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[julietcapulet]

Hi, Juliet Capulet here. My favorite piece that I read over break was "Still I Rise" by Maya Angelou. I really liked it because it was a positive poem that was all about being comfortable with yourself and being proud of yourself. After reading the poem, I felt confident in myself too! Also, I really like the musical version of this poem sung by Ben Harper. It's called "I Rise." And he pretty much put music to the words. So I was pretty comfortable with the poem already. I really liked discussing the poem "Thoughts in a Zoo" by Countee Cullen. I think that was the best discussion because even though I didn't really agree with Ms. Knarr, we worked together to realize some things. Specifically, we learned about how maybe Angelou and Cullen were connected. I liked that we worked together like that.

[clareaker]

My favorite piece that i read over the break was "A Negro Love Song" by Paul Laurence Dunbar. I really liked the poem because it was very upbeat and fun. It was about a man who was infatuated and in love with a woman. It followed a story line and i liked how it ended and he got the girl! I like reading anything that has something to do with a love story. I also thought Steph, Annie, and I had a good conversation about this poem. We all really agreed with each other on our opinions on the poem, and saw where each one of us was coming from.

[anniepirone]

My favorite piece that I had read over spring break was by Maya Angelou. The title of this piece is "Phenomenal Woman". This poem is in the contemporary folder on this forum. I really liked this poem because it had captured the self-confidence all women should have about themselves. Angelou had made it a point that not all people may recognize her confidence but that shouldn't effect how the woman sees herself. Through this poem, Angelou has greatly inspired many women of all ages to be comfortable with who they are and how they look... Angelou encouraged her readers to embrace their appearances! I also enjoyed this poem because it was relatable, easy to read, and I enjoyed having a conversation with my classmates (Roe & Jimmy).

[caileighidell]

Maya Angelou's "Alone" was definitely my favorite piece of writing that I read over the course of this break. I particularly enjoyed this piece above all of the other works that I viewed. What drew me in the most when reading this poem was how Angelou chose to provide the reader with a constant reminder of just how being alone can be fatal. Angelou especially showed this theme with her constant use of the line "Nobody, but nobody can make it out here alone". I saw this poem as a view on life that can be explained completely and actually makes sense in human nature. I also enjoyed being able to see just how Angelou connects with her readers through her work. After reading this poem I felt as though Angelou had been specifically speaking to me through her words. I found it extremely interesting to see how easily a talented author can prove her theories in an enjoyable piece of writing. I also enjoyed being able to see the opinions of my peers. Although I did not specifically converse with them, I was able to view there opinions and then take those into consideration when evaluating my own.

[elineal]

My favorite piece was "Yet Do I Marvel" by Countee Cullen it interested me because he put a new outlook on his faith and told all who read it that he couldn't even understand God or believe all he did was good. He was able to put his thoughts in a short poem which I think takes great skill as a poet to do. I also found this thread to be the most helpful and interesting. There were many people with different views than mine and I appreciated the different look on the same poem.

[jessicanoel]

The piece I enjoyed the most that I read over break was " a song in the front yard" by Brooks. It was about a girl who was restricted by her mother to being in the front yard, but yearned to be wild and adventurous in the back yard with the other kids. I found the poem the easiest piece to relate to. Being a teenager, I feel as if I'm always torn between decisions. While discussing this piece, I really enjoyed reading Eli's point of view on this piece. He made a very interesting point about how the girl narrating could have been white and was struggling to understand why she couldn't be with the black kids, doing whatever they do with them. I liked that this piece could have a variety of opinions, which makes it a great discussion piece.

[paulabatoon]

My favorite piece was Langston Hughes' "I, Too." Hughes speaks of his dream for the African American race, how one day blacks will be viewed as fellow Americans by the whites. I found it similar to Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. Another poem that I liked was "If We Must Die" by Claude McKay, because it was empowering and motivating. I also liked how the poem could have been interpreted in numerous ways, as shown in the discussion.

[kevinskocypec]

The piece I enjoyed reading the most was "Still I Rise," by Maya Angelou . Her poem related to racism and how one must stand tall no matter what the circumstances and what people think of oneself. It was very inspirational and positive which allowed me to relate to it. The thread that I felt to be enjoyable and interesting was also "Still I Rise," by Maya Angelou. I feel like everyone had the same general idea of how Maya continued being proud. However, everyone added a little extra to their similar ideas. It was very enjoyable and extremely informative.

