ENG 2150: Writing Through New York

I’m not sure whether or not I would like to stick with Charles Reznikoff, but my major theme that I would like to concentrate on is the different types of people there are in NYC and how it relates to the time period or current/national events.

I am thinking about recording the people of New York. Some places I am thinking about recording is in City Hall where there are protesters everyday.  Some people I am thinking about recording that relates to the current/national events are the people that protest in Occupy Wall Street.  Other types of people are the people that are into the fashion trends and different types of people of diverse race, and those that express themselves in a different way.

Im not sure if i’m going to keep the poem that i chose to write mu responce paper on. But i know for sure that i will be choosing a poem about the street of New York. The poem that i picked has the general idea of the streets of New York and it is what i’m kind of looking for. However i dont necessarily LOVE this poem.

For the actual digital essay im planning on making a video or stop kotion picture frames of New York. I will be walking down the streets and the camera will be my point of view. Looking at the tall buildings or just people passing by. And I willalso include my thoughts and ideas of each thing like what a person does unconciously while walking.

Im still thinking about changing my poem because I dont really love it Its not a bad poem its just i cant really think of much to do with it. My poem is called “Broadway” by Whalt Whitman it shows how Broadway can be a cruel/hopefull place by using powerful and really concise words.

As for my digital essay i plan on doing a stop motion of Broadway and try to caputre the words he says in the poem into real life

Well I am still contemplating what poem I will use for my final paper, I am stuck between the poem I chose for my response paper, I Remember by Brainard, and the new one we heard in class by Baraka, I thought he was amazing.

That being said if I do end up doing Brainard’s poem I was thinking of making a video of different people saying one of their memories. I would want to have a age difference between them going from young to old or old to young to show how Brainard’s poem signifies historical change. Maybe I will ask them to remember a similar idea or thing so as each of them remember it in a different time, the historical change will be more profound. I’m still not 100% sure.

If I chose Baraka I feel like digitally I can use of the music in his poems because it’s a huge aspect for him, and also photos to depict what he is trying to say. I haven’t chosen a specific poem by him but what I heard in class, I felt his passion about his poems and I want to depict that through pictures. I think I would also make use of video for his poem as well because I just want to do the poem justice with the digital part. As you can see I am pretty lost in what direction I want to take Baraka’s poem, maybe I will just integrate everything in it.

My biggest question with the video is how much is it supposed to relate to the text of the poem? Most of the videos used as examples seemed to be reflective of a general theme, rather than mirroring the text as if it were a written play. I have an idea for some themes (not positive if I’m using the poem I wrote my 1st response paper on ), and the video would echo the sentiment of the poem I choose, but not necessarily be a faithful re-telling of it.

For my digital essay, I am writing about the Mayakovsky poem so I want to focus on the Brooklyn Bridge. I want to create a video that helps explain and show the different aspects that the poet talks about. And have the words from the poem on the screen as the different scenes are shown.

This is basically an add on the 3rd response paper assignment. I discovered these guys last year when I was invited to a talent show ay PolyTechnic University @ NYU. They are called the “Mayhem Poets” and I feel like they give poetry a whole new look. After watching them perform just once I was an immediate fan. Let me know what you guys think.

Mayhem Poets – “What You Want”

Martin Luther Queen

Textual Healing

I’m not a big Brooklyn goer- not that I have anything against the borough itself but I’m used to getting where I need to be in about an hour- Brooklyn is more then an hour away from my house so I don’t normally make where I need to go there. I dated a boy for a while who lived in queens- so I was there often, and I always went to school and lived in Manhattan- the Bronx is about five blocks away so I go there a lot, but Brooklyn? No, I never really go to Brooklyn. I’ve driven across the Brooklyn Bridge numerous times but that’s usually to get into queens. Earlier this semester I visited Flatbush, I think that’s the furthest stop on the 2 train. And for probably the first time I wasn’t annoyed I was making that long trip. Flatbush has a bad reputation but in the morning it’s really pleasant.

Brooklyn is a borough that most residents are proud to be from. Jay-z and biggie shared that overpowering love for the borough. Made it famous worldwide. In song like “Brooklyn we go hard” or more recently “No Faith in Brooklyn” by Hoodie Allen. This borough has birthed a lot of talented artists that can’t help but make music about their home, and for some reason that makes me want to be in Brooklyn more- talk about persuasion in media, huh?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUHAne9Bd10