1. Hanukkah Ekphrasis:
   
   • Write an ekphrastic poem inspired by a piece of Hanukkah artwork, exploring the visual elements and infusing it with poetic interpretations of the holiday's themes.
2. Diwali Pantoum:
   
   • Construct a pantoum that reflects the cyclical nature of Diwali, interweaving verses to capture the rituals, lights, and familial warmth associated with the festival.
3. Kwanzaa Sestina:
   
   • Create a sestina that delves into the principles of Kwanzaa, allowing the repeated end words to echo the interconnectedness of the seven guiding principles.
4. Las Posadas Narrative Poem:
   
   • Craft a narrative poem that tells the story of Las Posadas, exploring the characters, their emotions, and the transformative power of reenacting the journey to Bethlehem.
5. St. Lucia's Day Rondeau:
   
   • Write a rondeau that captures the cyclical nature of St. Lucia's Day, emphasizing the themes of light, devotion, and the annual return of the festive traditions.
6. Winter Solstice Tanka:
   
   • Express the quiet beauty and contemplation of the Winter Solstice through a series of tanka, focusing on nature, reflection, and the promise of longer days.
7. Chinese New Year Found Poetry:
   
   • Create a found poem using excerpts from Chinese New Year traditions, incorporating elements from traditional greetings, myths, and customs to craft a poetic collage.
8. Ganna Ode:
   
   • Write an ode that celebrates the Ethiopian Christmas (Ganna), highlighting the spiritual significance, communal joy, and cultural richness of this festive occasion.
9. Oshogatsu Concrete Poem:
   
   • Experiment with a concrete poem that visually represents the symbolic elements of Oshogatsu, using the arrangement of words to evoke the essence of the New Year celebration.
10. Global Celebrations Haiku Sequence:
    
    • Develop a sequence of haikus that encapsulate the spirit of global holiday celebrations, drawing on diverse imagery and cultural elements to create a mosaic of poetic snapshots.

Course Title: Exploring the Panorama of Poetry
Course Description: This course delves into the rich tapestry of poetic forms, guiding students through the exploration and creation of fifty distinct styles of poetry. From classic sonnets to innovative forms like golden shovel and palindrome poetry, students will gain a comprehensive understanding of poetic expression, learning the nuances of each style and honing their creative skills.
Week 1-2: Introduction to Poetry and Sonnets - Overview of poetry styles - In-depth study of sonnets - Writing Exercise: Crafting a sonnet on personal experiences
Week 3-4: Embracing Haiku and Villanelle - Understanding the elegance of haiku - Exploring the repetitive beauty of villanelles - Writing Exercise: Composing haikus inspired by nature
Week 5-6: Limericks and the Art of Humor - Decoding the humor in limericks - Crafting limericks with wit and wordplay - Writing Exercise: Creating humorous limericks on everyday topics
Week 7-8: Free Verse and Acrostic Poetry - Liberating creativity through free verse - Playing with words in acrostic poems - Writing Exercise: Expressing emotions through free verse
Week 9-10: Ghazal and Tanka Mastery - Unveiling the beauty of ghazals - Crafting tankas with precision - Writing Exercise: Creating a ghazal on themes of love and longing
Week 11-12: Cinquains and Pantoum Prowess - Perfecting the art of cinquains - Embracing the rhythmic challenges of pantoums - Writing Exercise: Developing a pantoum on personal growth
Week 13-14: Sestina and Rondeau Exploration - Mastering the intricacies of sestinas - Crafting rondeaus with musicality - Writing Exercise: Composing a sestina on the theme of time
Week 15-16: Triolets and Kyrielles - Understanding the charm of triolets - Embracing the structure of kyrielles - Writing Exercise: Crafting a triolet on the beauty of simplicity
Week 17-18: Ode to Joyful Ballads - Writing joyful odes - Crafting narrative ballads - Writing Exercise: Creating an ode celebrating personal achievements
Week 19-20: Epic Journeys and Blank Verse - Exploring epic storytelling - Mastering the art of blank verse - Writing Exercise: Composing a blank verse poem reflecting on personal reflections
Week 21-22: Petrarchan Musings and Terza Rima Mastery - Delving into Petrarchan sonnets - Crafting poems using terza rima - Writing Exercise: Writing a Petrarchan sonnet on conflicting emotions
Week 23-24: Renga Collaboration and Prose Poetry - Collaborative renga creation - Experimenting with prose poetry - Writing Exercise: Crafting a prose poem inspired by a vivid memory
Week 25-26: Concrete Poetry and Narrative Art - Creating visual impact with concrete poetry - Mastering the art of narrative poetry - Writing Exercise: Developing a narrative poem based on personal experiences
Week 27-28: Pastoral Elegies and Morning Aubades - Writing pastoral poetry - Crafting mournful elegies - Writing Exercise: Composing an aubade capturing the essence of dawn
Week 29-30: Ekphrastic Marvels and Found Poetry Adventures - Creating poetry inspired by art - Crafting poems through found materials - Writing Exercise: Developing an ekphrastic poem based on a chosen artwork
Week 31-32: Epigrams and Clerihew Laughter - Crafting witty epigrams - Writing humorous clerihews - Writing Exercise: Composing a clerihew about a contemporary figure
Week 33-34: Quatrains and Double Dactyl Delight - Mastering the art of quatrains - Crafting light-hearted double dactyls - Writing Exercise: Creating a quatrain reflecting on the beauty of simplicity
Week 35-36: Terzanelles and Haibun Adventures - Crafting terzanelles with precision - Exploring the combination of prose and haiku in haibun - Writing Exercise: Composing a haibun narrating a meaningful travel experience
Week 37-38: Golden Shovel Challenges and Villancico Celebrations - Creating poems using the golden shovel technique - Crafting festive villancicos - Writing Exercise: Developing a golden shovel poem using a line from a favorite poem
Week 39-40: Tercet Beauty and Sevenling Narratives - Embracing the charm of tercets - Crafting sevenlings with narrative flair - Writing Exercise: Composing a sevenling reflecting on a vivid childhood memory
Week 41-42: Palindrome Reflections and Parallelismus Membrorum Insights - Creating palindrome poetry - Crafting poems using parallelismus membrorum - Writing Exercise: Developing a palindrome poem exploring balance in life
Week 43-44: Rubaiyat Contemplations and Blues Poem Expressions - Exploring Persian poetry with rubaiyats - Crafting poems inspired by the blues - Writing Exercise: Composing a rubaiyat on themes of love or mortality
Week 45-46: Erasure Transformations and Anaphora Intensity - Crafting poetry through erasure - Mastering the use of anaphora - Writing Exercise: Creating an erasure poem using a page from a novel or newspaper
Week 47-48: Tetractys and Sijo Harmonies - Crafting tetractys with specific syllable counts - Exploring traditional Korean poetry with sijo - Writing Exercise: Developing a sijo capturing a moment of beauty or introspection
Week 49-50: Blitz Poem Exploration and Epitaph Conclusions - Crafting blitz poems with rapid expression - Writing poignant epitaphs - Final Project: Compose an original poem using a style of the student's choice, reflecting personal growth throughout the course.
Assessment: - Weekly writing exercises - Participation in collaborative projects - Midterm and final projects showcasing mastery of chosen styles
Materials: - Poetry anthologies - Artworks for ekphrastic exercises - Writing journals - Selected readings for each style
Prerequisites: None. Open to all students with an interest in poetry and creative expression.

1. Sonnet:
   A 14-line poem, traditionally written in iambic pentameter, with various rhyme schemes such as Shakespearean (ABABCDCDEFEFGG).
   
2. Haiku:
   

A three-line Japanese poem with a 5-7-5 syllable count, typically capturing a moment in nature.

1. Free Verse:
   Poetry without a fixed rhyme or meter, allowing for greater freedom and natural flow of expression.
   
2. Villanelle
   

: A 19-line poem with a specific structure, containing five tercets followed by a concluding quatrain, using only two rhymes.

1. Acrostic:
   A poem where the first letter of each line, when read vertically, spells out a word or message.
   
2. Limerick
   

: A humorous five-line poem with a specific meter and rhyme scheme (AABBA).

1. Ghazal:

A form of poetry with rhyming couplets and a repeating refrain, often exploring themes of love and loss.

1. Tanka

: A Japanese form of poetry with a 5-7-5-7-7 syllable count structure, focusing on nature and emotions.

1. Sestina:
   A complex poem with six stanzas of six lines each, ending with a three-line envoi; the same six words end the lines in a shifting pattern.
   
2. Cinquain
   

: A five-line poem with a specific syllable count for each line (2-4-6-8-2), often used to capture a moment or emotion.

1. Rondeau:
   A 13-line poem with a rhyme scheme and repetition of specific words, often emphasizing themes of love.
   
2. Pantoum
   

: A form of poetry with repeating lines, where the second and fourth lines of each stanza become the first and third lines of the next.

1. Ode:

A lyrical poem expressing strong emotions or deep feelings, often addressed to a particular person or thing.

1. Elegy:
   A mournful poem, typically written in remembrance of someone who has passed away.
   
2. Ekphrastic
   

: A poem inspired by a work of art, often describing or reflecting on the visual piece.

1. Concrete Poetry:
   Poems where the arrangement of words on the page forms a visual representation of the subject.
   
2. Prose Poetry
   

: A hybrid of prose and poetry, characterized by its free-flowing structure and poetic language within prose form.

1. Epigram:

A short, witty, and often satirical poem or statement, typically with a clever or humorous ending.

1. Quatrain

: A four-line stanza or poem with various rhyme schemes, commonly used in ballads and hymns.

1. Epitaph

: A short poem or inscription on a tombstone in memory of the deceased.

