WebSlam VIII – Round 2

Prompts

Submissions are closed for Round 2. Round 3 prompts will be online by 8:00 a.m. Monday, November 13.

Students responded to the following prompts for Round 2. Scroll down to read their work.

1. Personify* an abstract idea or noun. What does _________wear? Where does _______ go grocery shopping? What does __________ do for a living? Create a vivid picture of character traits and behavior of such topics and themes as death, hope, democracy, courage, etc.
   * Encarta® World English Dictionary Definition of ‘Personify’
   1. to be an embodiment or perfect example of something
   2. to represent an abstract quality as a human being, especially in art or literature
      
   3. to ascribe human qualities to an object or abstract notion
   
   
   
2. Be an activist poet: Research and write a poem from a political point of view. Be specific and know your facts. Use the Internet - www.nytimes.com, www.sfnewmexican.com, www.cnn.com, or just about any other newspaper, television network, or alternative news source (www.pitt.edu/~ctnst3/xnews.html) can be found - to research a topic, event or theme that you’d like to write about; e.g., hospice care for the poor, the war in Iraq, plight of illegal Mexican immigrants to the U.S. , exercise for teens, etc.
   
   
3. Write a poem that reflects your relationship with your culture, heritage, ancestry. Dig as deep as you can to learn about who you are and where you came from. What does this mean to you? Your parents? The children you might someday have?
   
   

Tips:

• We advise that you use a word processing program to type your poem, so you can spell check it. Block, copy and paste the poem into the Submit Form.
• Withhold conclusions—your own feelings of like/dislike, approval/disapproval, etc.—and let the language of your poem do the work of making the reader see your intent.

Poems