Of Life, Love and Learning--Selected Poems, and Educational Raps, Rhythms and Rhymes
I “wrote” this collection of poetic materials over several years, and they, no doubt, reflected what I was feeling and thinking at the time I was inspired to start developing them. But, several of them, as you will note, were written for specific occasions. Many of these poetic pieces were written in my head at times I was among many people, but I was completely alone in my reflections and thoughts, filtering out all the distraction that were happening around me. I often found myself jotting down couplets, ideas and rhyming schemes on napkins, notepads and scraps of paper wherever I happened to be at that moment and later working them into poems that captured the essence of my feelings about many of life’s challenges, disappoints, opportunities and joys. Therefore, many of these pieces evolved from personal insights and simple ideas and grew into messages in which I hope the reader will be able to find a word of encouragement, a learning point or perspective to ponder.
Many of these pieces, as you will see, do not follow the traditional rhyming schemes and do not employ all the conventional elements of poetry. Therefore, they will not fit easily into the various categories of poetry. However, each piece was written to tell a story in its unique way, and each, for the most part, follows a structured method that is suitable for telling the particular story. Moreover, each piece was written to evoke emotional and visceral reactions and to give each reader the encouragement and latitude for personal interpretations.
The focus of Part I, Life’s Joys and Sorrows, is on many of the recurrent life and death themes that I hope will cause the reader to look beyond herself or himself and to see and understand the world in a larger context and through a very wide-angle lens. These poetic pieces have been crafted to evoke a desire to embrace the full range of our common humanity and to acknowledge how that humanity binds us together in an infinitesimally small space and time. This section of the book would not have been complete without including pieces written for and about my Mother and a very special niece, two very gentle, peaceful and sensitive individuals who embodied the very best of humanity. While I believe our common humanity is reason enough for all humankind to learn to live together in peace, the numerous reasons why it has not happened during most of human history cannot be enumerated here. However, that we learn to love and how to love each other because of our common humanity, the broad theme of Part II, Love Rhymes, is essential for us to find the best in ourselves and to look for the best in others. When we do, it is likely that we’ll become more selfless and more generous toward others with our time, our talents and our resources.
The Educational Raps, Rhythms and Rhymes, the pieces in Part III, were written specifically with high school students in mind. I’ve employed some of the elements typically employed in Hip Hop, Slam and Spoken Word Poetry, which most of these young people know very well, and I have attempted to use the rhetoric to provide them guidance for navigating many of the daily challenges and pressures they face.
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Many of these pieces, as you will see, do not follow the traditional rhyming schemes and do not employ all the conventional elements of poetry. Therefore, they will not fit easily into the various categories of poetry. However, each piece was written to tell a story in its unique way, and each, for the most part, follows a structured method that is suitable for telling the particular story. Moreover, each piece was written to evoke emotional and visceral reactions and to give each reader the encouragement and latitude for personal interpretations.
The focus of Part I, Life’s Joys and Sorrows, is on many of the recurrent life and death themes that I hope will cause the reader to look beyond herself or himself and to see and understand the world in a larger context and through a very wide-angle lens. These poetic pieces have been crafted to evoke a desire to embrace the full range of our common humanity and to acknowledge how that humanity binds us together in an infinitesimally small space and time. This section of the book would not have been complete without including pieces written for and about my Mother and a very special niece, two very gentle, peaceful and sensitive individuals who embodied the very best of humanity. While I believe our common humanity is reason enough for all humankind to learn to live together in peace, the numerous reasons why it has not happened during most of human history cannot be enumerated here. However, that we learn to love and how to love each other because of our common humanity, the broad theme of Part II, Love Rhymes, is essential for us to find the best in ourselves and to look for the best in others. When we do, it is likely that we’ll become more selfless and more generous toward others with our time, our talents and our resources.
The Educational Raps, Rhythms and Rhymes, the pieces in Part III, were written specifically with high school students in mind. I’ve employed some of the elements typically employed in Hip Hop, Slam and Spoken Word Poetry, which most of these young people know very well, and I have attempted to use the rhetoric to provide them guidance for navigating many of the daily challenges and pressures they face.
