Odysseus - W.S.Merwin

“Odysseus”

Always the setting forth was the same,
Same sea, same dangers waiting for him
As though he had got nowhere but older.
Behind him on the receding shore
The identical reproaches, and somewhere
Out before him, the unravelling patience
He was wedded to.  There were the islands
Each with its woman and twining welcome
To be navigated, and one to call “home.”
The knowledge of all that he betrayed
Grew till it was the same whether he stayed
Or went.  Therefore he went.  And what wonder
If sometimes he could not remember
Which was the one who wished on his departure
Perils that he could never sail through,
And which, improbable, remote, and true,
Was the one he kept sailing home to?
By: W.S.Merwin 

        I liked this poem since it entails a hero into the perils of the sea. Floating above the endless depths below. There is no destination in his journey and he leads the way with his memories following.

Review of an iPad Application: No Choice About the Terminology

iPad Application : No Choice About the Terminology


      This app offers a great reading experience, the user can interact with the scrolling poems by pressing and holding the lines as they move across the screen. The selected word highlights the entire screen and when it is released the line disappears. As the selected lines are removed they are replaced by new sentences. The user can choose how slow or how fast the sentences scroll across the sreen. Each sentence moves in one direction, left-to-right and right-to-left. The sentences can be selected in order to moved and change the movement speed. The three speeds are slow and fast.


<https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/no-choice-about-terminology/id475338554?mt=8/>

iPad Application : Rattlesnakes

iPad Application : Rattlesnakes


      At first I thought that this application was taking forever to load. After I had touched the iPad screen purple words began to pop-up. Once I had finished tapping the screen the poem loads and appears line by line moving from left to right. There are various letter sizes ranging from smallest, medium and Large. These sizes appear in no specific order. Another feature is that the oldest lines fade as they scroll across the screen. This application provides a great reading experience however there is no creative element since the user is not making anything new.



<http://a3.mzstatic.com/us/r30/Purple6/v4/d5/5b/a2/d55ba27c-28e8-40eb-ac21-dbbe1449b673/screen568x568.jpeg/>

Use of Technology & Poetry Production: 5 Poetry blogs

All Poetry
http://allpoetry.com/poems/about/technology

    Access Poems to other poets online by clicking on one of the Poem titles with their associated profile pictures. It is also possible to comment on each poem after reading them. The blog remains organized by having the option to select poems by Author, Best Poems or Popular. On the main page there are four options where the user can select from : Read, Write, Groups, Contests and Store. There is no restriction to the contributors who may add their works onto the blog or share comments. The poets collaboration is essential as a major portion of this blog is depending on the collection of their work. 

Best Technology Poems
http://www.poetrysoup.com/poems/best/technology

    A very basic layout of all the text fonts and colors. It has countless amount of poems available as entries that can be searched or archived by Member Area, Soup Social, Member Poets/Poem, Famous Poets/Poems, Contests, Lyrics, Resources. The focus on this blog is about the idea of technology. What makes this site effective is providing material to the user because alternate paths site links that can lead to the same poem.
Ongoing updates from any poetry source created a large blog its layout and filters enable tracking specific poems. Inform users on the global scale of the countless sources that are available.

POETRY 24
http://poetry-24.blogspot.ca/

    Exploration of poetry is easy with this creative blog. The visual representation is simple since the site background consists of the site is a newspaper with poems listed on the main page. The user is able to select from any of the following tabs, Home, About, Submissions, Poets, Links, Publicity and Older Posts. The default organization is sequential as new works are organized from last to first upload. Images sometimes accompany the poems at the poet's discretion. The site was just created in the year 2011 and continue to remain up-to-date with subjects specific to world events, such as the Crimea annexation and the Malaysian Airlines incident. Although the information is not factual the data accessed to these occurrences is in the form of poems. This blog demonstrates a great invention to provide users confidence in identifying poems online.

