City of Eclogue Post

What stuck out to me initially in some of the poems was the use of, occasionally unexpected, vulgar language. There are numerous instances of this. Such as on page 56, “our fucking jobs”, or page 15, “and fucked you woke.” The use of slang, particularly vulgar slang, helps gives the reader what perspective the author is coming from, a more personal one. The poems become a sort of diary for the author to vent through, giving much of the book a lot of emotional weight. Although much of the writing isn’t exactly colloquial, it isn’t formal or prose in any form, as there is little punctuation which gives the writing a more personal touch.

A common style used throughout most of the book is gaps between words or the organization of poems into unique stanzas. Both of these techniques can cause the reader to pause, which can add significance to the following phrase after the gap or individuate each of the stanzas so as to give more importance to the entire passage, as often a passage that is an unbroken wall of text can have trouble delivering meaning as well; more meaning is absorbed compartmentally than as a whole. A good example of the gaps is the poem “Beauty’s Standing” beginning on page 41.

Often the gaps in “Beauty’s Standing” can be substituted for dashes, commas, or semicolons etc, but the gaps give the impression that the poem is be read out loud, each pauses is the author giving emphasis, i.e., “re: the water              the heat       is out of control      the land toxic.” Commas or the word “and” could have been substituted but the separation pronounces each much more effectively. The lack of following proper grammatical rules also furthers the impression that this is a personalized account. This perspective needs to be effectively maintained if a genuine  and personal perspective of civil rights issues, city corruption, social issues and environmental issues is the goal.

Day 1 Poetry Packet Anslysis

It was very interesting to see the similarities across the author's different poems, in regards to his style and theme. Overall there is a definite trend of geology used as descriptors throughout the poems. Words such as erosion and sediment give a much stronger connotations than other possible word choice. The earth is grand and and ancient. It can be intimidating and is physically of large scale. So the choice of diction that this author uses makes a lot of the poems seem very momentous and impactful to the reader. It also seems that contrasting tones is a common method for this writer. Despite all of the stronger word choices associated with geology that the writer uses, it is contrasted by softer words, such as "speckled" or "powdered". 

As shown in the very first poem on the first page, there is clear contrasting between cold, like phrases such as "cold deep", and warmer temperatures. This theme coupled with the geological diction can give the impression that conflictions found o cwithin within the poems, if present, are conflictions of large proportions. In addition to geology, the natural forces in general are used to create a more impactful message to the reader. In the poem "Lens", the author utilizes weather, specifically rain clouds, as a simile in order to demonstrate the degree to which the character described in the poem was evocative of feelings of promises never delivered. 

One of the interesting methods used to present a poem was used by Jeffrey Angles. He formed the poem like an upside down triangle. The pace of the poem seems to quicken  with every line. Angles changes the temporarilty of the poem, increasing it as the poem progresses in order to create more tension and to build up the poem before it reaches it's end. I've never seen a method like this used before and it's effects are quite apparent. If the poem weren't structured this way the end would likely carry very different interpretations. Without the structure the ending would seem duller, as it describes a bird catching a cicada in it's beak and describes mountain breeze. This way the eventful tone created within the first few lines by the agitated and fleeing man is carried on throughout the rest of the poem.

Self-Introduction

Hello! My name is Cameron Mitchell and I am a freshman this year at EMU. My current major, Special Education, doesn't require much in terms of literary practice, but I wouldn't discount myself as an enthusiast of literature. I also am a large fan of western philosophy, so I am attracted to novels such as The Stranger by Albert Camus, which has underlying existentialist/absurdist themes. Dystopian novels such as A Brave New World, A Handmaiden's Tale, and 1984 are also of interest to me. As for background on myself, I spent my very early childhood in Overijse, Belgium, although I was born in California. I then moved to Clarkston, Michigan and have spent most of my life there. I am very happy with my current residence in Ypsilanti and I am eager to continue my education here. All of my classes so far seem quite interesting, so I quite excited for this creative writing class and all that it brings.