abandon, ability, able, about, above, absence, absolute, absolutely, abstract, abundance, academy, accent, accept, access, accident, accompany, accomplish, according, account, accurate, achieve, achievement, acid, acknowledge, acquire, across, action, active, activity, actor, actual, actually, adapt, addition, additional, address, adequate, adjust, administration, admire, admission, admit, adolescent, adopt, adult, advance, advantage, adventure, advertise, advice, advise, adviser, advocate, affair, affect, afford, afraid, after, afternoon, again, against, age, agency, agenda, agent, aggressive, ago, agree, agreement, agriculture, ahead, aid, aim, air, aircraft, airline, airport, alarm, album, alcohol, alive, all, alliance, allow, ally, almost, alone, along, already, also, alter, alternative, although, always, amateur, amazing, ambition, ambulance, among, amount, analysis, analyst, analyze, ancient, and, anger, angle, angry, animal, anniversary, announce, annual, another, answer, anticipate, anxiety, any, anybody, anymore, anyone, anything, anyway, anywhere, apart, apartment, apologize, apparent, apparently, appeal, appear, appearance, apple, application, apply, appoint, appointment, appreciate, approach, appropriate, approval, approve, approximately, architect, area, argue, argument, arise, arm, armed, army, around, arrange, arrangement, arrest, arrival, arrive, art, article, artist, artistic, as, ashamed, aside, ask, asleep, aspect, assault, assert, assess, assessment, asset, assign, assignment, assist, assistance, assistant, associate, association, assume, assumption, assure, at, athlete, athletic, atmosphere, attach, attack, attempt, attend, attention, attitude, attorney, attract, attraction, attractive, attribute, audience, author, authority, auto, available, average, avoid, award, aware, awareness, away, awful, baby, back, background, bad, badly, bag, balance, ball, ban, band, bank, bar, barely, barrel, barrier, base, baseball, basic, basically, basis, basket, basketball, bath, bathroom, battery, battle, be, beach, bear, beat, beautiful, beauty, because, become, bed, bedroom, bee, beef, beer, before, begin, beginning, behavior, behind, being, belief, believe, bell, belong, below, belt, bench, bend, beneath, benefit, beside, besides, best, bet, better, between, beyond, bicycle, big, bike, bill, billion, bind, biological, bird, birth, birthday, bit, bite, black, blade, blame, blanket, blind, block, blood, blow, blue, board, boat, body, bomb, bombing, bond, bone, book, boom, boot, border, boring, born, borrow, boss, both, bother, bottle, bottom, boundary, bowl, box, boy, boyfriend, brain, branch, brand, brave, bread, break, breakfast, breast, breath, breathe, brick, bridge, brief, briefly, bright, brilliant, bring, broad, broken, brother, brown, brush, buck, budget, build, building, bullet, bunch, burden, burn, bury, bus, business, busy, but, butter, button, buy, buyer, by, cabin, cabinet, cable, cake, calculate, call, camera, camp, campaign, campus, can, Canadian, cancer, candidate, cap, capability, capable, capacity, capital, captain, capture, car, carbon, card, care, career, careful, carefully, carrier, carry, case, cash, cast, cat, catch, category, Catholic, cause, ceiling, celebrate, celebration, celebrity, cell, center, central, century, CEO, ceremony, certain, certainly, chain, chair, chairman, challenge, chamber, champion, championship, chance, change, changing, channel, chapter, character, characteristic, characterize, charge, charity, chart, chase, cheap, check, cheek, cheese, chef, chemical, chest, chicken, chief, child, childhood, Chinese, chip, chocolate, choice, cholesterol, choose, Christian, Christmas, church, cigarette, circle, circumstance, cite, citizen, city, civil, civilian, claim, class, classic, classroom, clean, clear, clearly, client, climate, climb, clinic, clinical, clock, close, closely, closer, clothes, clothing, cloud, club, clue, cluster, coach, coal, coalition, coast, coat, code, coffee, cognitive, cold, collapse, colleague, collect, collection, collective, college, colonial, color, column, combination, combine, come, comedy, comfort, comfortable, command, commander, comment, commercial, commission, commit, commitment, committee, common, communicate, communication, community, company, compare, comparison, compete, competition, competitive, competitor, complain, complaint, complete, completely, complex, complexity, compliance, complicate, complicated, component, compose, composition, comprehensive, computer, concentrate, concentration, concept, concern, concerned, concert, conclude, conclusion, concrete, condition, conduct, conference, confidence, confident, confirm, conflict, confront, confusion, Congress, congressional, connect, connection, consciousness, consensus, consequence, conservative, consider, considerable, consideration, consist, consistent, constant, constantly, constitute, constitutional, construct, construction, consultant, consume, consumer, consumption, contact, contain, container, contemporary, content, contest, context, continue, continued, contract, contrast, contribute, contribution, control, controversial, controversy, convention, conventional, conversation, convert, conviction, convince, cook, cookie, cooking, cool, cooperation, cop, cope, copy, core, corn, corner, corporate, corporation, correct, correspondent, cost, cotton, couch, could, council, count, counter, country, county, couple, courage, course, court, cousin, cover, coverage, cow, crack, craft, crash, crazy, cream, create, creation, creative, creature, credit, crew, crime, criminal, crisis, criteria, critic, critical, criticism, criticize, crop, cross, crowd, crucial, cry, cultural, culture, cup, curious, current, currently, curriculum, custom, customer, cut, cycle, dad, daily, damage, dance, danger, dangerous, dare, dark, darkness, data, database, date, daughter, day, dead, deal, dealer, dear, death, debate, debt, decade, decide, decision, deck, declare, decline, decrease, deep, deeply, deer, defeat, defend, defendant, defense, defensive, deficit, define, definitely, definition, degree, delay, deliver, delivery, demand, democracy, Democratic, Democrat, demonstrate, demonstration, deny, department, depend, dependent, depending, depict, depression, depth, deputy, derive, describe, description, desert, deserve, design, designer, desire, desk, desperate, despite, destroy, destruction, detail, detailed, detect, detection, detective, determine, develop, developing, development, device, devil, dialogue, diet, differ, difference, different, differently, difficult, difficulty, dig, digital, dimension, dining, dinner, direct, direction, directly, director, dirt, disability, disagree, disappear, disaster, discipline, disclose, discover, discovery, discrimination, discuss, discussion, disease, dish, dismiss, disorder, display, dispute, distance, distinct, distinction, distinguish, distribute, distribution, district, diverse, diversity, divide, division, divorce, DNA, do, doctor, document, dog, domestic, dominant, dominate, door, double, doubt, down, downtown, dozen, draft, drag, drama, dramatic, dramatically, draw, drawer, drawing, dream, dress, drink, drive, driver, drop, drug, dry, due, during, dust, duty, dwell, dying, dynamic, each, eager, ear, earlier, early, earn, earnings, earth, earthquake, ease, easily, east, eastern, easy, eat, economic, economy, edge, edit, edition, editor, educate, education, educational, educator, effect, effective, effectively, efficiency, efficient, effort, egg, eight, either, elderly, elect, election, electric, electrical, electricity, electronic, element, elementary, eliminate, elite, else, elsewhere, e-mail, embrace, emerge, emergency, emission, emotion, emotional, emphasis, emphasize, employ, employee, employer, employment, empty, enable, encounter, encourage, end, enemy, energy, enforcement, engage, engine, engineer, engineering, English, enhance, enjoy, enormous, enough, ensure, enter, enterprise, entertain, entertainment, entire, entirely, entrance, entry, environment, environmental, episode, equal, equally, equipment, equivalent, era, error, escape, especially, essay, essential, essentially, establish, establishment, estate, estimate, etc, ethics, ethnic, European, evaluate, evaluation, evening, event, eventually, ever, every, everybody, everyday, everyone, everything, everywhere, evidence, evolution, evolve, exact, exactly, exam, examination, examine, example, exceed, excellent, except, exception, exchange, exciting, executive, exercise, exhibit, exhibition, exist, existence, existing, expand, expansion, expect, expectation, expense, expensive, experience, experiment, expert, explain, explanation, explode, explore, explosion, expose, exposure, express, expression, extend, extension, extensive, extent, external, extra, extraordinary, extreme, extremely, eye, fabric, face, facility, fact, factor, factory, faculty, fade, fail, failure, fair, fairly, faith, fall, false, familiar, family, famous, fan, fantasy, far, farm, farmer, fashion, fast, fat, fate, father, fault, favor, favorite, fear, feature, federal, fee, feed, feel, feeling, fellow, female, fence, festival, few, fewer, fiber, fiction, field, fifteen, fifth, fifty, fight, fighter, fighting, figure, file, fill, film, final, finally, finance, financial, find, finding, fine, finger, finish, fire, firm, first, fish, fishing, fit, fitness, five, fix, flag, flame, flat, flavor, flee, flesh, flight, float, floor, flow, flower, fly, focus, folk, follow, following, food, foot, football, for, force, foreign, forest, forever, forget, form, formal, formation, former, formula, forth, fortune, forward, found, foundation, founder, four, fourth, frame, framework, free, freedom, freeze, French, frequency, frequent, frequently, fresh, friend, friendly, friendship, from, front, fruit, frustration, fuel, fulfill, full, fully, fun, function, fund, fundamental, funding, funeral, funny, furniture, furthermore, future, gain, galaxy, gallery, game, gang, gap, garage, garden, garlic, gas, gate, gather, gay, gaze, gear, gender, gene, general, generally, generate, generation, genetic, gentleman, gently, German, gesture, get, ghost, giant, gift, gifted, girl, girlfriend, give, given, glad, glance, glass, global, glove, go, goal, God, gold, golden, golf, good, govern, government, governor, grab, grace, grade, gradually, graduate, grain, grand, grandmother, grant, grass, grave, gray, great, green, grocery, ground, group, grow, growing, growth, guarantee, guard, guess, guest, guide, guideline, guilty, gun, guy, habit, habitat, hair, half, hall, hand, handful, handle, hang, happen, happy, harbor, hard, hardly, hat, hate, have, he, head, headline, headquarters, health, healthy, hear, hearing, heart, heat, heaven, heavily, heavy, heel, height, helicopter, hell, hello, help, helpful, hence, her, herb, here, heritage, hero, herself, hey, hi, hide, high, highlight, highly, highway, hill, him, himself, hip, hire, his, historic, historical, history, hit, hold, hole, holiday, holy, home, homeless, honest, honey, honor, hope, horizon, horror, horse, hospital, host, hot, hotel, hour, house, household, housing, how, however, huge, human, humor, hundred, hungry, hunter, hunting, hurt, husband, hypothesis, ice, idea, ideal, identification, identify, identity, ignore, ill, illegal, illness, illustrate, image, imagination, imagine, immediate, immediately, immigrant, immigration, impact, implement, implication, imply, importance, important, impose, impossible, impress, impression, impressive, improve, improvement, incentive, incident, include, including, income, incorporate, increase, increased, increasingly, incredible, indeed, independence, independent, index, indicate, indication, individual, industrial, industry, infant, infection, inflation, influence, inform, information, ingredient, initial, initially, initiative, injury, inner, innocent, inquiry, inside, insight, insist, inspire, install, instance, instead, institute, institution, institutional, instruction, instructor, instrument, insurance, intellectual, intelligence, intend, intense, intensity, intention, interaction, interest, interested, interesting, internal, international, Internet, interpret, interpretation, intervention, interview, introduce, introduction, invasion, invest, investigation, investigator, investment, investor, invite, involve, involved, involvement, Iraqi, Irish, iron, Islamic, island, Israeli, issue, it, Italian, item, its, itself, jacket, jail, Japanese, jet, Jew, Jewish, job, join, joint, joke, journal, journalist, journey, joy, judge, judgment, juice, jump, junior, jury, just, justice, justify, keep, key, kick, kid, kill, killer, killing, kind, king, kiss, kitchen, knee, knife, knock, know, knowledge, lab, label, labor, laboratory, lack, lady, lake, land, landscape, language, lap, large, largely, last, late, later, Latin, latter, laugh, launch, law, lawsuit, lawyer, lay, layer, lead, leader, leadership, leading, leaf, league, lean, learn, learning, least, leather, leave, left, leg, legacy, legal, legend, legislation, legislative, legislator, legitimate, lemon, length, less, lesson, let, letter, level, liberal, library, license, lie, life, lifestyle, lifetime, lift, light, like, likely, limit, limitation, limited, line, link, lip, list, listen, literary, literature, little, live, living, load, loan, local, locate, location, lock, long, long-term, look, loose, lose, loss, lost, lot, lots, loud, love, lovely, lover, low, lower, luck, lucky, lunch, luxury, machine, mad, magazine, mail, main, mainly, maintain, maintenance, major, majority, make, maker, makeup, male, mall, man, manage, management, manager, manner, manufacturer, manufacturing, many, map, margin, mark, market, marketing, marriage, married, marry, mask, mass, massive, master, match, material, math, matter, may, maybe, mayor, me, meal, mean, meaning, meanwhile, measure, measurement, meat, mechanism, media, medical, medication, medicine, medium, meet, meeting, member, membership, memory, mental, mention, menu, mere, merely, mess, message, metal, meter, method, Mexican, middle, might, military, milk, million, mind, mine, minister, minor, minority, minute, miracle, mirror, miss, missile, mission, mistake, mix, mixture, mm-hmm, mode, model, moderate, modern, modest, mom, moment, money, monitor, month, mood, moon, moral, more, moreover, morning, mortgage, most, mostly, mother, motion, motivation, motor, mountain, mouse, mouth, move, movement, movie, Mr, Mrs, Ms, much, multiple, murder, muscle, museum, music, musical, musician, Muslim, must, mutual, my, myself, mystery, myth, naked, name, narrative, narrow, nation, national, native, natural, naturally, nature, near, nearby, nearly, necessarily, necessary, neck, need, negative, negotiate, negotiation, neighbor, neighborhood, neither, nerve, nervous, net, network, never, nevertheless, new, newly, news, newspaper, next, nice, night, nine, no, nobody, nod, noise, nomination, nominee, none, nonetheless, nor, normal, normally, north, northern, nose, not, note, nothing, notice, notion, novel, now, nowhere, nuclear, number, numerous, nurse, nut, object, objective, obligation, observation, observe, observer, obtain, obvious, obviously, occasion, occasionally, occupation, occupy, occur, ocean, odd, odds, of, off, offense, offensive, offer, office, officer, official, often, oh, oil, okay, old, Olympic, on, once, one, ongoing, onion, online, only, onto, open, opening, operate, operating, operation, operator, opinion, opponent, opportunity, oppose, opposed, opposite, opposition, option, or, orange, order, ordinary, organic, organization, organize, orientation, origin, original, originally, other, others, otherwise, ought, our, ours, ourselves, out, outcome, outside, oven, over, overall, overcome, overlook, owe, own, owner, pace, pack, package, page, pain, painful, paint, painter, painting, pair, pale, Palestinian, palm, pan, panel, panic, pant, paper, paragraph, parent, park, parking, part, participant, participate, participation, particle, particular, particularly, partly, partner, partnership, party, pass, passage, passenger, passion, past, patch, path, patient, pattern, pause, pay, payment, PC, peace, peak, peer, pen, penalty, people, pepper, per, perceive, percentage, perception, perfect, perfectly, perform, performance, perhaps, period, permanent, permission, permit, person, personal, personality, personally, personnel, perspective, persuade, pet, phase, phenomenon, philosophy, phone, photo, photographer, phrase, physical, physically, physician, piano, pick, picture, pie, piece, pile, pilot, pine, pink, pipe, pitch, place, plan, plane, planet, planning, plant, plastic, plate, platform, play, player, please, pleasure, plenty, plot, plus, PM, pocket, poem, poet, poetry, point, police, policy, political, politically, politician, politics, poll, pollution, pool, poor, pop, popular, population, porch, port, portion, portrait, portray, pose, position, positive, possess, possession, possibility, possible, possibly, post, pot, potato, potential, potentially, pound, pour, poverty, powder, power, powerful, practical, practice, prayer, preach, precisely, predict, prediction, prefer, preference, pregnancy, pregnant, preparation, prepare, prescription, presence, present, presentation, preserve, president, presidential, press, pressure, pretend, pretty, prevent, previous, previously, price, pride, priest, primarily, primary, prime, principal, principle, print, prior, priority, prison, prisoner, privacy, private, probably, problem, procedure, proceed, process, processing, processor, proclaim, produce, producer, product, production, profession, professional, professor, profile, profit, program, progress, progressive, project, prominent, promise, promote, prompt, proof, proper, properly, property, proportion, proposal, propose, prosecutor, prospect, protect, protection, protein, protest, proud, prove, provide, provider, province, provision, psychological, psychology, public, publication, publicity, publish, publisher, pull, punishment, purchase, pure, purpose, pursue, push, put, qualify, quality, quarter, quarterback, quarterly, queen, quest, question, quick, quickly, quiet, quietly, quit, quite, quote, race, racial, radiation, radical, radio, rail, rain, raise, range, rank, rapid, rapidly, rare, rarely, rate, rather, rating, ratio, raw, reach, react, reaction, reader, reading, ready, real, reality, realize, really, reason, reasonable, recall, receive, recent, recently, reception, recipe, recipient, recognition, recognize, recommend, recommendation, record, recording, recover, recovery, recruit, red, reduce, reduction, refer, reference, reflect, reflection, reform, refugee, refuse, regard, regarding, regardless, regime, region, regional, register, regular, regularly, regulate, regulation, regulator, reinforce, reject, relate, relation, relationship, relative, relatively, relax, release, relevant, relief, religion, religious, rely, remain, remaining, remarkable, remember, remind, remote, remove, repeat, repeatedly, replace, replacement, reply, report, reporter, represent, representation, representative, Republican, reputation, request, require, requirement, research, researcher, resemble, reservation, resident, residential, resign, resist, resistance, resolution, resolve, resort, resource, respect, respond, response, responsibility, responsible, rest, restaurant, restore, restriction, result, retain, retire, retirement, return, reveal, revenue, review, revolution, rhythm, rice, rich, rid, ride, rifle, right, ring, rise, risk, river, road, rock, role, roll, romantic, roof, room, root, rope, rose, rough, roughly, round, route, routine, row, rub, rubber, rude, ruin, rule, run, running, rural, rush, Russian, sacred, sad, safe, safety, sake, salad, salary, sale, sales, salt, same, sample, sanction, sand, satellite, satisfaction, satisfied, satisfy, sauce, save, saving, say, scale, scandal, scare, scatter, scenario, scene, schedule, scheme, scholar, scholarship, school, science, scientific, scientist, scope, score, scream, screen, script, sea, search, season, seat, second, secondary, secret, secretary, section, sector, secure, security, see, seed, seek, seem, segment, seize, select, selection, self, sell, Senate, senator, send, senior, sense, sensitive, sentence, separate, sequence, series, serious, seriously, servant, serve, service, session, set, setting, settle, settlement, seven, several, severe, sex, sexual, shade, shadow, shake, shall, shallow, shape, share, sharp, she, sheet, shelf, shell, shelter, shift, shine, ship, shirt, shock, shoe, shoot, shooting, shop, shopping, short, shortly, shot, should, shoulder, shout, show, shower, shrug, shut, shy, sibling, sick, side, sigh, sight, sign, signal, significant, significantly, silence, silent, silver, similar, similarly, simple, simply, sin, since, sing, singer, single, sink, sir, sister, sit, site, situation, six, size, ski, skill, skin, skirt, sky, slave, sleep, slice, slide, slight, slightly, slip, slow, slowly, small, smart, smell, smile, smoke, smooth, snap, snow, so, so-called, soccer, social, society, soft, software, soil, solar, soldier, sole, solid, solution, solve, some, somebody, somehow, someone, something, sometimes, somewhat, somewhere, son, song, soon, sophisticated, sorry, sort, soul, sound, soup, source, south, southern, Soviet, space, Spanish, speak, speaker, special, specialist, species, specific, specifically, specify, speech, speed, spend, spending, spin, spirit, spiritual, split, spoil, sponsor, sport, spot, spray, spread, spring, square, squeeze, stability, stable, staff, stage, stain, stair, stake, stand, standard, standing, star, stare, start, state, statement, station, statistical, status, stay, steady, steal, steel, steep, stem, step, stick, still, stimulate, stimulus, stir, stock, stomach, stone, stop, storage, store, storm, story, straight, strange, stranger, strategic, strategy, stream, street, strength, strengthen, stress, stretch, strike, string, strip, stroke, strong, strongly, structural, structure, struggle, student, studio, study, stuff, stupid, style, subject, submit, subsequent, substance, substantial, substitute, succeed, success, successful, successfully, such, sudden, suddenly, sue, suffer, sufficient, sugar, suggest, suggestion, suicide, suit, summer, summit, sun, super, supply, support, supporter, suppose, supposed, Supreme, sure, surely, surface, surgery, surprise, surprised, surprising, surprisingly, surround, survey, survival, survive, survivor, suspect, sustain, swear, sweep, sweet, swim, swing, switch, symbol, symptom, system, table, tactic, tail, take, tale, talent, talk, tall, tank, tap, tape, target, task, taste, tax, taxi, tea, teach, teacher, teaching, team, tear, technical, technique, technology, teen, teenager, telephone, telescope, television, tell, temperature, temporary, ten, tend, tendency, tennis, tension, tent, term, terms, terrible, territory, terror, terrorist, test, testimony, testing, text, than, thank, thanks, that, the, theater, their, them, theme, themselves, then, theory, therapy, there, therefore, these, they, thick, thin, thing, think, thinking, third, thirty, this, those, though, thought, thousand, threat, threaten, three, throat, through, throughout, throw, thus, ticket, tie, tight, time, tiny, tip, tire, tissue, title, to, tobacco, today, toe, together, toilet, token, tolerate, tomato, tomorrow, tone, tongue, tonight, too, tool, tooth, top, topic, toss, total, totally, touch, tough, tour, tourist, tournament, toward, towards, tower, town, toy, trace, track, trade, tradition, traditional, traffic, tragedy, trail, train, training, transfer, transform, transformation, transition, translate, translation, transmission, transmit, transport, transportation, travel, treat, treatment, treaty, tree, tremendous, trend, trial, tribe, trick, trip, troop, trouble, truck, true, truly, trust, truth, try, tube, tunnel, turn, TV, twelve, twenty, twice, twin, two, type, typical, typically, ugly, ultimate, ultimately, unable, uncle, undergo, understand, understanding, unfortunately, uniform, union, unique, unit, United, universal, universe, university, unknown, unless, unlike, until, unusual, up, upon, upper, urban, urge, us, use, used, useful, user, usual, usually, utility, utilize, vacation, valley, valuable, value, variable, variation, variety, various, vary, vast, vegetable, vehicle, venture, version, versus, very, vessel, veteran, via, victim, victory, video, view, viewer, village, violate, violation, violence, violent, virtually, virtue, virus, visibility, visible, vision, visit, visitor, visual, vital, voice, volume, voluntary, volunteer, vote, voter, voting, wage, wait, wake, walk, wall, wander, want, war, warm, warn, warning, wash, waste, watch, water, wave, way, we, weak, weakness, wealth, wealthy, weapon, wear, weather, web, website, wedding, week, weekend, weekly, weigh, weight, welcome, welfare, well, west, western, wet, what, whatever, wheel, when, whenever, where, whereas, whether, which, while, whisper, white, who, whole, whom, whose, why, wide, widely, widespread, wife, wild, wildlife, will, willing, win, wind, window, wine, wing, winner, winter, wipe, wire, wisdom, wise, wish, with, withdraw, within, without, witness, woman, wonder, wonderful, wood, wooden, word, work, worker, working, workout, workplace, works, workshop, world, worried, worry, worth, would, wound, wrap, write, writer, writing, wrong, yard, yeah, year, yell, yellow, yes, yesterday, yet, yield, you, young, your, yours, yourself, youth, zone.

