Introduction to "Poem at 39"

Introduction to "Poem at 39"

Lets start by just a slow read through!

Keep in mind - What are your initial impressions as we read?

Open Ended

First impression: what is this poem about? How would you summarize it?

Open Ended

What feature or line stuck out to you the most? Why?

Alice Walker

• Short story writer, novelist, poet and social activist

• Pulitzer Prize winner - The Color Purple

• First ever African American woman to win for fiction

What are the three things that you will always be asked about in an exam?

Language, Structure, Form

Let's start with form today(have your notes ready!)

This is a Free Verse Poem

No set meter or rhyme

Open to stanza or line length

Question is - Why?

Open Ended

Think for a minute - what are the similarities between "Piano" and "Poem at 39"?