Description
Why Multicultural Poetry? Who Cares? Start here first…
Most grownups remember having to memorize traditional poetry as students many years ago. Perhaps it was William Wordsworth’s “I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud,” or maybe it was even a passage from Shakespeare, such as Macbeth’s soliloquy:
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;” and so on.
Many learners have struggled with poetry because they found the poems they were presented with were drastically disconnected from their own human experience. Pair this with the duty to memorize a lengthy passage and recite it publicly in a classroom = poetry can be intimidating.
Catherine Pierce, the poet laureate of Mississippi, states that poetry is for everyone. In other words, poetry should be accessible for people of all ages and backgrounds, and that all people can be poets. The poems—and poets—in this course represent poets from all kinds of cultures, representing views and experiences which span the globe. We feature different types of poems as well…and you will get your chance to create some of these.
Poems are written for readers to enjoy, to chew on mentally, to toy with, and to relate to. Enjoy learning about these poets and their works!