1. Hanukkah Ekphrasis:
   
   • Write an ekphrastic poem inspired by a piece of Hanukkah artwork, exploring the visual elements and infusing it with poetic interpretations of the holiday's themes.
2. Diwali Pantoum:
   
   • Construct a pantoum that reflects the cyclical nature of Diwali, interweaving verses to capture the rituals, lights, and familial warmth associated with the festival.
3. Kwanzaa Sestina:
   
   • Create a sestina that delves into the principles of Kwanzaa, allowing the repeated end words to echo the interconnectedness of the seven guiding principles.
4. Las Posadas Narrative Poem:
   
   • Craft a narrative poem that tells the story of Las Posadas, exploring the characters, their emotions, and the transformative power of reenacting the journey to Bethlehem.
5. St. Lucia's Day Rondeau:
   
   • Write a rondeau that captures the cyclical nature of St. Lucia's Day, emphasizing the themes of light, devotion, and the annual return of the festive traditions.
6. Winter Solstice Tanka:
   
   • Express the quiet beauty and contemplation of the Winter Solstice through a series of tanka, focusing on nature, reflection, and the promise of longer days.
7. Chinese New Year Found Poetry:
   
   • Create a found poem using excerpts from Chinese New Year traditions, incorporating elements from traditional greetings, myths, and customs to craft a poetic collage.
8. Ganna Ode:
   
   • Write an ode that celebrates the Ethiopian Christmas (Ganna), highlighting the spiritual significance, communal joy, and cultural richness of this festive occasion.
9. Oshogatsu Concrete Poem:
   
   • Experiment with a concrete poem that visually represents the symbolic elements of Oshogatsu, using the arrangement of words to evoke the essence of the New Year celebration.
10. Global Celebrations Haiku Sequence:
    
    • Develop a sequence of haikus that encapsulate the spirit of global holiday celebrations, drawing on diverse imagery and cultural elements to create a mosaic of poetic snapshots.

