Poetry, ipad and Oprah (April in National Poetry Month)

Each year sophomores in our high school prepare multimedia and movies on their favorite poems. I downloaded the Oprah app for the ipad and the April app is filled with tools to help you express yourself with words, like the "Poetry in Motion" page, where you can create your own poems. Plus, see video clips from guest editor Maria Shriver's interview with poet Mary Oliver. The app also features 16 entries from Oprah's personal journals—11 of them are exclusive to the iPad! I think I will share the app with students next week as they select their favorite poems.

Poetry and the ipad (April National Poetry Month)

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I enjoyed the multimedia interaction while reading and watching Maria Schriver interview Mary Oliver, an American poet who had won National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize. Influenced by both Whitman and Thoreau, she is known for her clear and poignant observances of the natural world. Her creativity is stirred by nature, and Oliver, an avid walker, often pursues inspiration on foot. Her poems are filled with imagery from her daily walks near her home in nearby Provincetown. Oliver has also been compared to Emily Dickinson, with whom she shares an affinity for solitude and interior monologues. Her poetry combines dark introspection with joyous release. Although she has been criticized for writing poetry that assumes a dangerously close relationship of women with nature, she finds the self is only strengthened through an immersion with nature. 


I hope the class enjoys this edition of Oprah's Poetry on the ipad.  It has also inspired me to think about some alternative assignments next week. There are 71 sample poems to watch on the site and you can submit your own poem.