Poetry of Life - Poems on & about Life, Love and Sadness
http://www.poetryoflife.com/

    This blog blew me away! It is spectacular since there are so many colors and images used to display the poems presented by poets. Aside from the two, Home and About tabs there is a Search bar along with the twenty-five pages listing poem titles, all of which include images. The theme of life and concepts structured towards expression are evident and create a great atmosphere ranging across the entire spectrum. This blog is filed with ideas and texture created through images.

And Other Poems
http://andotherpoems.wordpress.com/

    The networking idea of connects is advertised throughout the entire blog since there are many links available to network databases. Poem searches is optimized by indexing all of the authors in alphabetical order along with any poems that were uploaded. The possibility to comment is not available, an accustomed feature present in each reviewed blog, however there is the option to share the   poem since there links to Twitter, Facebook, Google, Tumbler and more. The possibly of finding stories in pictures is not available since there are no photos attached to any poems nor the layout of the blog page. This short and concise layout proves useful in finding material quickly however the opportunity for discussion does not exist.

Selected Poems, Linton Kwesi Johnson : Seasons of Heart

Selected Poems -  Linton Kwesi Johnson

Seasons of Heart  pg. 83

      What makes this poem unique is the rhythm. In the first paragraph it begins with a single monometer line, then to dimeter and continues to trimeter. In the second paragraph the tempo shifts as there is a variation between tetrameter, pentameter and a hexameter. The principle of existence is love, the lesson in life. It is ironic how the season and the emotions of humans are alike. Like the sweet smells of summer and the cold piercing climate of winter. During the spring season nature absorbs the suns rays for energy. As partners people are lost in the magical world, with hopes of finding flowers in the enchanting night and  memories disappearing like the clouds in the sky.

Selected Poems, Linton Kwesi Johnson : All Wi Doin is Defendin

Selected Poems -  Linton Kwesi Johnson


All Wi Doin is Defendin   pg. 11

      In this poem the people cannot run away from standing ground and must face another war, while defending themselves only with bare hands. These fights are compared to warfare where the extent of suffering had no limitation and the impact of inflicted injury is severe since it has affected the victims' souls. One war after the other it made no difference as the people are fighting for their freedom up against the riot squad. The results of the turmoil are gruesome because the destruction of mankind is created through separation and violence. Mankind exists to thrive together with culture, music and people in order to continue living. The peoples' voices are important and not a single moment is spent on waiting for something to happen. The exertion against authority is pointless unless peace will remain in effect.
      The length of the poem is about four minutes and has a quitain structure. There is repetition found in two stanzas, similar to a chorus. A lot of rhyme occurs in the poem and shifts between dimeter and trimeter. There is a combination in short and long lines that dictate the speed of reading. A lot of verbs go at the end of the lines to create emphasis onto the action occurring in the poem.

Overview of 5 Poets : Use of Technology and/in Poetry Production

Marshall Davis Jones : "Touchscreen"‬

      This was a unique poem and was presented at the National Poetry Slam in Boston. In order to present this poem the technology used was a microphone and a few speakers so that Marshall David Jones could present and project his voice to the audience. This poem concentrates on a user relying on a computer to access the digital world and includes many contradictions. The user is caught between two places, at one time he is in the digital world connected to the internet and on the other hand he is comparing previous life experiences with oxymorons. There is a distance created between the two lifestyles which separated by space. Many writing techniques created the poem, such as redundant acronym syndrome demonstrated with the i's in iPad and e's in email. Similes are also used when comparing the human emotion in relation to actions such as emails and etrades. Throughout the entire poem there is no rhyme yet it does however match an open ended concept of technology and the freedom of expressing ideas with sharing information throughout connections.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAx845QaOck

http://poetry.rapgenius.com/Marshall-davis-jones-touchscreen-annotated


Leslie Wu : "Say 23"