Week 4: Sestinas and Concrete Poetry - Lecture and Discussion
Objective: - Explore the intricate structure of sestinas and the visual creativity of concrete poetry. - Understand the fixed pattern of word repetition in sestinas. - Discuss the artistic possibilities of arranging words visually in concrete poetry.
Day 1: Introduction to Sestinas - Lecture: - Definition and characteristics of sestinas. - Explanation of the intricate word repetition pattern.

• Discussion Questions:
  1. What intrigues you about the intricate structure of sestinas?
  2. How does the repetition pattern contribute to the unique rhythm of sestinas?
  3. Can you think of any famous sestinas or poets known for this style?

Day 2: Analyzing Sestinas - Part 1 - Lecture: - In-depth analysis of classic sestinas. - Exploration of the challenge and beauty of word repetition.

• Discussion Questions:
  1. How does the repetition pattern influence the overall rhythm and impact of sestinas?
  2. What themes or emotions are effectively conveyed through this structured form?
  3. Share your thoughts on the significance of word repetition in sestinas.

Day 3: Analyzing Sestinas - Part 2 - Lecture: - Discussing modern variations and themes in sestinas. - Exploring the flexibility of the form.

• Discussion Questions:
  1. How have modern sestinas evolved in terms of themes and structure?
  2. In what ways does the fixed pattern of word repetition challenge or enhance creativity?
  3. Share examples of themes or emotions suitable for a sestina.

Day 4: Crafting Sestinas - Part 1 - Lecture: - Step-by-step guide on crafting the first three stanzas of a sestina. - Emphasis on establishing thematic threads through word repetition.

• Discussion Questions:
  1. What challenges do you anticipate in crafting the first three stanzas of a sestina?
  2. How can you establish thematic threads through word repetition in this section?
  3. Share examples of themes or emotions you might explore in a sestina.

Day 5: Crafting Sestinas - Part 2 - Lecture: - Step-by-step guide on completing the final three stanzas and envoi of a sestina. - Emphasis on creating resolution and impact.

• Discussion Questions:
  1. Why is the envoi and final three stanzas crucial in providing resolution in a sestina?
  2. How can a sestina evoke a sense of completeness within the repeated words?
  3. Share and discuss individual sestinas, highlighting successful elements.

Homework Assignment: - Craft a sestina focusing on a theme or emotion that lends itself well to word repetition.
Study Guide Questions: 1. Reflect on the challenges of crafting the first three stanzas of your sestina. How did you establish thematic threads through word repetition? 2. How did you approach creating resolution and impact in the final three stanzas and envoi of your sestina? 3. What insights did you gain from the process of crafting a sestina?
Quiz: Assessment on the understanding of sestinas, the word repetition pattern, and the emotional impact of this intricate form.
Day 6: Introduction to Concrete Poetry - Lecture: - Definition and characteristics of concrete poetry. - Exploration of arranging words visually to create a visual impact.

• Discussion Questions:
  1. What interests you about the visual creativity of concrete poetry?
  2. How might the arrangement of words visually enhance the poetic experience?
  3. Can you think of any famous concrete poems or poets known for this style?

Day 7: Analyzing Concrete Poetry - Part 1 - Lecture: - In-depth analysis of classic concrete poems. - Exploration of the ways visual arrangement enhances meaning.

• Discussion Questions:
  1. How does the visual arrangement of words contribute to the overall impact of concrete poetry?
  2. What unique perspectives or insights can arise from the visual creativity in these poems?
  3. Share your thoughts on the relationship between form and content in concrete poetry.

Day 8: Analyzing Concrete Poetry - Part 2 - Lecture: - Discussing modern variations and themes in concrete poetry. - Exploring the diverse ways poets engage with visual arrangements.

• Discussion Questions:
  1. How have modern poets expanded the themes and approaches in concrete poetry?
  2. In what ways does the incorporation of visual arrangements broaden the possibilities in written expression?
  3. Share examples of visual arrangements that you believe would inspire compelling concrete poems.

Day 9: Crafting Concrete Poetry - Part 1 - Lecture: - Step-by-step guide on selecting a theme and arranging words visually. - Emphasis on creating meaning through form.

• Discussion Questions:
  1. What challenges do you anticipate in selecting a theme and arranging words visually for concrete poetry?
  2. How can you ensure that the visual arrangement enhances the meaning of your poem?
  3. Share examples of themes or concepts suitable for a concrete poem.

Day 10: Crafting Concrete Poetry - Part 2 - Lecture: - Discussing the role of experimentation and creativity in concrete poetry.

A calligram is a poem, phrase, or word in which the text is arranged in a way that visually represents its subject. The arrangement of the words creates a visual image related to the meaning of the words. It's a form of concrete poetry that merges language and visual art, offering a unique and creative way to convey meaning.

1. Renga:

- *Definition:* A collaborative form of Japanese poetry, alternating three and two-line stanzas. - *Example:* Collaborate with a friend to create a renga exploring the changing seasons. 

1. Prose Poetry:

- *Definition:* Poetry written in prose form, blurring the lines between poetry and prose. - *Example:* Write a prose poem capturing the essence of a vivid dream or memory. 

1. Concrete Poetry:

- *Definition:* Poems that visually resemble their subject matter, often taking on unique shapes. - *Example:* Create a concrete poem reflecting the theme of unity or disintegration. 

1. Narrative Poetry:

- *Definition:* Poems that tell a story, often with characters and a plot. - *Example:* Craft a narrative poem based on a personal experience or fictional tale. 

1. Pastoral:

- *Definition:* Poetry idealizing rural life, nature, and simplicity. - *Example:* Write a pastoral poem celebrating the beauty of a countryside landscape. 

1. Elegy:

- *Definition:* A poem mourning the loss of someone or something. - *Example:* Compose an elegy reflecting on the passage of time and the inevitability of change. 

1. Aubade:

- *Definition:* A morning poem often focused on the parting of lovers at dawn. - *Example:* Write an aubade exploring the tender moments before sunrise. 

1. Ekphrastic:

- *Definition:* Poetry inspired by or describing a work of art. - *Example:* Craft an ekphrastic poem in response to a painting or sculpture you admire. 

1. Found Poetry:

- *Definition:* Creating poetry by rearranging existing texts or found materials. - *Example:* Create a found poem using newspaper headlines or fragments of a novel. 

1. Epigram:

- *Definition:* A brief, witty, and often satirical poem. - *Example:* Write an epigram commenting humorously on a contemporary social issue. 

Unborn Mind
Kuden Paul Boyle
Forest City Zen Group

When I was pretty new to Zen practice, I came across a quote, Unborn mind is Buddha mind. I was baffled at this term “unborn”. Subsequently, I've learned that whenever our interest is piqued by some Buddhist teaching, like Unborn mind is Buddha mind, it is a good idea to pay attention. This is our body's way of asking us to grow. At the time, however, I was confused. How could something be “unborn”? Was this some sort of baffling Zen koan? It kind of got under my skin. So, I decided to set out and try to find out and understand this expression. The expression was used and popularized by a 17th century Japanese Rinzai Zen teacher named Bankei who lived between 1622 and 1693.

Bankei describes the unborn mind in glowing terms,
What I call the “Unborn” is the Buddha-mind. This Buddha-mind is unborn, with a marvelous virtue of illuminative wisdom. In the Unborn, all things fall right into place and remain in perfect harmony.1

Bankei gives an idea of how the unborn mind functions with this quote,
The Unborn manifests itself in the thought, “I want to see” or “I want to hear” not being born … The reason I say it's in the “Unborn” that you see and hear in this way is because the mind doesn't give “birth” to any thought or inclination to see or hear.2

What we see from this quote is that the unborn mind deals with the immediate sensory input, before thoughts about the direct experience arise. Consider when you eat something like ice-cream. You immediately have some sensation of taste. You don't have to try to taste. If you have a meditation practice, you might notice that this sensory input sets off a chain of events. There is the taste, then there is identification of the taste, then there is an evaluation of “good” or “bad”, then, of course, the final stage, of thinking “I want more” or “I don't want more”. The mind that just tastes without adding anything extra to the immediate experience is the unborn mind of Bankei.

It turns out, that Bankei didn't just make up this term, “unborn”. It appears in the Heart Sutra as the characters fu-sho which gets translated as “not born”, “uncreated”, “not appear”. We can go even back to the Pali Cannon and find the Buddha speaking about the unborn. In the Udana book of the Khuddaka Nikaya (Ud 8.3):3

There is, monks, an unborn — unbecome — unmade — unfabricated. If there were not that unborn — unbecome — unmade — unfabricated, there would not be the case that escape from the born — become — made — fabricated would be discerned. But precisely because there is an unborn — unbecome — unmade — unfabricated, escape from the born — become — made — fabricated is discerned.

So, from this sutta, we get some synonyms for the unborn: “unbecome”, “unmade”, and “unfabricated”. In addition, the Buddha is saying because we can discern or notice the born or the fabricated, we can escape this fabricated way of being in the world. This is simply the Second and Third Noble Truths of Buddhism.

Another important piece of the puzzle is that “birth” is one of the 12 links in the teaching of dependent origination which provides a model of how suffering arises from experience as a function of time. In this teaching suffering is “born” after a series of mental events. If you do not want to suffer, prevent it from being born as a mental state. The teaching on dependent origination suggests ways to do this.

The term unborn also appears in the Perfection of Wisdom sutras of Mahayana Buddhism. Without going into detail, I'll just say that in the Perfection of Wisdom sutras unborn is a synonym for emptiness or “lacking inherent existence”. So, unborn dharmas are empty dharmas (here dharma means a moment of experience). That is, they are empty of inherent existence (also called “own nature”, or “self-nature”). It is vitally important to note that the sutras do not say that unborn phenomena don't exist at all, but, rather, they don't exist inherently. According to Mahayana Buddhist teachings, if a phenomenon (a mental state) does not exist inherently, then it exists in dependence on causes and conditions. So, given all this, we can say that unborn mind is the dependently arising mind (of the moment) which is created by moments of dependently arising sensory input.

