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About Poetry Noir
The mission of Poetry Noir is to explore the universal moments
presented or "spoken" in Black-and-White films
with poetry writing. We
will feature a film clip and challenge to capture in words
the poetry the film clips suggest to you.
To
learn more or take part in the Challenge, visit the website:
www.PoetryNoir.com
Challenge
To use the feelings, memories, thoughts, surroundings,
characters or behaviors of the film images and sounds
(selected by Student Poetry Noir) to inspire your poetry
writing. There are many ways of these selected films
speak to us. It is your challenge to capture in words
the poetry the film clips suggest to you. |
Thoughts or Questions to Explore in The Film |
-
Mood
- Setting
- Sensations
- Perspective
- Subject
- Surroundings
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Time
- Conflict
- Surprises
- Secrets
- Feelings
- Culture |
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First,
I talked to the class about the characteristics of Film
Noir in general. We saw a few theater trailers from the
documentary, Best of Film Noir (1999) to help them picture
it. We then watched The Night of the Hunter. I then
explained the Poetry Noir Competition as a concept. I showed
them the clip from The River, then read them Joanne
Leva's poem in response to it. This helped them see the
goal of the assignment. After they watched
the clip from The Night of the Hunter, we discussed
the characteristics of the scene that made it fit the genre,
as well as what it was about the scene that made it so sweetly
eery. I read them the summary and pointed out some of the
great descriptive words which helped to describe the scene.
We then watched the clip again. They then had seven minutes
to write down whatever came to mind, based on what they
saw, without saying a word to anyone else. Discussion followed,
then independent practice time to write and type. I walked
around at this point and spoke to students individually
about their work.
I
often have students edit and take more time to complete
an assignment, but we are running out of time, so it is
important to note that they did the writing and submitting
in one 45-minute period. My goal at this point was to have
them "try on" this "new thing". We are
now moving onto writing 40's dialogues with Film Noir flair
which will be performed on Friday, complete with tough guys
and gumshoes and femme fatales, as well as some swanky 40's
vocabulary -- straight out of their handy-dandy 40's Slang
Dictionary. Props and costume pieces required. 40's Film
Noir attitude encouraged.
Submitted
Poems:
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Weight
of the World
By
Greg Mendrzycki
Lost
in the world
Getting chased by greed
Leaning in the everlasting arms of,
Hate and Love
Bearing a daunting secret
A preacher crouches in the shadows
And reawakens a memory
A memory of just a man
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Shadow
By Amethyst
Becker
What
appears on the surface is only what we see.
Stories with soft spoken voices swim through the room,
Lurking,
Hunting,
Waiting for you.
Innocence and carefree notions saturate the scene.
The tone,
The mood
Haunts you to your bones,
Leaves them silent,
Shaken and scared.
The darkness engulfs you,
Sprinting through your soul
A shadow appears,
The smirking of the night
"What have I to fear?"
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I
Am
By Kara
Stegmann
I
am the dark moon in the midnight sky
I am the flickering street lamp outside your fence
I am the caring family
One who never leaves your side
I am dangerous love
The chill that runs down your human spine
The dark shadow that lingers
I am the one who helps little things
I am not as I seem
I am Film Noir
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Bedtime
Stories
By Lindsey
Thompson
it's
a deep, dark night
so tell me a story
with rhythmic words of faraway lands,
where the kings and palaces must exist in sub-Saharan
Africa
hide away the gold, keep it safe
from your own encroaching shadow
and the oversized silhouette cast in the dim light
allow ten seconds for added suspense and a rousing
wail from the orchestra
violins quivering like your own body
and timpani thundering like a heartbeat
it's only a man,
his voice crooning, deep and eerily mellow
only a man,
so hide our gold,
and don't let the bed bugs bite
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Mechanical
By
Kelsey Cohan
Moonlit
tales of kings and gold
With woeful eyes and heavy hearts
From the comfort of one's bed
But soon that bed will provide no sanctuary
He is coming
Under the streetlights a shadow lurks
Joints moving one at a time
Singing a soft death song from a well-oiled jaw
To lull you into eternal sleep
But he is just a man
No
He is more than just a man
He is mechanical
He is a machine
The hunter
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Don't
Let the Bed Bugs Bite
By
Taylor Magee
He
hopes to comfort her
With a simple bedtime story
Both are blissfully unaware
The bugs are the least of their worries
As fate looms outside
Glaring up at the window
Shadows mix with shadows
A silhouette interrupts
Not by coincidence
The
story is unfinished
The end is hanging in the air
Clouding the room with tension
The silhouette knows the ending
The ending that would make its owner happy
The kids won't see it coming
Bed bugs will soon be ideal
To a certain hymn, echoing
The devil's choir
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An
Escape
By
Kara Gaburon
"Tell
me a story, John."
Tell me a story.
Of something far away.
An escape that has nothing to do with now.
Take me away.
We'll go to a place where children can play.
Where it's light and happy,
Where good things don't only happen during the day.
Tell me a story.
"Tell me a story, John."
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Film
Noir
By
Corinne
Shadows,
Darkness,
Tell your little sister a story,
Look over your shoulder,
The villain stalks you in the night,
in the darkness.
Calm her nerves and yours,
Promising the bed bugs won't bite.
Close eyes,
Block ears,
Do not listen to the man outside the window.
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The
Night of the Hunter
By
Steph Dowd
On
a dark night
Tell me a story John…
His shadow on the wall
Coming in through the window
Light flickering from the lamp post
A shadow appears over the Johns shadow
As the man
Not just a normal man
Whistling eyeing up the boy
Knowing he has what he wants
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