The Poetry Connection

Lesson Plan by Bonnie Haynie 1998-99 Butler Fellow

This lesson plan helps students make a connection between literature, history, geography, and culture through an exploration of the writings of selected Arkansas poets and the events, locations, and people that inspired them.

th th Grades: 7 – 12 This plan may be modified for 5th and 6th grade students.

Objective: Students will understand the contributions of poetry to Arkansas' culture as well as the impact of Arkansas' characteristics on their poetic voice.

Arkansas Curriculum Frameworks:

Arkansas History Student Learning Expectations: G.2.5.2 Understand the contributions of people of various racial, ethnic, and religious groups in Arkansas and the

G.2.6.1 Examine the effects of the contributions of people from selected racial, ethnic, and religious groups to the cultural identify of Arkansas and the United States

G.2.6.2 Describe how people from selected racial, ethnic, and religious groups attempt to maintain their cultural heritage while adapting to the culture of Arkansas and the United States

TPS.4.AH.7-8.4 Identify the contributions of Arkansas’ territorial officials: * James Miller * * Henry Conway * James Conway * Ambrose Sevier * “The Family”

W.7. AH.7-8.1 Describe the contributions of Arkansans in the early 1900s

WWP.9.AH.7-8.12 Identify significant contributions made by Arkansans in the following fields: * art * business * culture * medicine * science

TPS.4.AH.9-12.4 Discuss the historical importance of Arkansas’ territorial officials: * James Miller * Robert Crittenden * Henry Conway * James Conway * Ambrose Sevier * “The Family”

W.7. AH-9-12.2 Describe the contributions of Arkansans in the early 1900s

WWP.9.AH.9-12.8 Research significant contributions made by Arkansans in the following fields: * art * business * culture * medicine * science

Social Studies Student Learning Expectations:

G.2.7.1 Examine the work of writers and artists as examples of cultural heritage from communities around the world

School Library Media Student Learning Expectations: C.8.7.1 , C.8.8.1 – Activity prior knowledge to make connections to text, self, and the world C.8.7.2 , C.8.8.2 – Comprehend the impact of knowledge gained on self, community, and the world

C.8.9.1 , C.8.10.1, C.8.11.1, C.8.12.1 – Read to make connections to self, pervious reading, and the world C.8.9.2 , C.8.10.2, C.8.11.2, C.8.12.2 – Connect learning to self, community, and global issues

Related Encyclopedia of Arkansas Entries: Literature and Authors; Rosa Zagnon Marinoni; Albert Pike; John Gould Fletcher; Maya Angelou; Miller Willams; Lily Peter; Poets Laureate of Arkansas; C.D. Wright; Jo Garot McDougall; Frank Stanford; Fay Hempstead

Introduction: The teacher will select the appropriate student learning expectations for his or her class, review the key terms, and make copies of selected activities included in the lesson. Collaboration with the school library media specialist for assistance with the utilization of the technology resource tool for Arkansas History is suggested. See above links or visit the online Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture at http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net. The school library media specialist can also make suggestions for other poetry selections which are not listed in lesson plan.

Key Terms: poetry; muse; diction

Key Facts: Arkansas has been the home to many poets throughout its history. Journalist lawyer-politician Albert Pike began writing poetry soon after his arrival in the Territory in 1832. In more recent years, John Gould Fletcher of Little Rock won the Pulitzer Prize in 1938 for his poetry. Maya Angelou, who grew up in Stamps, is widely celebrated for her poems. Fayetteville resident Miller Williams delivered the presidential inaugural poem in 1997. Arkansas poetry provides an interesting framework with which to study Arkansas. Background: Most writers derive their inspiration from their surroundings. Arkansas writers are no different; they have allowed their richness of Arkansas' history and culture to add a distinctive flavor to their works.

Activity: 1. Read the poem "Hot Springs" by Rosa Zagnoni Marinini without mentioning the author's name or the poem's title. Ask students to brainstorm clues in the poem that point to the possible location that inspired this poem (where eagle's fly," "hills encircling," "Main Street," "mystic waters flow," "Along the race track"). List their ideas on the board. Encourage them to name possible locations. Then, if no one identifies the correct location, name the author and the poem and help them see the clues to the poem. 2. Discuss what a muse is. Mention other "muses" that inspire writers to create their works. 3. Divide the class into five groups. Give each group several poems by an Arkansas writer. [Several authors and their works are included.]