Of Life, Love and Learning--Selected Poems, and Educational Raps, Rhythms and Rhymes
I “wrote” this collection of poetic materials over several years, and they, no doubt, reflected what I was feeling and thinking at the time I was inspired to start developing them. But, several of them, as you will note, were written for specific occasions. Many of these poetic pieces were written in my head at times I was among many people, but I was completely alone in my reflections and thoughts, filtering out all the distraction that were happening around me. I often found myself jotting down couplets, ideas and rhyming schemes on napkins, notepads and scraps of paper wherever I happened to be at that moment and later working them into poems that captured the essence of my feelings about many of life’s challenges, disappoints, opportunities and joys. Therefore, many of these pieces evolved from personal insights and simple ideas and grew into messages in which I hope the reader will be able to find a word of encouragement, a learning point or perspective to ponder.
Many of these pieces, as you will see, do not follow the traditional rhyming schemes and do not employ all the conventional elements of poetry. Therefore, they will not fit easily into the various categories of poetry. However, each piece was written to tell a story in its unique way, and each, for the most part, follows a structured method that is suitable for telling the particular story. Moreover, each piece was written to evoke emotional and visceral reactions and to give each reader the encouragement and latitude for personal interpretations.
The focus of Part I, Life’s Joys and Sorrows, is on many of the recurrent life and death themes that I hope will cause the reader to look beyond herself or himself and to see and understand the world in a larger context and through a very wide-angle lens. These poetic pieces have been crafted to evoke a desire to embrace the full range of our common humanity and to acknowledge how that humanity binds us together in an infinitesimally small space and time. This section of the book would not have been complete without including pieces written for and about my Mother and a very special niece, two very gentle, peaceful and sensitive individuals who embodied the very best of humanity. While I believe our common humanity is reason enough for all humankind to learn to live together in peace, the numerous reasons why it has not happened during most of human history cannot be enumerated here. However, that we learn to love and how to love each other because of our common humanity, the broad theme of Part II, Love Rhymes, is essential for us to find the best in ourselves and to look for the best in others. When we do, it is likely that we’ll become more selfless and more generous toward others with our time, our talents and our resources.
The Educational Raps, Rhythms and Rhymes, the pieces in Part III, were written specifically with high school students in mind. I’ve employed some of the elements typically employed in Hip Hop, Slam and Spoken Word Poetry, which most of these young people know very well, and I have attempted to use the rhetoric to provide them guidance for navigating many of the daily challenges and pressures they face.
Many of these pieces, as you will see, do not follow the traditional rhyming schemes and do not employ all the conventional elements of poetry. Therefore, they will not fit easily into the various categories of poetry. However, each piece was written to tell a story in its unique way, and each, for the most part, follows a structured method that is suitable for telling the particular story. Moreover, each piece was written to evoke emotional and visceral reactions and to give each reader the encouragement and latitude for personal interpretations.
The focus of Part I, Life’s Joys and Sorrows, is on many of the recurrent life and death themes that I hope will cause the reader to look beyond herself or himself and to see and understand the world in a larger context and through a very wide-angle lens. These poetic pieces have been crafted to evoke a desire to embrace the full range of our common humanity and to acknowledge how that humanity binds us together in an infinitesimally small space and time. This section of the book would not have been complete without including pieces written for and about my Mother and a very special niece, two very gentle, peaceful and sensitive individuals who embodied the very best of humanity. While I believe our common humanity is reason enough for all humankind to learn to live together in peace, the numerous reasons why it has not happened during most of human history cannot be enumerated here. However, that we learn to love and how to love each other because of our common humanity, the broad theme of Part II, Love Rhymes, is essential for us to find the best in ourselves and to look for the best in others. When we do, it is likely that we’ll become more selfless and more generous toward others with our time, our talents and our resources.
The Educational Raps, Rhythms and Rhymes, the pieces in Part III, were written specifically with high school students in mind. I’ve employed some of the elements typically employed in Hip Hop, Slam and Spoken Word Poetry, which most of these young people know very well, and I have attempted to use the rhetoric to provide them guidance for navigating many of the daily challenges and pressures they face.
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Of Life, Love and Learning--Selected Poems, and Educational Raps, Rhythms and Rhymes
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Of Life, Love and Learning--Selected Poems, and Educational Raps, Rhythms and Rhymes
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Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940016135502 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | PwP Publishing |
| Publication date: | 12/29/2012 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 51 |
| File size: | 26 KB |
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