      Leslie Wu introduced the latest technology in order to create her work "Say 23", which was presented at the Stanford Code Poetry Slam. She was wearing Google Glass as she typed a small program while simultaneously reciting the words from Psalm 23. Immediately after she finished speaking she had also executed the program with the keyboard at hand. The streamed words spoken of Psalm 23 were read from the written program, three times where each speech had a different version of a computer voice. This was a creative approach at implementing programs for a unique purpose. The Google Glass were used in order to view the code typed onto the screen without looking at any another direction, since the lenses are a small monitor. These glasses also have a built-in microphone in order to record what the person wearing them is speaking. Leslie Wu was able to concentrate on a task with minimal effort since she was using the Google Glass for recording sound and viewing typed material. She also used a computer to execute the script with a keyboard. This attempt at the Poetry Slam was a great example of how limited the requirements can become when preparing for a  large presentation simply by using one computer with a keyboard and Google Glass.

http://news.stanford.edu/news/2013/december/code-poetry-slam-122013.html


Horace

    It is estimated that around 35 BC Horace published Satires all of which were written in hexameter verse. Hexameter is a metrical line of verse consisting of six feet. It was the standard epic metre in classical Greek and Latin literature. In these Satires he described his rejection of public life. Another form of written format was in Odes, written in their own complex forms to express ordinary thoughts and sentiments with simplicity and sudden conclusions. The poems created by Horace were a collection of his opinions dealing with political issues, simple life and the art of poetry. In order to recreate the works by Horace, there was technology since Greece had papyrus when the country had annexed Egypt in the 1st Centrury. Also it is documented that paper was invented in China in the 2nd century BC. The scrolls containing the poems would have had to been written by hand and in ink. The structure and themes in the poems were important since they were relevant to the time when they were written. The technology used to produce the work was considered state-of-the-art and only those with knowledge had access to it at the time.

http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/horace-231.php


Walt Whitman : "Song of Myself"

     Caught between the Industrial Revolution machines and the people of society, Walt Whitman remained as an active poet viewing the world as if he was the camera lens. He was inspired by the idea of the film camera to create a mirror of the culture revolving around him, like taking a photo that captures a moment in time. This resulted in his concept to create a vision through symbols and images. This included the powerful descriptions of the locomotives in the Wasatch Mountains and the steam-driven Brooklyn Ferry. The author remained popular and many people had aspired to how adept he was despite publication issues in the year 1867 for "Leaves of Grass". Whitman was considered innovative for leaving the poetic form behind and writing in free verse. His poetry presented an egalitarian view of the races although he stated the abolitionist movement as a threat to democracy. Considered an American epic "Song of Myself" used first person narration to describe the identity of the common person, instead of a reoccurring hero-driven theme, who was impacted by the sudden reaction of urbanization. The importance of change for the benefit of humanity is pushed for a purpose. This change remains with us through history as a Revolution. The rate of change is unpredictable when attempting to measure the speed of mankind's achievements.

http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/walt-whitman-29.php


William Wordsworth : "The world is much with us"

      William Wordsworth was an educated poet who set out on a walking tour of Europe before his final semester in St. John's College in Cambridge. His experiences from this tour influence his poetry and political perspective. He considered the issues of life important. Viewed in typewriting text from 1806 "The world is much with us" is a poem written in iambic pentameter which  takes the form of a Petrarchan sonnet. In most Petrarchan sonnets,  the octave presents a question or an idea that the sestet answers or criticizes. This short poem states that humans are too busy with material wealth and have forgotten about spirituality and nature. The title itself is ironic since the world would not be on our side if we as people treat it with such dignity. William used the typewriter and paper as tools to create poetry. He was an important poet because his main goal in writing was inspired from what was happening in the world and trying to make people to think. I believe his main message to the world was that with no control nature would be destroyed. 

http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/william-wordsworth-37.php

"On Top" by Gary Snyder

      I have recorded a poem entitled "On Top" by Gary Snyder onto Harriet Sound Cloud, check out the following link!

