Happy Thanksgiving!

I am so sorry I missed the feast today! I hope it was fabulous. I am thankful for each an every one of you. You are so fun to work with. I cannot wait to hear your poems next week.

Enjoy the break!

Love,
Ms. Perez

Pablo Neruda (1904 - 1973)

Good morning! Today we are going to spend some time studying one of my favorite poets, Pablo Neruda. Neruda is well-known for his Spanish poems and English translations. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1971. Please check out some of the bio information provided here:

http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1971/neruda-bio.html
http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/279

Here are a couple of Neruda's love poems

I Do Not Love You Except Because I Love You

I do not love you except because I love you;
I go from loving to not loving you,
From waiting to not waiting for you
My heart moves from cold to fire.

I love you only because it's you the one I love;
I hate you deeply, and hating you
Bend to you, and the measure of my changing love for you
Is that I do not see you but love you blindly.

Maybe January light will consume
My heart with its cruel
Ray, stealing my key to true calm.

In this part of the story I am the one who
Dies, the only one, and I will die of love because I love you,
Because I love you, Love, in fire and blood.

Love Sonnet XVII

I do not love you as if you were a salt rose, or topaz
or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that never blooms
but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;
thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,
risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
So I love you because I know no other way

than this: where I does not exist, nor you,
so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,
so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.

Neruda Poems in English and Spanish

http://allpoetry.com/poem/8496965-Walking_Around__Original_Spanish_-by-Pablo_Neruda

http://www.abuddhistlibrary.com/Buddhism/H%20-%20World%20Religions%20and%20Poetry/Poetry/Pablo%20Neruda/If%20You%20Forget%20Me/If%20You%20Forget%20Me%20translation.htm

"I Remember You As You Were" (Video... Do you have headphones?)

ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_G4fVVwMCw

I hope this information has inspired your own poetry. Please spend the rest of class working on the poems you began writing on Wednesday! All finished? Try your hand at translating your poem from English to Spanish? Not in the mood? Write another poem!

Love Always,

Ms. Perez

Welcome Spanish IV Students!

Welcome to poetry workshop! I am so excited to be working with your class. In creative writing, we spend a lot of time blogging. I decided this would be a great way for us to get started. Our goal will be to write poems in English, which you will ultimately translate into Spanish. If you have any questions, please ask!

Here is some basic information about poetry for you to read:

 

Some Ideas on Poetry

vPoetry is one of the oldest forms of writing.

vPoetry is a type of literature in which words are selected for their beauty, sound, and power to express feelings.

vPoetry uses language in a more expressive way than everyday speech.

vOverall, poetry includes a new way of looking at a situation or event in our lives.

vBy using words creatively, poetry attempts to create a strong image in the reader’s mind similar to a photograph.

vIt should appeal to our senses (touch, taste, sight, smell, sound) as well as our brains (emotional and intellectual). IMAGERY

Here are some links with poetry prompts/ideas. After you read through, please begin writing your poems!

http://www.creative-writing-now.com/creative-writing-prompts.html
http://www.davidrm.com/thejournal/tjresources-exercises.php#poetry
http://poewar.com/poetry-prompts/ (you have to scroll down a little on this one!)