4. Assign each group to analyze at least one of their author's works for it's "Arkansas" connections by listing key ideas and phrases from the work. Suggested questions for analysis are: a. What places are mentioned in this poem? b. What seasons are listed? How are they described? c. What activities are described? d. What events are mentioned? e. How does the author feel about the place, person, or event being described? 5. Each group can then report to the class the ways in which their author incorporated Arkansas in his or her work. 6. Have students locate each poem's location on a map of Arkansas. 7. Discuss with the students how they feel about being an Arkansan. What factors have shaped their perception on Arkansas? 8. The teacher may choose from these possible products: a. A research project on the location, person, or event on which the poem was based. b. A map that illustrates the locations or events on which the poems were based. c. Student created poetry about a particular place, person, or event from Arkansas history.

Evaluation: Evaluation can vary based on the type of evaluation procedure selected, although a rubric may be the easiest method.

Extension: 1. Create a collection of original student poetry in booklet form for the school media center. 2. Develop original art work or photographs to correlate with the student produced poetry. 3. Submit some of the student produced poetry to local newspapers or school publications. 4. Read some of the student-produced poetry to students in other classes or those in younger grades to see if they can identify the Arkansas inspiration.

Sources: Angelou, Maya. The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou. New York: Random House, 1994.

Bailey, Susan L. "Poet Laureate of Arkansas." The Arkansas Historical Quarterly, XLIX (Spring 1990), 51-56.

Fountain, Sarah (ed.) Arkansas Voices. Little Rock, Arkansas: Rose Publishing Company, 1976.

Johnson, Ben F III. "By Accident of Birth:" John Gould Fletcher and Refashioning the Southern Identity." The Arkansas Historical Quarterly, LIII (Spring 1994), 1 18.

Marinoni, Rosa Zagnoni. The and More of its People. Fayetteville: Ozark Sunlight Series, 1961.

Additional Teacher Information On The Poets: Rosa Zagnoni Marinoni "Hot Springs" is inspired by the Reservation Mountains flanking Central Avenue in Hot Springs, Arkansas. "Winter Dusk in the Ozarks" comes from a photograph made on the way to Devil's Den Park when the author stopped to admire a picturesque log cabin and the old lady invited her in to warm herself. "Native" is based on the author's view from Highway 62, on her way to Eureka Springs, Arkansas, at Inspiration Point.

Booker T. Jackson Mr. Jackson's poems address the racial problems of the 1950s, but his insight into mankind's heart is timeless. This would be a good point at which to discuss the Central High Crisis as well as the laws referring to integration.

Maya Angelou Ms. Angelou's poetry may be too forceful for some 7th and 8th graders. Teachers will need to use their own judgment when assessing the abilities and backgrounds of their students. Ms. Angelou's poetry does clearly echo the racial divisions of the 1940s and 50s in rural southern Arkansas.

These lesson plans are made possible in part through the support of the Arkansas Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The Taylor Foundation (Little Rock, Arkansas) makes Butler Center lesson plans possible. Contact the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, Library System, 100 Rock St., Little Rock, AR, 72201. 501-918-3056 www.butlercenter.org and www.cals.lib.ar.us

Rosa Zagnoni Marinoni

Hot Springs Rosa Zagnoni Marinoni

Though I have climbed the Alps where eagles fly, And walked the seven hills encircling Rome, I've never felt more kindred to the sky, Than on these reservations you call Home. To this Main Street, a mystic hour glass, Through which life and mystic waters flow, I have returned to watch the old year pass, And the new year advance through the veils of snow. In April I have come to welcome Spring, When the magnolia blossoms burst in bloom, And lent my ear to nightingales that sing Along the race track to a Summer moon. These hills are alters to which I must return To light a candle, and to watch it burn.

Winter Dusk in the Ozarks Rosa Zagnoni Marinoni Slow...silent... The snow flakes have covered the orchard. The trees droop heavily. Each branch an arched bow Straining beneath the unaccustomed burden. A crackling staccato is heard at intervals, As sap-frozen branches snap. Fluffed sparrows Huddle in close community Along a barbed wire fence Like birds strung on a spit to broil. A rabbit hops diagonally across the snow, Making shadowless half circles Above the white expanse. A woman with a brown shawl Wrapped around her shoulders, Stands in the doorway of a log cabin... A kitten in her arms.

Native Rosa Zagnoni Marinoni

We came upon it suddenly. The sun Shone brightly on the mountain ledge. Below, Trapped in the valley where the river curled, Spread the dawn fog-an ocean white as snow, From which like islands rose the humps of hills Purple and black beneath the yellow sun. Above us drops of light from tall pine trees Dripped silently through blue space one by one. Binoculars and cameras in hand, We stood as poised between the earth and skies, Well conscious chance had led us to trespass Upon a sight not meant for mortal eyes. A mountain lad in rags, his large feet bare, Leaned to a tree. The surging pride that stills The eager lips spoke through his eyes the words: "This is My valley...these my native hills!"