A passage in the Hsin Hsin Ming which gives another perspective on the experience of unborn mind reads,

When discriminating thoughts do not arise the usual mind ceases to exist. When thought-objects vanish, the thinking-subject vanishes. When the mind vanishes, objects vanish. Object is object because of the subject. Subject is subject because of the object.

The “usual mind” referred to in this passage is what Bankei would call the “born”mind and is the product of discriminating thoughts. As Bankei put, Your self-partiality is at the root of all your illusions.4 The “subject” and “object” referred to in this passage from the Hsin Hsin Ming are what are produced and perceived at the end of a long chain mental events and removed from the immediate sensory input. They are illusory because in our normal way of thinking this discrimination seems very real and solid. We perceive our experience through this lens of “subject” (self) and “object” (other). They appear to be independent of each other. The apparent independence is illusory. When one collapses, the other collapses as well. Unborn mind is the non-dual mind – the mind without attachment to conceptions of subject and object.

As Bankei says over and over again, the unborn mind is immediate. You just hear the bird, you just taste the ice cream. A moment of hearing consciousness or a moment of taste consciousness arises. This is the moment of mind before we conceptualize an experience, before we make a narrative about the experience, before we produce notions of self and other, before we evaluate as desirable or undesirable. This is, as Bankei puts it, Buddha mind.

What good is this immediate unborn mind? This mind is free of suffering. Having an experience of unborn mind, let's us know we aren't trapped in the fabricated reified or “born” mind of words and concepts. This confirms what the Buddha taught in the Khuddaka Nikaya sutta quoted above. By having an experience of the unborn, we know the “born” as artifice.

One might think, “well if an experience of unborn mind is good, wouldn't it be better to abide in the unborn all the time?” The answer is no. First, that kind of attitude implies a certain grasping of trying to make such an experience “permanent”. It is like being an addict who wants to be high all the time. Trying to cling to the unborn mind, like any other clinging, will lead to suffering. Second, experiencing unborn mind is like taking medicine. It is a cure for delusion. We create delusion all the time. However, through an experience of the unborn mind, we realize our delusions are delusions. Then, in some sense, there are no longer delusions.

Very often in enlightenment stories of Zen masters, the story concentrates on the moment of enlightenment. What these stories don't say is that such an experience is the result of much effort before the experience and then after the experience the Zen master will have spent years integrating the experience into their everyday lives. So, it is if you have an experience of unborn mind. The important questions is, “How do you live in and realize its truth without becoming a junkie hooked on seeking the next unborn experience?”

Now, it is completely possible to have multiple experiences of unborn. However, if we try to have a particular experience in zazen, it will elude us. As the Hsin Hsin Ming, puts it,

The great way is not difficult for those who have no preferences. … If you want it to appear have no opinions for or against it.

So, we are left with how do we practise both in zazen and in our lives off of the cushion? When I consider this questions, two thoughts come to mind. The first thought is that Zen practice is Bodhisattva practice. The same attitude which is conveyed by the Bodhisattva vows, we apply to our daily practice. We focus on the effort and being thorough rather than results. The second thought is to root ourselves in a correct and concrete practice.

What is a correct and concrete practice? Zazen, of course. When seated in zazen, we practise awareness. In particular, because we have bodies and sense organs, we become aware of our sensory stimuli. This sensory input gives rise to sensations (vedana) in our body and we become aware of those bodily sensations as well. These sensations can form the basis for craving, attachment, and finally suffering.

In my experience, if I can abide meditatively at the stage of sensation, I find that my experience doesn't evolve toward craving and attachment. Different sensations come and go, the total sensory experience is always immediate and changing. The conceptualizations accompanying attachment remain “unborn”. We are abiding with unborn mind. The more we are able to do this, the more we weaken the habit of grasping subjects and objects in our everyday lives. Untrained people grasp at subjects and objects as a way to try to be OK, to try to avoid pain and uncertainty. Through zazen practice, we realize that we are still OK if we don't grasp. The unborn mind described by Bankei begins to diffuse subtly into our everyday life.

And, yet, the experience of unborn mind is easily lost. The moment we grasp, the moment we wish something is different from the way it is, “heaven and earth are set apart”. As Bankei says, The moment you turn it into something else, you become an ignorant, deluded person.5 Again, our zazen practice is a good model. When our mind wanders off in zazen, we simply bring it back to our intended practice. Bringing ourselves back to our intended practice has 3 parts: First, we become aware that we have drifted off, second, we decide to return to our intended practice, third, we return to our intended practice. The first part is the really important part. We don't waste time or energy reprimanding ourselves for drifting off. As the Hsin Hsin Ming reminds us, “The burdensome practice of judging brings annoyance and weariness.” That is simply an indulgence of the fabricating mind. We simply become aware and return. This is true both sitting zazen and in our lives off of the cushion.

The last thing I wanted to mention regarding the unborn mind is the its connection to the Six Paramitas (Perfections) of a Bodhisattva. The third perfection is normally translated as “patience”, “tolerance”, or “forbearance”. The full Sanskrit term is anutpattika-dharma-kshanti which means “having the patient acceptance of the non-origination of all dharmas. “Non-origination” is, of course, a synonym for “unborn”.

Normally, most people take some set of beliefs or views as unquestionably self-evident. They ascribe to and invest in a sort of solidity and stability to what they believe are “facts”. In other words, they have taken these bedrock views and beliefs as being inherently existent. This is unconsciously comforting for people. As we experience unborn mind in zazen and other parts of our lives, we may begin to realize that all these views and beliefs we have unconsciously taken as existential axioms, are neither as solid nor as absolutely true as we once believed. In reality, they are without basis. They are unborn dharmas, the same as all other unborn dharmas. There is nothing special about them. If you have ever witnessed someone's (or your own) beliefs shattered, you know how disconcerting and upsetting it can be to have your whole edifice of belief tumble down in short order. This is where Kshanti Paramita, the Perfection of Patience, Tolerance, and Forbearance kicks in in the patient acceptance of unborn dharmas. As aspiring Bodhisattvas delving into the unborn mind, we are able to tolerate the realization that there is no solid place for us to stand.

To conclude, experiencing the unborn mind is always available to you. No preparation is necessary. Just drop the fabrications (that's the hard part, isn't it?). Bankei's talks on the unborn along with many other Buddhist teachings are focused on letting go what we have fabricated rather than trying to achieve or create some sort of higher spiritual state. Paradoxically, it is the drive to attain which makes what we are seeking all the more inaccessible. You cannot create an experience of the unborn mind, only stop creating the obstructions which inhibit the experience. We study and practise Buddhist teachings not to gain, but to lose, to let go of those mental habits and conditioning which creates obstructions. As Zen ancestor Sekito Kisen put it in a traditional Soto Zen teaching poem, Song of the Grass-Roof Hut,

Thousands of words, myriad interpretations,
are only to free you from obstructions.
If you want to know the undying person in the hut,
do not separate from this skin bag here and now.

Buddhist teachings won't give us “the answer”. They give us the tools to start asking the right questions, to start the body/mind inquiry. More importantly, the way of Zen is a practice, and this practice is done with our bodies, and with our real lives. Thus, we delve into Bankei's Unborn mind is Buddha mind. Thank-you.
1The Unborn: Life and Teachings of Zen Master Bankei, Norman Waddell, North Point Press, New York, 1984, 2000, page 59.
2Waddell, page 88
3http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/ud/ud.8.03.irel.html
4Waddell, page 55.
5Waddell, page ??

Copyright Kuden Paul Boyle, 2016

So, I've resorted to putting my poetry collection on Flip5HTML, which is this not-great site you can publish flipbooks on by uploading PDFs. I'm really not sure how to actually get my book of poetry published. I keep entering contests and submitting poems but I can't seem to get much other than a few poems published per maybe 50 to 70 submissions and its exhausting. A lot of times I have to pay reading fees only to get rejected anyway.
Any real concrete advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

Here's a list of different forms of modern poetry, along with the title, poet, and a quote from a work that made the genre popular:

1. Spoken Word Poetry:
   
   • Title: "Holler If You Hear Me"
   • Poet: Saul Williams
   • Quote: "I exist without skin color, without nationality, without religious bias."
2. Instagram Poetry:
   
   • Title: "Milk and Honey"
   • Poet: Rupi Kaur
   • Quote: "you tell me to quiet down cause my opinions make me less beautiful but I was not made with a fire in my belly so I could be put out."
3. Hip-Hop Lyrics:
   
   • Title: "The Message"
   • Artist: Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
   • Quote: "Don't push me 'cause I'm close to the edge. I'm trying not to lose my head."
4. Spine Poetry:
   
   • Title: "A Hummingbird in My House"
   • Poet: S.C. Wilson
   • Quote: "In my house, the air is filled with a hummingbird's song, sweet and gentle."
5. Lyrical Essays:
   
   • Title: "Citizen: An American Lyric"
   • Poet: Claudia Rankine
   • Quote: "Because white men can’t / police their imagination / black men are dying."
6. Instapoetry:
   
   • Title: "The Sun and Her Flowers"
   • Poet: Rupi Kaur
   • Quote: "how you love yourself is how you teach others to love you."
7. Twitter Poetry:
   
   • Title: Twitter poetry often exists as micro-poetry or haikus within the platform.
   • Poet: Various Twitter poets
   • Quote: "City lights whisper, hearts embrace the night, love blooms in shadows."
8. Song Lyrics (Rock):
   
   • Title: "Bohemian Rhapsody"
   • Artist: Queen
   • Quote: "Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do the Fandango!"
9. Song Lyrics (Rap):
   
   • Title: "Lose Yourself"
   • Artist: Eminem
   • Quote: "You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow. This opportunity comes once in a lifetime."
10. Free Verse Poetry:
    
    • Title: "Leaves of Grass"
    • Poet: Walt Whitman
    • Quote: "I celebrate myself, and sing myself."
11. Ecopoetry
    
    • Title: "The Wild Iris"
    • Poet: Louise Glück
    • Quote: "You who do not remember / passage from the other world / I tell you I could speak again: whatever / returns from oblivion returns / to find a voice..."
12. Afrofuturist Poetry
    
    • Title: "Space is the Place"
    • Poet: Sun Ra (also a jazz musician)
    • Quote: "Space is the place of the mind; space is the place of the thoughts that are positive."
13. Pop Culture Poetry
    
    • Title: "The Princess Saves Herself in This One"
    • Poet: Amanda Lovelace
    • Quote: "but if you only shine light / on your flaws, all your perfects / will dim."
14. Transgressive Poetry
    
    • Title: "Hustle"
    • Poet: David Lerner
    • Quote: "Life's a fast car on a wet road, with no brakes and bald tires."
15. Multimedia Poetry
    
    • Title: "Inanimate Alice"
    • Poet: Kate Pullinger and Chris Joseph
    • Quote: "Inanimate Alice, Episode 4: 'Hometown' is a work that appeals not only to readers and writers but also to gamers and cinephiles."
16. Instapoetry
    
    • Title: "Salt."
    • Poet: Nayyirah Waheed
    • Quote: "if the ocean can calm itself, so can you. we are both salt water mixed with air."
17. Digital Minimalist Poetry
    
    • Title: "The New Census: An Anthology of Digital Poetry"
    • Poet: Stephane Mallarmé (the digital interpretation)
    • Quote: "Everything in the world exists in order to end up as a book."
18. Concrete Poetry
    
    • Title: "Easter Wings"
    • Poet: George Herbert
    • Quote: "With thee / O let me rise / As larks, harmoniously, / And sing this day thy victories."
19. Postcolonial Poetry
    
