Attend, take notes (preferably with some brief quotes to use later) and write a 200-word posting to our course blog page for the event in which you address the issue of translating specific natural and man-made environments into poetry. How does Warn succeed? What are the limitations of her approach? How can you compare her poetry with that of one of the other poets we’ve studied so far in our course?
Rob Mendez
Dr. Weinstein
English 289
13 November 2013
Extra Credit→ Poetry Reading by Emily Warn 11/13
Translating specific natural and man-made environments into poetry can be attempted in various ways. Whether it be a creativity approach, personification in describing nature, a metaphoric approach, and/or utilizing first hand experiences as inspiration. Mrs. Emily Warn succeeds by using descriptions of the relationship between nature, religion, and human life by writing poetry to explain that nature, religion, and human life are closer than one would think. An example in one of her poems was God using immaterial language to acknowledge the physical elements of nature; the way she explained her point was for example when God said “Let there be light,” he created the natural world and all of it’s beauty.
This example supports a second claim about the natural world, “how sound becomes sight and sight becomes sound.” In my opinion, she succeeds in translating the natural and man-made elements of the environment into her poetry. The limitations of Mrs. Emily Warn’s approach in describing the inspiration she receives from the natural and man-made world for her poetry are two things: first that the natural world exists only as a result of God creating the earth, and that once nature was created it must be maintained as a sort of respect for God’s creation.
Mrs. Emily Warn’s poetry is unlike any poetry I have ever heard as well as studied in school. In most high schools religion is not to be discussed, however in college keeping an open mind on the subject can spike curiosity and a search for meaning. The only poets I could compare Mrs. Emily Warn to would be Native American poet Leslie Silko. The both describe ritualistic activity and it’s role in the natural world.
Rob Mendez
Dr. Weinstein
English 289
13 November 2013
Extra Credit→ Poetry Reading by Emily Warn 11/13
Translating specific natural and man-made environments into poetry can be attempted in various ways. Whether it be a creativity approach, personification in describing nature, a metaphoric approach, and/or utilizing first hand experiences as inspiration. Mrs. Emily Warn succeeds by using descriptions of the relationship between nature, religion, and human life by writing poetry to explain that nature, religion, and human life are closer than one would think. An example in one of her poems was God using immaterial language to acknowledge the physical elements of nature; the way she explained her point was for example when God said “Let there be light,” he created the natural world and all of it’s beauty.
This example supports a second claim about the natural world, “how sound becomes sight and sight becomes sound.” In my opinion, she succeeds in translating the natural and man-made elements of the environment into her poetry. The limitations of Mrs. Emily Warn’s approach in describing the inspiration she receives from the natural and man-made world for her poetry are two things: first that the natural world exists only as a result of God creating the earth, and that once nature was created it must be maintained as a sort of respect for God’s creation.
Mrs. Emily Warn’s poetry is unlike any poetry I have ever heard as well as studied in school. In most high schools religion is not to be discussed, however in college keeping an open mind on the subject can spike curiosity and a search for meaning. The only poets I could compare Mrs. Emily Warn to would be Native American poet Leslie Silko. The both describe ritualistic activity and it’s role in the natural world.
Chloe Logsdon
Dr. Weinstein
English 289
13 November 2013
Poetry Reading by Emily Warn on November 13
Translating specific natural and man-made environments into poetry is done in many ways in which it could be from the poet’s unique ideas. They describe their view on the topic and what they believe is the correct way to express their opinion. Emily was wonderful to listen to and she succeeds by describing the beauty of life. Mrs. Warn describes the relationship between the beauty of nature, religion, and the natural life of the human beings. They all connect to one another and it is very powerful. Mrs. Warn used many examples to explain why the natural world is important. An example that shows the beauty of the natural world is, “how sound becomes sight and sight becomes sound.” This quote shows how she is translating the natural world and the man-made environment into her poetry.
The limitations of Emily Warns approach is by the natural and man-made world that inspired her to write poetry because God created the earth and because we as humans should respect the earth.
The poet I would compare Emily Warn to is Leslie Silko because they both talked about the natural world and the importance of religion.
Emily Warn’s Poetry Presentation of November 13 2013
As Poet-in-Residence at Virginia Wesleyan College, Emily Warn agreed to recite several of her poems from selected compilations. With what she called a “hybrid” background, it was not surprising that her presentation covered a number of different issues; however, there were a couple of themes that seemed to dominate, primarily religion and nature. One could also a sense an undercurrent of isolation and reflection in her poetry.
Although the portraits of nature are relatively straightforward, one would have to be familiar with Judaism to gain a full appreciation of several of her religious themes. “Highway Suite” focuses on nature as Warn paints compelling images of the changing landscape in her travels. The images are familiar and comfortable to anyone who has driven over a Western mountain range. Likewise, many of her poems feature beautiful images that celebrate nature, for example, an egret, a maple tree, and a dragonfly. However, her reliance on Jewish terminology and the Jewish alphabet result in many readings being difficult to follow and somewhat abstract. “Tabernacle” and “The Word” use several references to Jewish religious figures that seem intended for a distinct and different audience.
When asked about the tone of her poetry, she concurred that isolation and self-reflection are important aspects of her approach. She referred to them as “barbells and silence.” She also admitted the link between nature and religion saying, “I’m reconciled by poetry to marry nature and religion.”