About the Author: Rosa Zagnoni Marinoni was born in Bologna, Italy in 1891. As a child, she came to America with her family and settled in . In 1908, Mrs. Marinoni moved to Fayetteville, Arkansas, where her husband served as chairman of the Romance Languages Department at the . She resided at Villa Rosa, her home in Fayetteville, until her death. She began her writing career in 1925 and became a widely published writer of short stories, children's stories and verses, witty epigrams, and poetry. She was appointed Poet Laureate of Arkansas. Information and poems adapted from Fountain, Sarah (ed.). Arkansas Voices. Little Rock, Arkansas: Rose Publishing Company, 1976. Booker T. Jackson

The Crisis of 57 Booker T. Jackson

There was a crisis in our land, On that September day; Nine children started out to school And Daisy led the way. The law was passed the year before, To some it was jest; But when they came to enter school, The news went East and West. The guard was called to bar their way, While insults poured from mouths; And ugly words were spat at them; The news went North and South. The word had reached our President: Defiance of the law; And soon the world began to watch The state of Arkansas. The President sent in the troops, With bayonet and gas, With orders to protect the Rights Of the kids who wanted to pass. The crowd grew angry at the troops Whose presence hurt their pride. Somehow-perhaps a miracle- Through it all, no one had died. Nine children entered school that year; No blacks had gone before; An Army had to lead the way To get them through the door. The crisis came, the crisis went, The state of Arkansas, Had shown itself to the world, Its ugly human flaw. But flaws in men that yield to time, Are beautiful to see; The flaws that fail to yield are ones That cause misery. There was a crisis in our land, That came from hate in our hearts; But tolerance and love correct the flaws when hate departs. \ Nine children went to school that day, And history was made; Little Rock, your card was marked--: You got a passing grade.

Of People and Power Booker T. Jackson

People talkin' `bout power Like you never heard or seen. They talkin' `bout power Colored black and white and green. Some folks blabbin' For black color scheme, And some whinnin' for white. If power is gonna be white or black, Then what color is gonna be right?

Soul Democracy Booker T. Jackson

I can't hide my heritage And I can't hide my skin Now I can't go back inside I can't be born again. I am what I am So please give a damn I'll give a damn for you You give a damn for me And brother that is true Soul democracy. You are you and I am me But we can do our thing Now we can get together And help make freedom ring. You can't change your skin to black And I can't change mine to white There's a lot we still can do There's wrong that we can right. I can't tear the whole world up I got a life to live Now both us must learn to love We both must learn to give.

About the Author: Booker T. Jackson was born in Center Point in Howard County, Arkansas, on March 6, 1929. After completing high school in Memphis, Mr. Jackson entered Philander Smith College in Little Rock, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1956. He began his writing career in 1948, and he has been widely published. In 1969, he received Poet of the Year and was listed in Who's Who in Poetry, 1970. Information and poems adapted from Fountain, Sarah (ed.) Arkansas Voices. Little Rock, Arkansas: Rose Publishing Company, 1976.

Maya Angelou

Willie Maya Angelou

Willie was a man without fame, Hardly anyone knew his name. Crippled and limping, always walking lame, He said, "I keep on movin' Movin' just the same." Solitude was the climate in his head, Emptiness was the partner in his bed, Pain echoed in the steps of his tread, He said, "I keep followin' Where the leaders led" "I may cry and I will die, But my spirit is the soul of every spring, Watch for me and you will see That I'm present in the songs that children sing. " People called him "Uncle," "Boy" and "Hey," Said, "You can't live through this another day." Then, they waited to hear what he would say. He said, "I'm living In the games that children play." "You may enter my sleep, people my dreams, Threaten my early morning's ease, But I keep comin' followin' laughin' cryin', Sure as a summer breeze." "Wait for me, watch for me. My spirit is the surge of open seas. Look for me, ask for me, I'm the rustle in the autumn leaves." "When the sun rises I am the time. When the children sing I am the Rhyme."

My Arkansas Maya Angelou

There is a deep brooding in Arkansas. Old crimes like moss pend from poplar trees. The sullen earth is much too red for comfort. Sunrise seems to hesitate and in that second lose its incandescent aim, and dusk no more shadows than the noon. The past is brighter yet. Old hates and ante-bellum lace are rent but not discarded. Today is yet to come in Arkansas. It writhes. It writhes in awful waves of brooding.

The Memory Maya Angelou

Cotton rows crisscross the world And dead-tired nights of yearning Thunderbolts on leather strops And all my body burning Sugar cane reach up to God And every baby crying Shame the blanket of my night And all my days are dying

Song for the Old Ones Maya Angelou

My Fathers sit on benches their flesh counts every plank the slats leave dents of darkness deep in their withered flanks. They nod like broken candles all waxed and burnt profound they say "It's understanding that makes the world go round. " There in those pleated faces I see the auction block the chains and slavery's coffles the whip and lash and stock . My Fathers speak in voices that shred my fact and sound they say "It's our submission that makes the world go round." They used the finest cunning their naked wits and wiles the lowly Uncle Tomming and Aunt Jemimas' smiles. They've laughed to shield their crying then shuffled through their dreams and stepped 'n' fetched a country to write the blues with screams. I understand their meaning it could and did derive from living on the edge of death They kept my race alive.