    • Title: "The God of Small Things"
    • Poet: Arundhati Roy
    • Quote: "Things can change in a day. All it takes is for something to happen that's not supposed to happen, and it sets off a chain of events that alters the course of everything."
20. Twitterature (Twitter Poetry)
    
    • Title: Various Tweets
    • Poet: Contemporary poets like Rupi Kaur, Warsan Shire, and others
    • Quote: "In the quietest hours of the night, I find solace in the echoes of your laughter. #moonlightwhispers"
21. Multimedia Poetry:
    
    • Title: "Hypertext Hotel"
    • Poet: Jodi Ann Stevenson
    • Quote: "In the digital corridors, every hyperlink is a door to a new verse."
22. Meme Poetry:
    
    • Title: "Internet Memes"
    • Poet: Various Internet Users
    • Quote: "Impact font wisdom, a generation's humor encapsulated in a single image."
23. Neo-Surrealist Poetry:
    
    • Title: "The Persistence of Memory"
    • Poet: Salvador Dalí (Visual Art)
    • Quote: "The only difference between me and a madman is that I am not mad."
24. Afrofuturist Poetry:
    
    • Title: "Parable of the Sower"
    • Poet: Octavia E. Butler
    • Quote: "All that you touch, you change. All that you change, changes you."
25. Virtual Reality Poetry:
    
    • Title: "VR Dreamscape"
    • Poet: VR Experience Designers
    • Quote: "In pixelated realms, dreams dance in virtual echoes."
26. Magnetic Poetry (Magnetic Words):
    
    • Title: Various Magnetic Poetry Kits
    • Poet: Various Magnetic Poets
    • Quote: "On fridges and desks, words collide to birth serendipitous verses."
27. Post-Internet Poetry:
    
    • Title: "Being and Time in the Internet Age"
    • Poet: Kenneth Goldsmith
    • Quote: "In the age of information, poetry is reclaimed from the detritus of the digital landscape."
28. Transcendentalist Poetry:
    
    • Title: "Walden"
    • Poet: Henry David Thoreau
    • Quote: "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately."
29. Quantum Poetry:
    
    • Title: "The Dancing Wu Li Masters"
    • Poet: Gary Zukav (Science and Philosophy)
    • Quote: "The fact is, if you see it correctly, everything is dancing."
30. Asemic Writing Poetry:
    
    • Title: "The Asemic Poems"
    • Poet: Various Asemic Writers
    • Quote: "In the absence of recognizable text, the pen dances freely, creating abstract visual poetry."

1. Hanukkah Ekphrasis:
   
   • Write an ekphrastic poem inspired by a piece of Hanukkah artwork, exploring the visual elements and infusing it with poetic interpretations of the holiday's themes.
2. Diwali Pantoum:
   
   • Construct a pantoum that reflects the cyclical nature of Diwali, interweaving verses to capture the rituals, lights, and familial warmth associated with the festival.
3. Kwanzaa Sestina:
   
   • Create a sestina that delves into the principles of Kwanzaa, allowing the repeated end words to echo the interconnectedness of the seven guiding principles.
4. Las Posadas Narrative Poem:
   
   • Craft a narrative poem that tells the story of Las Posadas, exploring the characters, their emotions, and the transformative power of reenacting the journey to Bethlehem.
5. St. Lucia's Day Rondeau:
   
   • Write a rondeau that captures the cyclical nature of St. Lucia's Day, emphasizing the themes of light, devotion, and the annual return of the festive traditions.
6. Winter Solstice Tanka:
   
   • Express the quiet beauty and contemplation of the Winter Solstice through a series of tanka, focusing on nature, reflection, and the promise of longer days.
7. Chinese New Year Found Poetry:
   
   • Create a found poem using excerpts from Chinese New Year traditions, incorporating elements from traditional greetings, myths, and customs to craft a poetic collage.
8. Ganna Ode:
   
   • Write an ode that celebrates the Ethiopian Christmas (Ganna), highlighting the spiritual significance, communal joy, and cultural richness of this festive occasion.
9. Oshogatsu Concrete Poem:
   
   • Experiment with a concrete poem that visually represents the symbolic elements of Oshogatsu, using the arrangement of words to evoke the essence of the New Year celebration.
10. Global Celebrations Haiku Sequence:
    
    • Develop a sequence of haikus that encapsulate the spirit of global holiday celebrations, drawing on diverse imagery and cultural elements to create a mosaic of poetic snapshots.

WARNING This is a poem about suicide specifically what I experienced with severe anhedonia. However it can pertain to any mental illness. One of the first original poems I have ever written.
An object floating in the sea
Feels like me
Whatever it may be
A plastic water bottle
An inanimate object
A dog at his home who always slept
Because their existence feels like nothing
And sleep is the relief
Sleep is the peace from the hell
Where you suddenly fell, without warning
No emotions to brighten your dull perception
No reflection, no growth without thoughts and with intellectual abilities as they disappear
Drifting off further into the depths of the ocean
The wheel of life out of control, with no way to steer
The skies never seem clear
The conversations feel empty and cannot satisfy you
Leaving you so incredibly blue
I wish to disintegrate and leap into the floor, or the cold concrete because I can’t take much more
There is no end in sight, my mind is so sore of the torture I endure
I want to cry, but emotions have dissipated and come no more
Is there a way to escape this impassable nightmare
A silent hill, a beach or any thrill, even pain to finally and bear the treacherous fate I have been dealt with in the absence of being fair
I can’t help but be dangerously impulsive to feel something real
From adrenaline but I fear I will never be able to deal
Deal with something so unique I feel
Nobody in the world can help me to be normal or give me the will
The red spills extravasating like a beautiful river
But beautiful feels out of the question
This is my final destination
A black hole of hopelessness
Which I could never escape through in this realm
With all the belm from the normal
I bid you farewell
As I contemplate whether this will lead me to a void of darkness, or abode of the damned
To which no living organism can understand
The question to which no human, animal, of any kind can land
I am petrified
But it is better than living as a vessel having lied
For years about how I haven't cried or felt emotion as a human
With no chance to bloom in this lifetime of ruin
But could there be a happy ending where I persevere
Will this ever be real or near.

Course Title: Exploring the Panorama of Poetry
Course Description: This course delves into the rich tapestry of poetic forms, guiding students through the exploration and creation of fifty distinct styles of poetry. From classic sonnets to innovative forms like golden shovel and palindrome poetry, students will gain a comprehensive understanding of poetic expression, learning the nuances of each style and honing their creative skills.
Week 1-2: Introduction to Poetry and Sonnets - Overview of poetry styles - In-depth study of sonnets - Writing Exercise: Crafting a sonnet on personal experiences
Week 3-4: Embracing Haiku and Villanelle - Understanding the elegance of haiku - Exploring the repetitive beauty of villanelles - Writing Exercise: Composing haikus inspired by nature
Week 5-6: Limericks and the Art of Humor - Decoding the humor in limericks - Crafting limericks with wit and wordplay - Writing Exercise: Creating humorous limericks on everyday topics
Week 7-8: Free Verse and Acrostic Poetry - Liberating creativity through free verse - Playing with words in acrostic poems - Writing Exercise: Expressing emotions through free verse
Week 9-10: Ghazal and Tanka Mastery - Unveiling the beauty of ghazals - Crafting tankas with precision - Writing Exercise: Creating a ghazal on themes of love and longing
Week 11-12: Cinquains and Pantoum Prowess - Perfecting the art of cinquains - Embracing the rhythmic challenges of pantoums - Writing Exercise: Developing a pantoum on personal growth
Week 13-14: Sestina and Rondeau Exploration - Mastering the intricacies of sestinas - Crafting rondeaus with musicality - Writing Exercise: Composing a sestina on the theme of time
Week 15-16: Triolets and Kyrielles - Understanding the charm of triolets - Embracing the structure of kyrielles - Writing Exercise: Crafting a triolet on the beauty of simplicity
Week 17-18: Ode to Joyful Ballads - Writing joyful odes - Crafting narrative ballads - Writing Exercise: Creating an ode celebrating personal achievements
Week 19-20: Epic Journeys and Blank Verse - Exploring epic storytelling - Mastering the art of blank verse - Writing Exercise: Composing a blank verse poem reflecting on personal reflections
Week 21-22: Petrarchan Musings and Terza Rima Mastery - Delving into Petrarchan sonnets - Crafting poems using terza rima - Writing Exercise: Writing a Petrarchan sonnet on conflicting emotions
Week 23-24: Renga Collaboration and Prose Poetry - Collaborative renga creation - Experimenting with prose poetry - Writing Exercise: Crafting a prose poem inspired by a vivid memory
Week 25-26: Concrete Poetry and Narrative Art - Creating visual impact with concrete poetry - Mastering the art of narrative poetry - Writing Exercise: Developing a narrative poem based on personal experiences
Week 27-28: Pastoral Elegies and Morning Aubades - Writing pastoral poetry - Crafting mournful elegies - Writing Exercise: Composing an aubade capturing the essence of dawn
Week 29-30: Ekphrastic Marvels and Found Poetry Adventures - Creating poetry inspired by art - Crafting poems through found materials - Writing Exercise: Developing an ekphrastic poem based on a chosen artwork
Week 31-32: Epigrams and Clerihew Laughter - Crafting witty epigrams - Writing humorous clerihews - Writing Exercise: Composing a clerihew about a contemporary figure
Week 33-34: Quatrains and Double Dactyl Delight - Mastering the art of quatrains - Crafting light-hearted double dactyls - Writing Exercise: Creating a quatrain reflecting on the beauty of simplicity
Week 35-36: Terzanelles and Haibun Adventures - Crafting terzanelles with precision - Exploring the combination of prose and haiku in haibun - Writing Exercise: Composing a haibun narrating a meaningful travel experience
Week 37-38: Golden Shovel Challenges and Villancico Celebrations - Creating poems using the golden shovel technique - Crafting festive villancicos - Writing Exercise: Developing a golden shovel poem using a line from a favorite poem
Week 39-40: Tercet Beauty and Sevenling Narratives - Embracing the charm of tercets - Crafting sevenlings with narrative flair - Writing Exercise: Composing a sevenling reflecting on a vivid childhood memory
Week 41-42: Palindrome Reflections and Parallelismus Membrorum Insights - Creating palindrome poetry - Crafting poems using parallelismus membrorum - Writing Exercise: Developing a palindrome poem exploring balance in life
Week 43-44: Rubaiyat Contemplations and Blues Poem Expressions - Exploring Persian poetry with rubaiyats - Crafting poems inspired by the blues - Writing Exercise: Composing a rubaiyat on themes of love or mortality
Week 45-46: Erasure Transformations and Anaphora Intensity - Crafting poetry through erasure - Mastering the use of anaphora - Writing Exercise: Creating an erasure poem using a page from a novel or newspaper
Week 47-48: Tetractys and Sijo Harmonies - Crafting tetractys with specific syllable counts - Exploring traditional Korean poetry with sijo - Writing Exercise: Developing a sijo capturing a moment of beauty or introspection
Week 49-50: Blitz Poem Exploration and Epitaph Conclusions - Crafting blitz poems with rapid expression - Writing poignant epitaphs - Final Project: Compose an original poem using a style of the student's choice, reflecting personal growth throughout the course.
Assessment: - Weekly writing exercises - Participation in collaborative projects - Midterm and final projects showcasing mastery of chosen styles
Materials: - Poetry anthologies - Artworks for ekphrastic exercises - Writing journals - Selected readings for each style
Prerequisites: None. Open to all students with an interest in poetry and creative expression.

