Poulter Pages

Post one of your group’s clarification questions and your responses here. 

Throughout the school year you will have the opportunity to earn extra credit by imitating poems written by published poets.  Here is an original poem by William Carlos Williams and our class imitations. See if you can guess which class wrote each imitation of “The Red Wheelbarrow.”

The Red Wheelbarrow by William Carlos Williams

so much depends
upon

a red wheel
barrow

glazed with rain
water

beside the white
chickens

The Deep Blue Sea

too much goes
under

the deep blue
sea

filled with cute
clown-fish

beside the explosive
volcano

The White Toilet Bowl

too much runs
down

the swirling white
toilet bowl

coated with brown
streaks

on top of the mini
mart

My Mama’s Red House

so much lives
behind

my mama’s red
house

drenched with white
trim

behind the yellow
cornfield

The Chunky Red Bird

too much relies
on

a chunky red
bird

covered with fire
feathers

by the hairy
man

The Yellow Lamborghini

so much relies
upon

a candy yellow
Lamborghini

draped with butterfly
doors

on the narrow
boulevard

Legend has it that Ernest Hemingway was once challenged to write a short story in 6 words.  His response was this:  “For sale:  baby shoes, never worn.”

In 2006, the editors of Smith magazine asked readers to describe their own lives in exactly six words.  Since then, a collection of these responses, Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure, has been published.  Here are some examples taken from the Smith Magazine website:

Wish I’d had a different mother.

                                                Lisa Hendrix

Wasted many days worrying about tomorrow.

                                                Joseph Vega

Quietly left a few footprints behind.

                                                Sara Sitar

Yesterday’s weather does not concern me.

                                                tkjell

Turns out that God was right.

                                                Eliza Jo

Here are some examples of celebrity responses from the book:

Fifteen years since last professional haircut.

                                                Dave Eggers

Couldn’t cope so I wrote songs.

                                                Aimee Mann

Well I thought it was funny.

                                                Stephen Colbert

Provide your new classmates a tiny window into your own life by posting a six word memoir.