealing.  It can also be arranged in different shapes, fonts, colours, etc.

App 2: Speak

“We Feast On Our Own Lives In These Streets”

That is a line that I got once I dragged my finger around the screen as all the letters of the alphabet swirled around.  This app was very cool and for as long as you drag your finger around the screen, it display a long line of poetry until you stop.  You start by touching a letter, holding your finger on it and drag it around the screen, which automatically generates a line of poetry.  Once again, I found it to be another creative app that I really liked.  It entices the mind and makes you not want to stop using the App.

App 3: Rattlesnakes

This poem was eerie.  It displayed the words on the screen with creepy music when you tapped the screen and the sound of rattlesnakes every few seconds.  The poem was very interesting and titled “The Summer the Rattlesnakes Came”.  The iPad volume was on the loudest it could be and was a little startling when the haunting sounds of the rattlesnakes came.  Everytime the screen was tapped, the poem would display weirdly on the screen.  Not my favourite app, but still a creative one.

App 4: Poetry Creator

This was a fun app which was similar to an activity we did in class on the first day, by taking selected words from one poem and using them to create your own poem.  This was my first introduction on how creativity can be incorporated into poetry.  As I explored this particular app, I was drawn to it right away and it was the app that I spent the most time using out of all.  I liked how you could drag the words around and make your own little poems, and if the word you needed was not there, you get 10 chances to create your own words.  This is what I created with this app:

Remember to smile before you go

The lowering will be short

The fountains plumping as all flows

Her alarmed rings appeared fifteen

Poetry Reading - Harriet Sound Cloud & Blog

Here is a recording of me reading Jerusalem ["And did those feet in ancient time"] by William Blake

Silliman's Blog

The page that I chose from Silliman's blog that refers to poetry that interests me is the page that discusses History.  While browsing this topic, I saw posts made by Silliman regarding American history, such as John F. Kennedy's assassination, advocacy for human rights and famous poet Allen Ginsberg, whose poem "Howl" brought light to homosexuality in poetry.  These are all changes in history that impacted society and has given us the freedoms we have today.  I believe incorporating history into poetry is a great way to express relevant issues.

Link: http://ronsilliman.blogspot.ca/search/label/history

The Ultimate in Compact Storage Media: DNA Coding (Summary)

The article states that DNA coding is a future form of digital data storage that will be able to hold large amounts of information, and could be considered the file storage utility of the future.  While the article is a little difficult to fully understand, it states that although DNA data can be an expensive alternative, its cost is declining rapidly, which could make it even cheaper than regular file storage devices we use today.  Essentially, one gram of DNA can potentially “store up to 455bn gigabytes: the contents of more than 100bn DVDs, making it the ultimate in compact storage media.”  DNA storage has its advantages, including that it can be copied easily, and still be readable thousands of years in the future.  Unlike using standard binary coding for storing files (0 and 1), DNA coding consists of letters A, C, G and T where A and C represent 0; while G and T represent 1.  It seems as if a lot of further research is required to make this new form of technology a success, and more information and evidence will be needed to convince consumers that this new alternative is better than the existing forms of digital data storage.

Link: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2012/08/the-ultimate-in-compact-storage-media-dna-coding/?woo

Linton Kwesi Johnson

2 Poems by Linton Kwesi Johnson

1.   “Seasons of the Heart”

I loved how Johnson contrasted life with the seasons of the year in this poem.  It was very easy to understand what he was saying and the whole thing flowed very naturally and made sense.  Two lines in particular that I really liked were “life is the greatest teacher, love is the lesson to be learnt” – which shows that in order to learn things, you need to live life.  It is also important to note the structure of the poem.  Each of the four stanzas becomes bigger as the poem progresses.  I also liked Johnson’s use of adjectives to describe each season (for example, “blossoms of spring”, “autumn’s brown” and “icy arrows of winter’s sting”).  Overall, this poem was written in proper English and not in a Jamaican tone, as with Johnson’s other poems in the book. 

2.  “Inglan is a Bitch”

This is a totally different poem than “Seasons of the Heart” and contains many spelling errors that are not correct in English grammar.  It is written in a Jamaican dialogue, with “Inglan” meaning “England”, and “andahgroun” meaning “underground”.  I didn’t find this poem to be very poetic and more of Johnson describes “Inglan” as being a terrible place and describing his experiences there.  It took a while to read as some of the lines had to be reread in order to understand the strong tone of which it was written.  Johnson’s intentional use of spelling words the way he does illustrates his Jamaican heritage and linguistics. 

Susan Howe

2 Poems by Susan Howe

1.  “from Cabbage Gardens”

I found this poem very confusing and hard to understand due to the author’s choice of words, as well as its overall structure.  It made me feel depressed reading it because I found that it was a dark poem that took place near water, maybe a harbor or a lighthouse pier.  Howe writes about herons, ships, a heaving sea, and dark ripples of water which came across as describing this type of setting.  The first half of the poem is written with one to a few words in each line, whereas the second half uses staggered lines with lots of spaces in between. 

2.  “from A Bibliography of the King’s Book or, Eikon Basilike”

Once again, a very difficult poem to understand after reading it three times trying to grasp what Howe was trying to say.  It was still not clear or did not relate to me, for example:

“Election—Vocation—

Justification—

Cape of Wind wreathe   

fame out laughing”

This was one particular part of the poem which really threw me off because I did now know what the poem was about.  It made absolutely no sense.  This poem was also an excerpt of a larger poem so it could possibly make more sense if the whole thing was read.