1. Sonnet:
   A 14-line poem, traditionally written in iambic pentameter, with various rhyme schemes such as Shakespearean (ABABCDCDEFEFGG).
   
2. Haiku:
   

A three-line Japanese poem with a 5-7-5 syllable count, typically capturing a moment in nature.

1. Free Verse:
   Poetry without a fixed rhyme or meter, allowing for greater freedom and natural flow of expression.
   
2. Villanelle
   

: A 19-line poem with a specific structure, containing five tercets followed by a concluding quatrain, using only two rhymes.

1. Acrostic:
   A poem where the first letter of each line, when read vertically, spells out a word or message.
   
2. Limerick
   

: A humorous five-line poem with a specific meter and rhyme scheme (AABBA).

1. Ghazal:

A form of poetry with rhyming couplets and a repeating refrain, often exploring themes of love and loss.

1. Tanka

: A Japanese form of poetry with a 5-7-5-7-7 syllable count structure, focusing on nature and emotions.

1. Sestina:
   A complex poem with six stanzas of six lines each, ending with a three-line envoi; the same six words end the lines in a shifting pattern.
   
2. Cinquain
   

: A five-line poem with a specific syllable count for each line (2-4-6-8-2), often used to capture a moment or emotion.

1. Rondeau:
   A 13-line poem with a rhyme scheme and repetition of specific words, often emphasizing themes of love.
   
2. Pantoum
   

: A form of poetry with repeating lines, where the second and fourth lines of each stanza become the first and third lines of the next.

1. Ode:

A lyrical poem expressing strong emotions or deep feelings, often addressed to a particular person or thing.

1. Elegy:
   A mournful poem, typically written in remembrance of someone who has passed away.
   
2. Ekphrastic
   

: A poem inspired by a work of art, often describing or reflecting on the visual piece.

1. Concrete Poetry:
   Poems where the arrangement of words on the page forms a visual representation of the subject.
   
2. Prose Poetry
   

: A hybrid of prose and poetry, characterized by its free-flowing structure and poetic language within prose form.

1. Epigram:

A short, witty, and often satirical poem or statement, typically with a clever or humorous ending.

1. Quatrain

: A four-line stanza or poem with various rhyme schemes, commonly used in ballads and hymns.

1. Epitaph

: A short poem or inscription on a tombstone in memory of the deceased.

CAL. MAIOR. LUDI FLORES. NEW MOON OF THE THIRD MONTH.

Salve salve, Jaguar Warriors at the Flower Games!
There seems to have been quite a lot of writing done over the last month, as I look back over it: one little book almost finished and two little books started. All of them niche within niche within niche – mere exercises in rhetoric and utterly meaningless; we have not refuted abramic religion, nor solved the matter of politics, nor cured mental illness – quite in fact we have been simply writing elaborate epigrams in the style of M. Valerius Martialis, as Chrysippus did and as Plato and Galen did, and so on and so on. Quite in fact, over this last month, my greatest accomplishment in my opinion was none of these exercises in rhetoric but that time when I improved upon the fish-feed mechanism in my garden and repaired the roof, as: those are tangible things, you understand, far superior to the phantasms of political affairs, grande narrative and “putting the world right” that preoccupies so those dusty labyrinthine passages in the minds of Men and Women; as: all desire, as Bastiat observed, to clamour that someone else sweep the floor when they could themselves be sweeping the floor – mere laziness. I am inclined to approve of the great-great-grandmother of yours, reader, who would have lifted your skirt or pulled down your Vikingr lodbrok and turned your bare arse the colour purple with a broomstick for being so work-shy; indeed, mad and lunatic in that moment of action, she would nevertheless be correct in her intuition that if she did not do such a thing to you that you would never learn the lesson as none else would care to trouble themselves to give it to you; being overly concerned of the matter of their own self-image, and thus a village and thus a township and thus a peoples would wither on the vine; their vintage never even realized - much less sampled, and much much less facilitating progenition.
Here, let us honour Octavian Caesar’s favourite pastime, in the spirit of the Flores, and roll the dice; let us pick a book and a page and a verse at random, and see what M. Valerius Martialis has to say at this juncture:
O’ thank the Lares it is short and praise be that it mentions Grapes! That would be the equivalent of rolling a double six, on a pair of dice each with 750 sides, you understand.

Galbina (a type Woodpecker)’s quills are cheated and her wings bound by nets;

Galbina decipitur calamis* et retibus ales,

writhing and swollen; all gone green over a mere raw grape.

turget\* ad hoc viridi cum rudis uva mero.*

M. VALERIUS MARTIALIS, BOOK 13, VERSE 68

\calamis: feather, pen, quill.*
\*either ‘turget’ is either to be translated as ‘swollen’ (from: turgida) (as it is in Bohn’s version) or it is ‘twist, torment, distorted’ (from: torqueo; pertorqueo, extorqueo, etc.), with the latter “tor-go-eo” (or “tor-gwa-eo”) more phonetically closer to the otherwise inexplicable word ‘turget’ “tor-geet”, so I just use both – probably it is the latter since it offers a better image of “writhing under a net”.*
Honestly it beggars belief how Bohn missed this one; I mean: what sense does this make:

“The (Woodpecker) is trapped by reeds and nets, while the grape, yet immature, swells with green juice.” Bohn’s Classical Library (1897)

Obviously the ‘joke’ is that the woodpecker who sought to eat the green raw grape has turned green through exertion and terror as consequence of being snared by the use of the green raw grape as bait. The reader may understand why I have such confidence in the worth of my own amusements here as that many of these Epigrams even in their most basic sense of overt verbatim import, let alone their deeper profundities, seem to sit utterly unrealized.
Such is true also, I suppose, of the contents of our index page,

• TRUE SELF AND EGO DEATH; THE ERADICATION OF THE FALSE; SUPERFICIAL, SELF THE EXTRICATION FROM PATHOS (2) also a video supplemental from McKenna on “the ego of the false self; ego as a construct of culture”
• QUICK THOUGHT ON HOW NARCOTICS CAME TO DOMINATE PSYCHOLOGY IN THE WEST; “INNER SELF AND INNER WORLD” AS THE EGO CONSTRUCT OF THE FALSE SELF VS. “CAUSES OF THINGS” IN THE EXTERNALWORLD, OR JUNG VS FREUD
• IT’S NOT “WOKE”, MATE, IT’S LATE STAGE CAPITALISM H.G. WELLS INTERVIEW WITH STALIN (1934) (1)
• THOUGHTS ON THE UNDUE CONCRETENESS WHICH WE PROJECT ONTO THE CULTURE IN THE WORLD AROUND US, OR ETHNOS IN FOSTERING A DISPOSITION ANTITHETICAL TO REALIZING THE LOGOS OF THE MATERIAL WORLD AND ATTUNING TO IT LOGOS VS ETHNOS (3)
• THE POLITICS OF ABSURDISM, OR THE FAMILIAR PATTERN OF HOW AN ABSURDIST IDEOLOGY SUBSUMED DEMOCRACY DESTROYED CIVILIZATION ACROSS THE ROMAN EMPIRE, AND AN INTRODUCTION TO THE CHRISTIAN RHETOIC OF DEAD-PAN ABSURDISM LOGOS VS ETHNOS (4)
• THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN EGO AND TRUE SELF LOGOS VS ETHNOS (5)
• ON ROMAN CHRISTIANITY AS CONSIDERED BY THE ROMAN PATRICIANS AND JESUS AS LOGOS; JESUS AS THE MESSIAH OF THE JEWS, AND “THE PARABLE OF THE “GOLDEN ROMANS”, OR THE COMPREHENSION OF VIRTUE THAT WAS LOST TO CHRISTIANITY LOGOS VS ETHNOS (6)
• THOUGHTS ON CLASS WARFARE, EXAMINING THE MANAGERIAL CLASS, OR THE BOURGEOIS, IN THE CONTEMPORARY WEST COMPARED TO THE BOURGEOIS OF THE EARLY 1900’S CIVICS AND PRODUCTION POWER, H.G. WELLS INTERVIEW WITH STALIN (1934) (2)
• CLASS WARFARE AND THE BOURGEOIS CONTINUED, AND THE USE OF PATHOS IN MEDIA (ATROCITY PROPAGANDA) AS AN EFFORT TO SEIZE TEMPORARY DIRECTORATE POWER CIVICS AND PRODUCTION POWER, H.G. WELLS INTERVIEW WITH STALIN (1934) (3)
• DEMOS AS ETHNOS, OR SOCIAL INFLUENCE AS THE DEMOS AND THE RECOGNITION OF THE DEMOS AS THE PRIMARY EVIL THING; I.E. THE EVIL OF THE “GREEK POLITY” ITSELF, AND THE AETIOLOGY OF THE WORD AND CONCEPT OF A DEMON (IN THE CHRISTIAN FRAMING OF THINGS) LOGOS VS ETHNOS (7)
• INTRODUCTION TO ROMAN PAGANISM, THE ORIGINAL OF POLYTHEISM AND SHAMANISM IN THE NATURAL SCIENCES CUSTOMS OF OUR ANCESTORS (WORKING TITLE) (1)
• THE ETRUSCAN ORIGINS OF ROMAN PAGANISM, AND THE “SECULAR RELIGION” OF THE ROMAN TEMPLES CUSTOMS OF OUR ANCESTORS (WORKING TITLE) (2)
• ON THE INTERTIA OF CULTURE*

\more of a follow-up to* this rant about the culture of docility and passive egoism in West, of which the internet is a apex crystallization of, as being undeniably the cause of war, genocide and domestic enmity, as: we today do not possess the excuses of the past of having some culture of militarism nor an autocratic government which can be blamed for causing these things as has historically been the excuse to “explain away” such things in human behaviour.

• THOUGHTS ON FALSE CLAIMS OF PERSECUTION, OR THE GREATLY IGNORED CASE STUDY OF “FALSE CLAIMS OF PERSECUTION AS POLITICAL LEVERAGE (OR SOCIAL CAPITAL)” DEMONSTRATED BY THE EARLY CHRISTIANS**

\*probably this ought be read as* “Logos vs Ethnos (7.1)”

• DEMOS CONTINUED AND EXPANDED, THE FALSE UNIVERSE OF THE “DEMOS-THINKER” AND “THE PUBLIC” AS AN ARTIFICAL CONSTRUCT (OF THE MEDIEVAL PRINTING-PRESS) AND THE MASS PSYCHOSIS OF POLITICAL NARRATIVES LOGOS VS ETHNOS (8)

all draft copies, all subject to revision and usually in need of tidying up

and

lest we forget the last dice roll: MARTIAL 5:45-5:47; in which Martial – in the first verse in my opinion – forces a Helot or Dacian boy to dress as a girl, then makes fun of the boy for “wanting to be a girl”, then explains in the next verse that the reason he is sexually humiliating the lad is simply to kill the boys spirit. Then he mocks a ‘Philo’ (which certainly is a reference to the wisest of the Greeks; regardless of any more depth to it than that) for being too poor to afford to eat; suggesting, I think, that the fake moralists only complain about such things and do not do such things is because they simply lack the coin to do such things themselves; as like in another verse to the same effect; how easy it is for a poor Man to resist narcotics or sexual indulgences when he has no means to procure them in the first place, when give him 200,000 sesterces and see how he immediately changes into the drunkard and the whore-monger.
But honestly, reader, if you think I have been choosing these epigrams with any forethought you are completely cracked. See here that we have upset the homosexuals ‘and’ the anti-homosexuals all in one go. However if one is in neither camp and is, therefore, able to enjoy such witticisms for their own sake as fond mockery, that such poems are Fucking “Based” – in both the colloquial and verbatim meaning of that word at once. Ultimately that ‘is’ the intention of the most highly moralistic satire, lest it need be pointed out to you – and obviously it does.
Anyway I am quite done with talking to you now, ‘the public’, you do not even exist according to the most cutting-edge thesis on the matter; and more importantly than this: it is a Nice Day outside.

