ASSIGNMENTS

Assignment 1

Compare one of the Harlem Renaissance poems we’ve discussed with a more modern piece; it can be poem-to-video, poem-to-song, poem-to-poem. Answer the general question, what are the specific similarities between the two? 

For example, what traditions do they represent? What themes, musical styles, types of expression, and values do they represent? What meanings about their culture do they want to convey? How do they express themselves and how does this relate to key terms like oppression, violence, and poverty? Who are they writing to and why? Is it different today or the same?

 Example: Toomer's "Georgia Dusk" and the film "Rize", Gwendolyn Brook's "We Real Cool" and a hip hop/rap song, etc.

On the last page of your paper, fill out and include a print-out of this Concept Map

Assignment 2

Watch these student-made readings of African-American poets.

Pick one HarlemRenaissance poem you like and can relate to. Practice it aloud several times, reflect on its meanings, and think about the poet’s attitude. Is he/she melancholic, reflective, angry, proud? Think of some clothing or prop that you think reflects this attitude, or the poem’s themes. 

Come to class prepared to read the poem aloud, either by yourself or with a group (see “We Real Cool” for an example). 

Please remember to have fun! It is a show for the camera.

Assignment 3

Create a Digital Video inspired by one of the poems we read in this course (a "CinePoem"). Film this video in your own neighborhood or other area, and use Internet images and music. 

Edit the video with a Movie Maker or similar technology, and upload it to YouTube. For an example, see this CinePoem I completed this summer.