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Another for Helen, on Deciphering
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From: Megan Schliesman <schliesman_at_education.wisc.edu>
Date: Thu, 17 Apr 2014 15:46:37 -0500
I'm glad Alison shared an example of what the actual censored words look like. In the context of a longer line, they read:
" Death smells like / rotten fish (Is that word "fish"? He went fishing?),"
with the italics being from Frank's letter (not all of which is censored), and the roman type Muriel's voice trying to decipher what is being said.
As I think about this, I see the censored words can be a metaphor (sorry) for how some people think reading poetry is an act of unraveling or uncovering meaning that isn't always clear.
As you crafted these particular poems, Helen, were you thinking at all about the way poetry itself is sometimes seen as obscure?*
Megan
(*An unfortunate perspective born, I'm convinced, out of too many "What is the poet saying here?" experiences in high schools everywhere. It's not an unfair question, but certainly not the only one to ask of any poem, and certainly not one to lead with or assume there is a single answer for.)
Date: Thu, 17 Apr 2014 15:46:37 -0500
I'm glad Alison shared an example of what the actual censored words look like. In the context of a longer line, they read:
" Death smells like / rotten fish (Is that word "fish"? He went fishing?),"
with the italics being from Frank's letter (not all of which is censored), and the roman type Muriel's voice trying to decipher what is being said.
As I think about this, I see the censored words can be a metaphor (sorry) for how some people think reading poetry is an act of unraveling or uncovering meaning that isn't always clear.
As you crafted these particular poems, Helen, were you thinking at all about the way poetry itself is sometimes seen as obscure?*
Megan
(*An unfortunate perspective born, I'm convinced, out of too many "What is the poet saying here?" experiences in high schools everywhere. It's not an unfair question, but certainly not the only one to ask of any poem, and certainly not one to lead with or assume there is a single answer for.)
--
Megan Schliesman, Librarian
Cooperative Children's Book Center
School of Education
University of Wisconsin-Madison
600 N. Park Street, Room 4290
Madison, WI 53706
608-262-9503
608-262-4933 (fax)
schliesman_at_education.wisc.edu
www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/
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Received on Thu 17 Apr 2014 03:46:59 PM CDT