Audio Recording:
http://soundcloud.com/thisisthere/ontop

Actual Poem
http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/s_z/snyder/onlinepoems.htm

Review of an iPad Application: The Great Migration

iPad Application : The Great Migration


     This application contains preloaded poems and messages which appear one by one on the screen. These poems include two or three sentences in motion across the screen from right to left, creating a unique reading experience as it leads to trailing thoughts. As one poem leaves the screen another one follows.
If the poem is touched on the touch screen, it rotates in a new direction and continues moving across the screen. This enables the reader to have more time to read the selected poem or phrase since there is another path created.

     I thought this was a great tool for starters who want to learn how to read. It can also be used to memorize certain poems which move across the screen. The slow movement of the sentences creates a calm flow of reading. The background colour is light blue and the text appears in a shade of white. This application does not create an executable environment where a user can express ideas through creation, it is a collective stream of countless suggestions and reminders where much knowledge and expression can be attained.


<https://itunes.apple.com/nz/app/the-great-migration/id464900068?mt=8/>

Review of an iPad Application: Visual Poet

iPad Application : Visual Poet


     The entire application is dependent on touch because it relys on the interaction with the iPad screen. There are two views inside the application, the first one displays an entire selection of three [tap to edit] blocks and the second display is where the poetry creation and organization occurs from selected segments. The option of including pictures is also available. This application reminded me of how comics are created. The images and text are layered in any order using the space provided in the second display. The Visual Poet application is useful for writing poems in English and provides an interactive area for the creative poet. The empty slots are organized well and the spacing accurately measured in order to use accordingly on a 10 inch touch screen.


    The following is a depiction of the main  display:

¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯                 ⎮Title    
⎮ tap to edit                                             ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯               ⎮¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯      
⎮ tap to edit                                                 credits:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯                          AUTO (button) ---->
                                                                            credits:  original panel imagery by n/a
                                                                                  (AUTO button retrieves image                                                                                                 info for user if they do not own 
                                                                                  credits for selected images)
⎮ tap to edit                                          ⎮ ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯        
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯            Put your thoughts and comments here:            
                                                           CLEAR (button) ---->                                                                                                            clears all thoughts and comments from this section                                                                            
                                                               save     (button)
                                                               cancel  (button)


    Once there is one of the three slots [tap to edit] selected, the following display appears as a white space:

___________________________________
⎮                                                         ⎮
⎮                                                         ⎮
⎮                                                         ⎮
⎮                                                         ⎮
⎮                                                         ⎮
⎮                                                         ⎮
⎮                                                         ⎮
⎮                                                         ⎮
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
    Tap on this display in a specified area in order to create smaller squares of text blocks or add pictures to create visuals. The pictures can be selected from an existing database located in the Library or from online sources such as Google, Tumblr, Flickr.

___________________________________
⎮           ______                                    ⎮
⎮          ⎮       *⎮                                   ⎮
⎮            ¯¯¯¯¯¯                                   ⎮
⎮                                                         ⎮
⎮                        _______                      ⎮
⎮                       ⎮        *⎮                     ⎮
⎮                       ⎮         ⎮                     ⎮
⎮                        ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯                      ⎮
⎮                                                          ⎮
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
     Once the blocks are created it is possible by rearranging them anywhere inside the square by a tap-hold-release action.

     If the user double taps the blocks they may edit what was inside the block. The blocks can also be deleted by clicking the * located at the top right hand corner of each block. It is possible to add selected characters, capitals and lowercase letters to write text into the small selected block. When the user types with the touch screen keyboard there is also sound click for each given letter.