About the Author: Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Johnson in St. Louis, in 1928. As a young child she and her brother were sent to Stamps, Arkansas, to live with her paternal grandmother. From her humble beginnings in southern Arkansas, Ms. Angelou has achieved world recognition for her many talents. She has been nominated or a Pulitzer Prize for her works of poetry as well as being nominated for an Emmy Award for her acting in "Roots". She wrote and delivered a poem at 's 1993 inauguration. She currently lectures around the world and is also a Reynolds professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University in North Carolina. Information and poems adapted from "http://www. geocities.com/Athens/1523/maya.html". Angelou, Maya. The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou. New York: Random House, 1994.

Miller Williams

The Caterpillar Miller Williams

Today on the lip of a bowl in the backyard we watched a caterpillar caught in the circle of his larvel assumptions my daughter counted 27 times he went around before rolling back and laughing I'm a caterpillar, look she left him measuring out his slow green way to some place there must have been a picture of inside him After supper coming from putting the car up we stopped to look figured he crossed the yard once every hour and left him when we went to bed wrinkling no closer to my landlord's leaves than when he somehow fell into his private circle Later I followed barefeet and doorclicks of my daughter to the yard the bowl a milkwhite moonlight eye in the black grass it died I said honey they don't live very long In bed again re-covered and re-kissed she locked her arms and mumbling love to mine until yawning she slipped into the deep bone-bottomed dish of sleep Stumbling drunk around the rim I hold the words she said to me across the dark I think he thought he was going in a straight line. July 20, 1969 Miller Williams

I The Los Angles Times The Russellville, Arkansas Courier-Democrat The movie marquee in Pottsville, Minnesota for instance say Go It is not the word because there is no word for what we think are almost sure we feel We sit in our living rooms and see the moon tracked by the boots of men We knew the myth for being something other than fact was true When in fact and truth fall together we say something is real as for instance an orange Sermons in the city say yes in the country no Two o'clock in the morning clear channel preachers sending grace and glory to watchmen huddled over heaters cooks in truckstops old women living alone cry Babel Babel Looking good. Looking good. The Kingdom is at hand gimmie nareena moonpie please

About the Author: Originally from Hoxie in Lawrence County, Miller Williams was University Professor of English and Foreign Languages at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. He was the founding director of the University of Arkansas Press. Among his many awards is the Prix de Rome. He delivered the Presidential Inaugural poem in 1997 at the second inauguration of President Clinton. Lily Peter

The Green Linen of Summer Lily Peter

I wrap my thoughts in green linen of summer Against the terror of the dragon wind, And prey that the linen may not too soon be threadbare, Its texture thinned. For by and by I know will come November With its wintry blast; And what is there to keep body and soul from freezing, If the linen do not last?

From "The Cypress Bayou" XI Delta Rain Lily Peter

Across the brown delta loam the thin green cotton rows run to the woods along the bayou, where the bullfrogs bellow among the cypress knees in the cool dimness of the cloudy May afternoon. A finger of lightening reaches down to the treetops where the south wind whips up the leaves like ivory lace against the hyacinthine blue of the rain clouds, and the rain follows with its silver shadow. The treetoads call to each other from the China trees; a mockingbird trills from its resting place in the cedars. In the rain-sweet air drifts the fragrance of road-side honeysuckle. The May rain lasts but an hour, yet this remembrance will refresh a scourched season of August drought.

XIII Cypresses Lily Peter

The cypresses, darkly aristocratic, rearing their stately armorials of green lacework a hundred feet above the black marsh water, lift up their heads to look over the edge of the world. Their friends are the white crane, the hawk and the horned owl they foregather with none beneath their dignity. Last of their great dynasty, disdainful of men, clannish, they dwell in bands and companies in the swamps and bayous, and a cypress tree alone and far from its kindred is as an exile in an unhappy country.

About the Author: Miss Lily Peter was a farmer in Phillips County. She served as Poet Laureate of Arkansas.

Unaccepta Key Factors Acceptable ble 1. The poem has an appropriate title and format. 2. The poem contains phrases and ideas that help to identify the location, person, or events on which the poem is based. 3. The poem follows standard grammar and punctuation rules. 4. The poem displays the student's knowledge of his or her chosen subject. 5. The poem is creative in design and word choice. 6. The poem is neatly presented and on time. Poetry Rubric Worksheet

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