**This discussion has been moved to Canvas. Please go to https://canvas.alaska.edu/courses/8575/discussion_topics to see all Discussions for this course.**
How often do you read poetry just for fun? Do you think your life would change any if you were never required to read poetry again? I know a few poets, was required to read poetry in school, and I regularly teach poetry. I think that to a certain extent my enjoyment of classical, written poetry (the kind found in college textbooks) is a matter of training. I have experience with it and I know something about its history. But, here is a confession: I don’t pick up books of poetry very often to read in my spare time. Actually, almost never. However, there are a few places where I find a tremendous amount of joy in poetry, and it’s always when the poem is coming from the mouth of real person. Poetry out loud is dynamic and complex. I have a particular fondness for freestyle rap, Poetry slams, and poems that my partner reads to me in quiet moments.
It’s only in the context of live performance that poetry really has an IMPACT on me. Otherwise, it’s usually intellectually engaging, but not what I would call emotionally moving or artistically inspiring. But this is a very personal perspective on these things. You may feel differently about poetry, spoken word, and what you find inspiring.
So, let’s talk about poetry out loud. Go read the Wikipedia entry on Rap. Seriously think about rap as a modern form of poetry (using the term “modern” I guess since it’s older now than me and probably most people in this class). In eras prior to the printing press, poetry was nearly always read aloud. Most audiences were illiterate and owning a book was like owning a Rolls Royce.
Now, let’s have a conversation about these things. Start anywhere. What do you think about spoken word, or rap, or poetry slams? Do you think that there is any difference between poetry on the page and poetry out loud? Do you think the Wikipedia article on rap sheds any light on the art of poetry?