Title: Give it a Voice
Genre: Teaching Poetry Writing
Objective: Persona Poems, mini-lesson on line breaks
Prompts: “The Red Poppy” by Louise Glück from The Wild Iris; “Anagke” by Rubén
Darío
Contributor: Brian Russell
This one has worked really well every time I’ve used it. I often have students write
various things about themselves—about their names, words to describe them, all the “I
am” poems—but I had the recent experience of a student saying to me, “All I ever do is
write about myself. I’m sick of writing about myself.” I like to bring this activity in as a
change of pace.
The topic is persona poems. So I start off by asking if anyone has heard of the word
“persona” before. Sometimes one of them will, sometimes not. If not I just define it for
them. Persona poems are poems in which poets pretend to be someone or something they
are not and write from that person or thing’s perspective. I tell them how the word
persona originates from the Greek, a word that means mask. I tell them that writing a
persona poem is like wearing a mask while you’re writing.
Depending on the class dynamic and how comfortable I feel with them, I like to start off
with a personal story that explains my interest in persona poems. I tell them about my
grandma who had an advanced case of Parkinson’s disease and was unable to speak for
the remaining years of her life. So I wrote poems during that time in her voice. I tell
them about how I became interested in giving things a voice that couldn’t speak. I ask
them if they’ve ever felt like there was a time when no one was listening to them. They
all usually have a story.
Then I read the poem “The Red Poppy” by Louise Glück. It’s written from the
perspective of a flower which experiences emotions but not rational thoughts. It’s a great
poem for a lot of ages because the language is somewhat simple, but the ideas are
complex and take some time to think about. I usually start by asking, “Why would it be
such a great thing not to have a mind?” and go from there.
This is where I bring in the mini-lesson on line breaks. They follow along with the poem
as I read, but I give them an unlineated version of the poem. Just one big block
paragraph on the page. After we’ve talked about the poem for awhile, I tell them to
rewrite the poem the way they think it’s lineated. I usually read the poem several times
as they’re working, taking slight pauses at the end of each line but don’t tell them I’m
doing that on purpose. Then I tell them it’s a game to see how many lines you got right.
After they see how it’s truly lineated, we talk about how another layer of meaning is
Writers in the Schools I 1523 West Main St. Houston, TX 77006 I 713.523.3877
www.witshouston.org
created in the poem by the breaks, how certain words can be delayed to create surprise,
etc. I ask them what words or phrases stand out more now that they did when they read
the unlineated version.
Tried and True, Vol. 2 37
Writers in the Schools (WITS) _ www.witshouston.org _ 2007
Then they begin writing their own persona poems. They have to pick an inanimate object
and give it a voice. What would it say? Who would it talk to? I tell them to make sure
they pick an object that has a story to tell.
The Red Poppy
The great thing
is not having
a mind. Feelings:
oh, I have those; they
govern me. I have
a lord in heaven
called the sun, and open
for him, showing him
the fire of my own heart, fire
like his presence.
What could such glory be
if not a heart? Oh my brothers and sisters,
were you like me once, long ago,
before you were human? Did you
permit yourselves
to open once, who would never
open again? Because in truth
I am speaking now
the way you do. I speak
because I am shattered.
Louise Glück
From The Wild Iris, published by The Ecco Press, 1992.
Writers in the Schools I 1523 West Main St. Houston, TX 77006 I 713.523.3877
www.witshouston.org