Valete.

CAL. MAIOR. LUDI FLORES. NEW MOON OF THE THIRD MONTH.

​

1. Hanukkah Ekphrasis:
   
   • Write an ekphrastic poem inspired by a piece of Hanukkah artwork, exploring the visual elements and infusing it with poetic interpretations of the holiday's themes.
2. Diwali Pantoum:
   
   • Construct a pantoum that reflects the cyclical nature of Diwali, interweaving verses to capture the rituals, lights, and familial warmth associated with the festival.
3. Kwanzaa Sestina:
   
   • Create a sestina that delves into the principles of Kwanzaa, allowing the repeated end words to echo the interconnectedness of the seven guiding principles.
4. Las Posadas Narrative Poem:
   
   • Craft a narrative poem that tells the story of Las Posadas, exploring the characters, their emotions, and the transformative power of reenacting the journey to Bethlehem.
5. St. Lucia's Day Rondeau:
   
   • Write a rondeau that captures the cyclical nature of St. Lucia's Day, emphasizing the themes of light, devotion, and the annual return of the festive traditions.
6. Winter Solstice Tanka:
   
   • Express the quiet beauty and contemplation of the Winter Solstice through a series of tanka, focusing on nature, reflection, and the promise of longer days.
7. Chinese New Year Found Poetry:
   
   • Create a found poem using excerpts from Chinese New Year traditions, incorporating elements from traditional greetings, myths, and customs to craft a poetic collage.
8. Ganna Ode:
   
   • Write an ode that celebrates the Ethiopian Christmas (Ganna), highlighting the spiritual significance, communal joy, and cultural richness of this festive occasion.
9. Oshogatsu Concrete Poem:
   
   • Experiment with a concrete poem that visually represents the symbolic elements of Oshogatsu, using the arrangement of words to evoke the essence of the New Year celebration.
10. Global Celebrations Haiku Sequence:
    
    • Develop a sequence of haikus that encapsulate the spirit of global holiday celebrations, drawing on diverse imagery and cultural elements to create a mosaic of poetic snapshots.

Week 4: Sestinas and Concrete Poetry - Lecture and Discussion
Objective: - Explore the intricate structure of sestinas and the visual creativity of concrete poetry. - Understand the fixed pattern of word repetition in sestinas. - Discuss the artistic possibilities of arranging words visually in concrete poetry.
Day 1: Introduction to Sestinas - Lecture: - Definition and characteristics of sestinas. - Explanation of the intricate word repetition pattern.

• Discussion Questions:
  1. What intrigues you about the intricate structure of sestinas?
  2. How does the repetition pattern contribute to the unique rhythm of sestinas?
  3. Can you think of any famous sestinas or poets known for this style?

Day 2: Analyzing Sestinas - Part 1 - Lecture: - In-depth analysis of classic sestinas. - Exploration of the challenge and beauty of word repetition.

• Discussion Questions:
  1. How does the repetition pattern influence the overall rhythm and impact of sestinas?
  2. What themes or emotions are effectively conveyed through this structured form?
  3. Share your thoughts on the significance of word repetition in sestinas.

Day 3: Analyzing Sestinas - Part 2 - Lecture: - Discussing modern variations and themes in sestinas. - Exploring the flexibility of the form.

• Discussion Questions:
  1. How have modern sestinas evolved in terms of themes and structure?
  2. In what ways does the fixed pattern of word repetition challenge or enhance creativity?
  3. Share examples of themes or emotions suitable for a sestina.

Day 4: Crafting Sestinas - Part 1 - Lecture: - Step-by-step guide on crafting the first three stanzas of a sestina. - Emphasis on establishing thematic threads through word repetition.

• Discussion Questions:
  1. What challenges do you anticipate in crafting the first three stanzas of a sestina?
  2. How can you establish thematic threads through word repetition in this section?
  3. Share examples of themes or emotions you might explore in a sestina.

Day 5: Crafting Sestinas - Part 2 - Lecture: - Step-by-step guide on completing the final three stanzas and envoi of a sestina. - Emphasis on creating resolution and impact.

• Discussion Questions:
  1. Why is the envoi and final three stanzas crucial in providing resolution in a sestina?
  2. How can a sestina evoke a sense of completeness within the repeated words?
  3. Share and discuss individual sestinas, highlighting successful elements.

Homework Assignment: - Craft a sestina focusing on a theme or emotion that lends itself well to word repetition.
Study Guide Questions: 1. Reflect on the challenges of crafting the first three stanzas of your sestina. How did you establish thematic threads through word repetition? 2. How did you approach creating resolution and impact in the final three stanzas and envoi of your sestina? 3. What insights did you gain from the process of crafting a sestina?
Quiz: Assessment on the understanding of sestinas, the word repetition pattern, and the emotional impact of this intricate form.
Day 6: Introduction to Concrete Poetry - Lecture: - Definition and characteristics of concrete poetry. - Exploration of arranging words visually to create a visual impact.

• Discussion Questions:
  1. What interests you about the visual creativity of concrete poetry?
  2. How might the arrangement of words visually enhance the poetic experience?
  3. Can you think of any famous concrete poems or poets known for this style?

Day 7: Analyzing Concrete Poetry - Part 1 - Lecture: - In-depth analysis of classic concrete poems. - Exploration of the ways visual arrangement enhances meaning.

• Discussion Questions:
  1. How does the visual arrangement of words contribute to the overall impact of concrete poetry?
  2. What unique perspectives or insights can arise from the visual creativity in these poems?
  3. Share your thoughts on the relationship between form and content in concrete poetry.

Day 8: Analyzing Concrete Poetry - Part 2 - Lecture: - Discussing modern variations and themes in concrete poetry. - Exploring the diverse ways poets engage with visual arrangements.

• Discussion Questions:
  1. How have modern poets expanded the themes and approaches in concrete poetry?
  2. In what ways does the incorporation of visual arrangements broaden the possibilities in written expression?
  3. Share examples of visual arrangements that you believe would inspire compelling concrete poems.

Day 9: Crafting Concrete Poetry - Part 1 - Lecture: - Step-by-step guide on selecting a theme and arranging words visually. - Emphasis on creating meaning through form.

• Discussion Questions:
  1. What challenges do you anticipate in selecting a theme and arranging words visually for concrete poetry?
  2. How can you ensure that the visual arrangement enhances the meaning of your poem?
  3. Share examples of themes or concepts suitable for a concrete poem.

Day 10: Crafting Concrete Poetry - Part 2 - Lecture: - Discussing the role of experimentation and creativity in concrete poetry.

This question was posted once eight years ago by u/Vanceldore, but back then there were only four albums and by now they've made three more (not counting the concert recordings), and I'm stuck in Milk Carton Kids megafan hell by myself so I need to discuss them somehow.
EDIT TO ADD: Whole essays aren't mandatory! A list is fine and can lead to more discussion in replies. Looking at what I wrote a day later I think I got carried away ...
Retrospect - "Permanent." I heard this one in isolation as a teenager and it was important to me for years before I checked out everything else these guys did. It's a good song to have with you while growing up and sorting out your priorities.
Also, "Broken Headlights" is a really good poem/short-story song, and "Girls Gather Round" is always a great time although there are other live versions I love more than the Retrospect one.
Prologue - "I Still Want a Little More." The power of a fast song from a slow-song band. I first tried to listen to Prologue in a tired and unreceptive state of mind before I was an MCK fan, and every song made the same gray impression on me, up until this one. My favorite version is on that NPR video from way back when - the high vocal is more dominant in the mix, which isn't better but a neat difference from the album recording, and they play it fast but not too fast for you to hear every note of Kenneth's fills clearly.
Also, "Des Moines, IA" is pretty and haunting and I don't know why it didn't show up on the album on Spotify the first time I listened.
The Ash & Clay - I guess it has to be "Snake Eyes." It's short slow and simple because some songs should be. The lyrics are apparently about death ("Swing low, swing low") but they aren't very meaningful or communicative, just a series of vague impressions and images, and somehow that adds to the song's soul-stilling effect. It's as tranquil as mourning-dove songs.
"Heaven" is also up there (no pun intended), probably my second favorite in this album. The solo is always a fun time and the lyrics are delightful to me. They sound like party-song lyrics at first (for the kind of party that would have square dancing in it), but they turn out to be a code for political-song lyrics. But it doesn't get me down thinking about politics, just laughing at the cleverness of the code, and the sound makes it really a party song anyway (by MCK standards).
Monterey - "Deadly Bells," because I'm biased in favor of short songs that last just long enough to do one interesting thing, and also biased in favor of Joey Ryan's vocals (I think Kenneth might be a better singer technically, but Joey's voice has superior making-me-cry power). I was surprised to find this is yet another MCK song named after a place - there's a pair of mountains in Colorado called the Maroon Bells (what poetic whacko first decided to call a mountain a bell?) and they don't look hard to climb, but they're deceptive and many people have fallen to their deaths from them. There are several things in life like that. The falling melody in this song matches the lyrics, and it doesn't sound like any other MCK song even though it's clearly theirs.
"Sing, Sparrow, Sing" is another short interesting one and I like that Joey and Kenneth each had a song to sing solo in this album.
All the Things That I Did and All the Things That I Didn't Do - really hard to pick, this is one of their albums I most often listen to the whole way through. "Big Time" has my favorite lyrics to think about and its energy had a great place in their concerts during the full-band era. But "One More For the Road" has some really tasty sounds and a different experience than you'll ever get from the MCKs anywhere else.
Besides those two, "Younger Years" is badass, "Blindness" and "Unwinnable War" make me want to cry (in a good way), and "A Sea of Roses" fills me with a whole new level of respect for Kenneth Pattengale even if he says it isn't autobiographical.
The Only Ones - "As the Moon Starts to Rise." This is a paternal-love song like "Charlie" but based on actual experience. Some MCK songs (such as "Maybe It's Time") have lyrics that are too vague or generic for my taste, but this one was very plainly written by someone recalling specific concrete memories and feeling real feelings and that's the reason it makes me cry (or the other reason, besides Joey Ryan's voice).
The only other song from this album that I think about often is "The Only Ones" - a classic country sound, very catchy. Also, I don't really think "My Name Is Ana" is good enough lyrics-wise for the subject matter, but Kenneth goes HARD in the solo at the end.
I Only See the Moon - another one where a favorite is VERY hard to pick. "Running on Sweet Smile" is the prettiest in the old Milk Carton Kids vein. I also love the banjo songs, "One True Love" is kickass and "When You're Gone" is another very good makes-me-cry song. But every song is necessary here and every sonic detour is interesting to listen to.

A calligram is a poem, phrase, or word in which the text is arranged in a way that visually represents its subject. The arrangement of the words creates a visual image related to the meaning of the words. It's a form of concrete poetry that merges language and visual art, offering a unique and creative way to convey meaning.