THE BIRTHDAY POEM By Al Young Powerpoint by Andrew Smith
Slide 2
THE POEM First light of day in Mississippi son of laborer &
of house wife it says so on the official photostat not son of
fisherman & child fugitive from cottonfields & potato
patches from sugarcane chickens & well-water from kerosene
lamps & watermelons mules named jack or jenny &
wagonwheels, years of meaningless farm work work Work WORK WORK
WORK Papa pull you outta school bout March to stay on the place
& work the crop her own earliest knowledge of human
hopelessness & waste She carried me around nine months inside
her fifteen year old self before here I sit numbering it all How I
got from then to now is the mystery that could fill a whole library
much less an arbitrary stanza But of course you already know about
that from your own random suffering & sudden inexplicable
bliss
Slide 3
WHO IS AL YOUNG? Al Young is a poet, author, screenwriter and
professor, born in a rural area of Mississippi in the 1900s. He is
greatly inspired by many jazz and blues musical pieces. He lives in
California, where he received many awards, including the title of
Poet Laureate, given by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Slide 4
QUESTION TIME #1
Slide 5
Lets take another look: First light of day in Mississippi son
of laborer & of house wife it says so on the official photostat
not son of fisherman & child fugitive from cottonfields &
potato patches from sugarcane chickens & well-water from
kerosene lamps & watermelons mules named jack or jenny &
wagonwheels, years of meaningless farm work work Work WORK WORK
WORK Papa pull you outta school bout March to stay on the place
& work the crop her own earliest knowledge of human
hopelessness & waste She carried me around nine months inside
her fifteen year old self before here I sit numbering it all How I
got from then to now is the mystery that could fill a whole library
much less an arbitrary stanza But of course you already know about
that from your own random suffering & sudden inexplicable bliss
Yellow phrases are things to definitely keep in mind for future
slides. \ \Imagery \ /repetiti- /on - from / repetition/ Quick
Summarization: The events of pulling him out of school for useless
labor was the mothers first realization of a waste of human
potential. Light Brown: We could guess that either the speakers
mother was raped at a young age, or participated in sexual crimes.
Red: We can assume that the speakers life dramatically turned for
the better. Implied/ metaphor/ ----------
Slide 6
POETIC TERMS Repetition: Repeated words in real life often can
mean someone reading fast. Later, the word work is repeated in
different capitalizations, signifying anger at a subject-in this
case, the useless work. Implied Metaphor: Many books being a
mystery Note that this could also be figurative language, as a
library is a place with lots of resources and knowledge Imagery:
Wheelbarrows, mules, cottonfields, etc. can form an image of a
farm. (Images seen below)
Slide 7
MISCELLANEOUS POETIC ELEMENTS Structure: Free Verse: No clear
pattern or rhythm, but free verse tends to sound like speaking-the
clear emotion almost makes it sound straight out of an
autobiography. Speaker: From the poem, we can tell the speaker was
born via a sexual crime, probably in Mississippi, and worked on a
farm. However, it is clear his current stage in life is much better
than his younger years.
Slide 8
HOW DOES ALS LIFE RELATE TO THE POEM? Al has shown in his
previous works that he is influenced by the blues genre. In blues,
the lyrics are often about personal tragedies. This is clearly told
in the lyrics of meaningless farm work, or having to leave school,
or the situation with his mother. He was originally born in
Mississippi, presumably same as the speaker. While perhaps not
having as much struggle as the speaker, the payment of writers isnt
necessarily known to be high, and he has been known to take several
odd jobs. However, he has still turned out successful in the end,
just like the speaker.
Slide 9
WHAT IS THE LITERAL MEANING? A boy talks about his younger life
on the farm, and wonders how his life changed from then to
now.
Slide 10
WHAT ABOUT FIGURATIVE? You can do a lot very well despite tough
circumstances.
Slide 11
WHY DID THE AUTHOR WRITE THIS POEM? WHAT IS THE THEME? I
believe the poet wrote this poem to show that despite any of your
beginnings, there is always opportunity for success. The theme is
succeeding throughout struggle, which the poet does throughout the
beginning of the poem.
Slide 12
QUESTION TIME #2
Slide 13
RESOURCES Ewen, pgs. 142143 (unable to find Author) Abbs,
Peter; Richardson, John. The Forms of Poetry: A practical study
guide for English (15th ed.). p. 137 http://alyoung.org/
http://alyoung.org/ http://gov.ca.gov/news.php?id=1927
http://gov.ca.gov/news.php?id=1927
http://www.poemhunter.com/al-young/
http://www.poemhunter.com/al-young/
http://www.poetryoutloud.org/poem/241924http://www.poetryoutloud.org/poem/241924
Microsoft PowerPoint The Internet
https://www.flickr.com/photos/rsusanto/5113458850/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/rsusanto/5113458850/
http://mushroommedia.co.in/author/ (May be on a different page)
http://mushroommedia.co.in/author/
http://mentalfloss.com/article/56257/28-birthday-traditions-around-world
http://mentalfloss.com/article/56257/28-birthday-traditions-around-world
http://lifeandheartmatters.com/2013/04/27/the-finish-line/
http://lifeandheartmatters.com/2013/04/27/the-finish-line/
http://www.gpb.org/farming-the-future
http://www.gpb.org/farming-the-future http://lancasterpa.com/amish/
http://lancasterpa.com/amish/
http://www.agwatchnetwork.com/upcoming-annual-cotton-field-day/
http://www.agwatchnetwork.com/upcoming-annual-cotton-field-day/
http://jennsphd.blogspot.com/2013/10/maternity-skeleton-halloween-diy-shirt.html
http://jennsphd.blogspot.com/2013/10/maternity-skeleton-halloween-diy-shirt.html
http://transparentsocialmedia.com/5-easy-tips-to-enhance-your-public-speaking/
http://transparentsocialmedia.com/5-easy-tips-to-enhance-your-public-speaking/
http://www.precisiontraining.com/some-tips-to-help-build-biceps/
http://www.precisiontraining.com/some-tips-to-help-build-biceps/
http://www.americancruiselines.com/small-ship-benefits/fine-dining
http://www.americancruiselines.com/small-ship-benefits/fine-dining
http://spiritualblissblog.blogspot.com/ (May be on a different
page) http://spiritualblissblog.blogspot.com/