It was nice to jump back into seminar after a week off from classes.  This session was very enjoyable since the class had plenty of engaging discussions.  However, even though the discussions were a blast, my favorite part was rereading my poem to the class.

At first I felt uneasy about my second reading, I thought that it was not the way it was supposed to be read.  The recording of Langston Hughes on Youtube had been in a very slow and mellow tone.  I realized after the session that my personality and the way I read Night Funeral in Harlem the first time did not flow in harmony.  Instead, presenting the poem with a sarcastic tone was a much better performance.

As a matter of fact, Langston Hughes was known as a comical man.  Imagining Hughes read the poem in a manner such as mine would not be too farfetched in my opinion.  Perhaps Hughes was at a very old age when the recording was made, which would justify his slow and smooth reading.

Even though I initially felt uneasy with my second reading of the poem, it was still a good time.  In all honesty, I think of myself as a great presenter. I was in a presentation team for a business program in my senior year of high school and I did pretty well.  The program had multiple competitions in which the presenters had to present lengthy business plans and sit through grueling Q & A sessions.  The reason I did so well was due to the fact that I presented with my natural personality; I did not try to mimic someone else as I did with Langston Hughes.

Hopefully, we will have more presentations in the future.  Presentations are vastly more enjoyable than a meer essay.

Let me begin by saying I really enjoyed Monday’s seminar class.  We began poetry recitations and while poetry is not my favorite topic, I do enjoy hearing poetry being read and hearing other people’s interpretations of poetry.  I love how one poem can mean several different things to different people, and how there is not one concrete answer about a poem’s meaning, because a poem speaks differently to each individual person. 

There were two aspects of Monday’s class that both surprised me and resonated with me.  First, after reading my own two poems, “Lament” and “Recuerdo,” by Edna St. Vincent Millay, Dr. Kahan pointed out that sometimes, a poet’s personality and the way they write are at odds with each other.  Millay was known to be a very flamboyant person around other people and in society, and yet, the poems I read seemed to be very conservative, simple, and moderate.  I had never given much thought to the idea that personality and writing style can be so contrasting for one person.  I personally liked the idea of having two different sides: one everyone sees and one that is more private and hidden, just for that own person to express his or her feelings or ideas.

The second class discussion that particularly interested me was the discussion that began with Marilyn Monroe and ended with the idea that the way people are portrayed is not necessarily true, nor is it “their own fault.”  Everybody knows Marilyn Monroe as a promiscuous, provocative, showy actress, singer, and model from the 1940’s and 1950’s.  However, as we discussed in class, how can we know that this description was who she really was?  What right do we have to judge her and label her?  Some people might argue that she wanted the attention and knowingly made a name for herself.  But in reality, what we know of Marilyn Monroe is a result of the media and other people’s ideas about who she was.  Sure, she is and was known to the American people as one of the most well-known sex symbols in contemporary culture, and that was no doubt, a result of the time period when she was popular; but there was so much more to her than we could ever know.  We tend to label people based on what we see and the gossip we want to start; the catch is that the gossip we start and the labels we attach usually only refer to one aspect of the person’s personality.  They most likely have much more substance than we give them credit for. 

I look forward to hearing the other poems in the class and seeing the kinds of discussion they lead to.  These discussions not only interest me, but help me develop a more open mind about the world around me.

Today’s seminar class was definitely interesting and unique. Prior to class, each student was assigned one or two poems that had to be researched and recited in front of the class. Also, we were to give brief details we found interesting about the particular poet or poets that Professor Kahan assigned.

However, towards the end of class, the class got a little sidetracked and we began discussing the influence of the media on women and how the audience portrays them. For example, Marilyn Monroe was looked upon as a sex symbol because of the various things she had done during her life. This falls hand and hand with our discussion because, people during this time perceived Marilyn, as a very provocative and promiscuous woman, simply because the media and other forms of news reported her in this way. It’s very rare for people even in today’s world, to produce an opinion solely based on what they feel. This relates closely to the presidential election. For example, there are many news channels and radio stations that are either Pro Democratic or Pro Republican, and if one listens to these networks on a constant basis, their outlooks and views are greatly affected. This idea was one of the topics discussed in today’s class, leading me to question if I fall into this category, or if I base my judgments on what I personally feel, despite what the media and my family tells me.

But, I must touch on the fact that even though I didn’t recite my poem yet, I get the feeling that speaking in front of the class is easier said than done. Many of my classmates, had a difficult time expressing their opinion and speaking clearly, which is a very common problem during public speaking. Thankfully, Professor Kahan was able to clarify any loose ends within the poems, enabling me to get a better understanding of what the poet is trying to portray. Hopefully, when I present my poem on Wednesday, I won’t be corrected too much, but I take all corrections I receive in a positive way and try to use them to better myself.