February 29, 2008

February 29, 2008
More poetry!
Self-starter: In your notebook, List 15 objects that are important to you.

1. About Odes.
Odes
Odes were invented around 500 B.C. by Pindar, a Greek poet.
Back then odes followed a complicated pattern of stanzas.
They were serious,
dignified,
choral songs, performed to celebrate victories,
like in the Olympic games.
In the 20th century, Pablo Neruda, a Chilean poet, turned the ode upside down. [Odes to Common Things, 1994]
He
abandoned dignified topics,
discarded rules about stanzas and meter,
and sang the praises of ordinary things and everyday life:
a pair of socks, onions, apples, a tomato, ironing,
soap, a yellow bird, a spoon, French fries, a storm,
laziness.

Best advice:
You almost can’t be too extreme in your praise, so pick an object that you genuinely admire and wish to exalt.
Part of the fun lies in choosing an everyday object that we aren’t accustomed to inflating with glory.
Don’t pick stars or roses.
You could select cars or noses.
(Adapted from Nancy Atwell's Lessons That Change Writers – Lesson 43, pg. 151-152)

2. Students wrote an Ode to a Jelly Bean. (And they got to eat it!)
3. The teacher shared odes by students, herself, and by the master of the modern ode, Pablo Neruda.
Find a sampling of odes by Pablo Neruda at
http://sunsite.dcc.uchile.cl/chile/misc/odas.html

4. Students wrote and typed odes.
Here are the directions:
Writing “Irregular” Odes (Like Pablo Neruda did) Tape-In
➢ First, decide what object you would like to celebrate. Look around your classroom, visualize outside, or think of things you have around your home, or of places you visit. This works best if you choose an object you have strong feelings about.

➢ Once you’ve picked an object, think about what makes it special. How do you feel about it, and why? Be prepared to describe the object inside and out.

➢ Exaggerate its admirable qualities, until it seems to become central or necessary to human existence.

➢ Use metaphors and similes.

➢ Usually you directly address the subject of the ode: “Oh, sausage sizzling in your succulent fat,. ..”
“your crispy softness, your fierce fragrance. . . .”

➢ Tell your feelings about the subject and give exalted descriptions of its qualities: a balance.

➢ Choose strong words: language that’s packed with meaning and cut to the bone (no excess words)

➢ Keep the lines short. Make it look like a poem on the page.

➢ Now, put your creative thoughts on paper. Remember, odes can be funny or serious – it’s all up to you as the poet!
Dorsey – Creative Writing – Feb. 2008

And here is an ode by the teacher --

Ode to My Dishwasher

Standing silent
under the counter
You wait for me to
fill you
with the pots
and pans
and plates
and bowls
and forks
and spoons
we've used
to cook
and eat.
Then I add powder
like an offering
to the god of cleanliness.
I press the button
and you rumble,
swish.
You work
while I go off
to read
or play
or do my own work.
You free me from
the drudgery of
dreaded handwashing.
I can even leave the house
and you continue your
watery work,
You create a work of art --
clean, shining ceramic,
metal,
plastic.
You even sanitize,
protecting me from
disease, discomfort.
Oh, Dishwasher,
you help and save me.
I praise and thank you
after every meal.
-- C. Dorsey