Descriptions of presentation assignments:

Poetry readings from Walcott’s Collected Poems

Reader: The chief purpose of this presentation is for the class to share the aesthetic experience of the day’s poem and then to discuss its themes and techniques. The “reader” is responsible primarily for reading the poem in a clear and appropriate style and secondarily for interpreting the poem and leading a discussion of it.

Steps in poetry presentation:

·        Announce the page number and title of the poem.

·        Very briefly announce the major themes you’re going to highlight in the poem.

·        Read aloud the poem or, if the poem is long, some central passages.  Look up and practice pronunciations of unusual or foreign words before reading aloud. Avoid stumbling over words and asking professor if you got it right. If you are reading passages rather than the whole poem, provide some context for your selections.

·        Briefly comment on the thematic elements you observed in the poem and the meanings you gathered.  Relate the poem to ideas from the course or other texts. But don’t interpret for more than 3 or 4 minutes—the class is usually ready to begin discussing as soon as the poem’s reading is finished, so don’t lose that energy.

·        Begin discussion by asking a question regarding your interpretation.

·        Lead and respond to discussion.

·        At some point during the presentation or discussion, the presenter and respondent are both expected to refer to previous course discussions of the poem on the course webpage.

·        At the end of discussion, presenter may be asked to summarize highlights.

Respondent: Presenter and respondent may confer beforehand, but this is not required. The respondent is responsible for having read the poem and having some ideas about it relative to the course. The respondent is expected to speak for a few minutes during discussion, either supporting or diverging from the presentation. So that a larger seminar discussion may develop, the respondent should hesitate to jump in immediately. The respondent may support the presenter’s interpretation and re-emphasize passages the presenter highlighted or offer alternative interpretations that direct the class’s attention to other brief passages of the poem, which may be read. The respondent may speak for a minute or two at once or may make two or three briefer remarks during discussion.  The respondent is encouraged not to bail out of his or her duties by shrugging that “They’ve already said it.”

Recorder: The recorder is responsible for making notes of the class discussion for use in the web summary. Where possible, class participants should be identified by name. Discussion records do not need to be comprehensive and verbatim—highlights are acceptable. Tape recording is permissible.