  
 
<https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/visual-poet/id375207524?mt=8/>
  

Souls of the Labadie Tract, Susan Howe : Poem 85

Souls of the Labadie Tract - Susan Howe

pg. 85

      The poem style is direct and short since the length is only containing five lines entirely. The poem is separated into two segments. The first segment describes the setting of the poem, which is occurring during daytime.
Rhythm is noticed as the stanzas have a longer sentences at the beginning of the poem. A juxtaposition appears since the day is described as passing by quickly yet it is described in the longest sentences.
    The poem ends abruptly as the sentences become shorter and contain less two of the five lines in the second segment. Otherwise there is no definite structure of the entire poem.
This poem creates a belief is something with no actual positive reason. Like working hard and to no end since there is no success, which is practically pointless.

77 Poems, E.E. Cummings : Poem 42

77 Poems - E.E. Cummings

42

      In this simple poem Cummings uses line division to split rhythm units in a selected pattern. When examining all the segments it appears to follow in the order; one syllable, two syllable, one syllable which continues line by line.

1,2,1 & 2
1,2,1 & 2
1,2,1 & 1
1,2,1
   
      Each of the lines are unique beginning with the value 1, which feature the same letter repetition for a single line. The value 2 represents the two syllable world expounding the message. It gives prominence to the idea, that not a single thing in the world can determine the mystery of stillness.

77 Poems, E.E. Cummings : Poem 64

77 Poems - E.E. Cummings

64

      Cummings uses the shape of the poem in order to introduce a character in the beginning and to create a stark conclusion on the second separate segment. The two separate pieces of the work elude a connection that meets both death and silence. At the start of the poem a finch is given attention with a cry directed at it. It is asked why must it die along with the speaker, from a warm world where they will miss to live in.
       If it were even possible for the bird to understand the words spoken, and the speaker to comprehend the chirping the speaker intends to state that he/she cannot sing.

Souls of the Labadie Tract, Susan Howe Poem : 67

Souls of the Labadie Tract - Susan Howe

pg. 67

A lot of imagination affects the poem since
Susan Howe means to express a negative mentality which manifests the city. The author also dares not to mention the ideals of not belonging and the choice to act or not. The city is lifeless and full of hatred. 

Ron Silliman's blog review on Collaborations

        Here is a link to Ron Silliman's blog on poetry, this hyperlink contains a direct link to the reoccurring them of Collaborations.

ronsilliman.blogspot.ca



       Collaboration includes a collection of thoughts and ideas which are combined usually by two contributors. It can be between family members, friends or people of related business.

       Some authors such as Frank Lima and David Shapiro have collaborated for more than thirty years. Despite the fact that the idea of collaboration has been considered conspiracy in the work of written pieces, in David Shapiro's opinion chamber music along with the blues are a great example of productive collaboration.

      Given an example of two people and a discussion over the telephone about the subject of paragraphs. Rejections as too something or too tacky.
It is important to have options to criticize the work of others from another perspective.
Sometimes authors combining works would be living in separate regions around of the world with opposite writing processes. Despite that fact these authors will still enjoy to learn from one anothers' published works.

     Despite being an entire piece the work will still have much distinction between two authors since they write in their own styles. An example of this is Sherlock and Conrad's team effort in each writing pieces in Love.

Summary of Dr. Bok's Research

        Dr. Christian Bok is a Canadian poet who decided to encode his verse of poetry into E.coli baterium. DNA is string of nucleotides, using cryptography the peom was embedded into the genetics of the bacterium. Cells use DNA as a template for constructing proteins. The sequence of nucleotides within a gene determine thesequence of amino acids and a triplet of nucleotides correspond to a command which amino acid to attach.
        Using self taught molecular biology and computer programming,
a chemical alphabet is created where each letter represents specific sequence of three nucleotides. This process took four years to accomplish resulting in a novel gene entitled X-P13.
       Dr Bok's research and goals have not reached a conclusion as he has decided to undertake the challenge of splicing X-P13 right into the genome of D. radiodurans bacterium. D. radiodurans is an extremophile, the world's strongest organism, resisting radiation, cold, acid and dehydration. With potential  Dr. bok's biochemical text could continue to replicate for billions of years.
His motive is to create a message which will last many lifetimes over.




http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13001382