November 19th 2012, James Baldassano

In today’s seminar, we finished up our recitations of our poems for most of the class. The poems I listened to today were such a wide variety, varying from depressing morbid poems with a sing song feel, to upbeat poems about couples enjoying the night life of New York City. These two poems were coupled up and recited by Swathi, and performed very nicely. They were almost like a juxtaposition to one another, for they were different parts (3 & 4) to the same poem, yet were polar opposites in nature.

After our performances had concluded, we talked a little bit about the selection for who got which poem and why. Some were a shot in the dark, in order to find out more about the person, while others were casted. I found out my poem was casted, and I feel there is a reason to why. My poem, when first read, is giving a sarcastic tone, while using jibberish such as Ing Grish, Ing Gwish, etc. But there is a much deeper meaning to it. This poem accurately depicts a representation of me. For the most part, I am not a serious guy on the surface, I’m more laid back and sarcastic (very sarcastic), but deep down, I possess a more serious instinct of realism, rather than my comedic, sarcastic view of things. Other people received their poems for different reasons, but similar reasoning.

I was actually pleased with the poem recitations, because it allowed me to view a different side to my classmates. Whether they changed with the eyes of a teacher scrutinizing them, or whether they acted the same as they do when we are in a regular conversation was an interesting quality I took notice of.