***
Persona poem
* är en dikt skriven i jag-perspektiv
* författaren föreställer sig att han är ett djur, eller ett föremål, eller en känd person - eller något han inte är
Här följer ett ljuvligt exempel av Shelby K. Irons. Hon föreställer sig att hon är en mumie.
 |
| Tutankhamons dödsmask |
The Mummy's smile
I still remember the sun on my bones.
I ate pomegranates and barley cakes.
I wore a necklace of purlpe stones.
And sometimes I saw a crocodile
Slither silently into the Nile.
***
Det finns flera färdiga formulär på Internet som lärare kan använda när de vill introducera en uppgift i att skriva persona poem. Flera formulär finns på den här adressen: http://mseffie.com/handouts/formulapoems.html
Där kan man arbeta efter en modell för "I Am Poem". Så här ser den ut.
1st Stanza
I am (two special characteristics you have).
I wonder (something you are actually curious about).
I hear (an imaginary sound).
I see (an imaginary sight)
I want (an actual desire).
I am (the first line of the poem repeated).
2nd Stanza
I pretend (something you actually pretend to do).
I feel (a feeling about something imaginary).
I touch (an imaginary touch).
I worry (something that really bothers you)
I cry (something that makes you very sad).
I am (the first line of the poem repeated).
3rd Stanza
I understand (something you know is true).
I say (something you believe in).
I dream (something you actually dream about).
I try (something you really make an effort about).
I hope (something you actually hope for).
I am (the first line of the poem repeated).
*
Följande dikt är otroligt bra skriven. Killen som skrev den heter Jonathan C. Mentzer (14 år!!). Den handlar om en slav på ett skepp från Afrika.
"The Vessel of Death"
He is afraid of the white men,
But one of the lucky ones
On deck with air and light
For just a while.
He sees through the door
To the level beneath,
Spooning below the deck,
Head foot, head foot,
Chains cutting into flesh,
Groans and shrieking,
Dead people, waste, and rotten food.
Smells mingled together
Make him feel like vomiting.
Little ones strangling in the stinking slop,
Mothers screaming out their grief.
Suicide for some
Better than a ride on the vessel of death,
Stop eating,
Food crammed down the throat,
Be beaten,
Be forced to live,
No way out.
Remembers his home
Tantalizing smells of ripe fruit,
Where he could eat
Fresh roasted meat,
Peaceful sleep.
He sees his future,
Something worse than death,
Slavery.
***
Jag bifogar ett utdrag från John Hewitt's "30 poems in 30 days", i vilket han utvecklar principen för persona poems.
["Persona poems are poems written from a perspective other than your own. You use your imagination to enter the world of another character. You can write a persona poem from the perspective of a friend, an enemy, a relative, a pet, a celebrity, [a hairbrush,] a[n] historical figure, a character from literature, or you can make up a character of your own.
The basis of a persona poem is a change in point-of-view. You aren’t just writing about another character, you are writing as if you were that other character—in the first person. You try to think like that character. You imagine that character’s thoughts, actions, skills and limitations. You try to capture the world in which that character lives and you portray it as if you were that character.
This is a style of poetry that is heavily influenced by fiction. You leave behind your point of view and take on another. You try to bring a character to life and make that character interesting to your readers. It can be challenging, but also freeing. You are given the chance to change your style, tone and perspective, at least for the length of one poem."]
*
Avslutningsvis ett proffs. Den kanadensiska författarinnan Margaret Atwood har skrivit en dikt om en av sirenerna i den grekiska mytologin. Jag älskar den!
Siren song, by Margaret Atwood (f. 1939)
(from Selected poems, 1965-1975. Boston : Houghton Mifflin, [1987], 1976.)
This is the one song everyone
would like to learn: the song
that is irresistible:
the song that forces men
to leap overboard in squadrons
even though they see the beached skulls
the song nobody knows
because anyone who has heard it
is dead, and the others can't remember.
Shall I tell you the secret
and if I do, will you get me
out of this bird suit?
I don't enjoy it here
squatting on this island
looking picturesque and mythical
with these two feathery maniacs,
I don't enjoy singing
this trio, fatal and valuable.
I will tell the secret to you,
to you, only to you.
Come closer. This song
is a cry for help: Help me!
Only you, only you can,
you are unique
at last. Alas
it is a boring song
but it works every time.
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