[gabbymcgovern]

1. The literary piece I was most interested in was "Alone" by Maya Angelou. This was my favorite work because the words were so true. The words "But nobody can make it out here alone" really struck me. Maya Angelou made me realize that we all end up working together in society. People are supposed to help each other out, no matter how rich or poor you are. I can connect with this poem because sometimes I feel as if I have to go through things alone, but in the end people go through things together. In addition, I loved how Angelou repeated her three dramatic lines at the end of the stanzas. It made the poem memorable. This poem was interesting to take a closer look at, and I found the thread to be interesting as well. I agreed with many of my classmates, like Connor ad Caleigh, about the message behind this poem. It was intriguing to see a couple of different views on this poem. Every person's post in this thread taught me something new about the meaning behind the poem "Alone."

[seanpalen]

My favorite piece was "Mother to Son" by Langston Hughes. For some reason the poem really spoke to me. The idea of lifee as a staircase really makes sese to me. Hughes in the poem preaches that life is not a crystal stair but a stairacse with many different parts covered in splinters and rough. He preaches that we must never give up and we must always no matter what keep climbing. Itas great to see diferent views n the poem for they helped me undersand the piec evn btter ait presented different possible interpretations that altered my thoughts on the piece. I am happy we were given the oppurtunity to do this project because if not I ould of never been exposed to this much African Ameican literature.

[connorjmckeon]

My favorite of the pieces I read over break was "If We Must Die" by Claude McKay. I liked the poem because it sends a message that we shouldn't just accept the problems we face, but fight back to change them. The poem speaks of fighting until death but we don't have to be so extreme. One could interpret it to mean just some fall or failure, and I like this versatility. I like this message because I am an advocate of working, or fighting, to better your life instead of rolling over and accepting the things you aren't pleased with. I liked the thread of the video on post-racial literature. I read Trevor's post and agreed with some things he said but my thoughts on achieving a post-racial literature were different and I firmly believed that it wouldn't be reached. But then I went back and read Sean's thoughts and I got a new view. He stated that the literature of different races is similar and that made me think maybe we're partially there. Maybe we all have different interpretations of a post-racial literature. This thread got me thinking.

[trevorsocarras]

The literary piece that I was most interested in was "Theme for English B" by Langston Hughes. This was my favorite piece because Hughes wrote about being a part of each other no matter what our racial background. Hughes says that we can all learn something from one another and that’s what I think makes this piece because he express equality and how to be a true American. Also, I enjoyed this piece because he states that everyone is born with human dignity and that humans are entitled to respect. I think that this poem can relate to our Catholic faith in many ways. For example, our Catholic faith teaches us that we are all children of God and should be treated as equals. I liked how Hughes related this topic to a young African American student that has an instructor who challenges him to find himself.

The thread that I found most interesting was, “Then it will be true.” I thought this was the most interesting because it is one of the most important lines in the poem. It was also the most productive thread. The author states that out of this paper the student is finding what is true about him, and what he perceives America to be. Throughout this assignment he discovers many faults and truths but most important that he can learn anything from anyone and love all people even if they don’t love him. The thread that followed this line in the poem proved the author’s statement because I believe that all who read the poem and discussed its meaning learned something from each other. For this reason, this thread was the most interesting and productive.

[deannazaha]

My favorite piece was "Caged Bird" by Maya Angelou. I really liked the rhyme scheme and just the overall poem. The message got across easily and I really like d how Angelou made such a great metaphor. The comparison between the caged bird and the free bird represented a very realistic view between a slave and a free man. I also really enjoyed Langston Hughes’s "Early Autumn." The story really spoke to me and I felt that it sent across a message that is true even in today's world. I really liked how it kind of gave me a perspective on making good decisions. Some choices will greatly impact your life so it is important that we think through the consequences. If we make a wrong decision, it is best that we try to fix it early on because it may not be fixable in the future as we learned with the characters Bill and Mary. The thread on that story I also found interesting. Seeing the view of Sam and Nick also helped me realize that thinking through things is crucial. One should never make a quick decision because you wouldn't want to live your whole life regretting it!

[matpolanco]

Hi Guys!! Mat Polanco here . My favorite Piece was "The Negro Speaks of River" I had no clue what to think about this poem the first time I read it. I read it over and over. I just like how there can be so many interpretations to the poem. I really liked how the poem brought the reader on a journey all around the world. The poem could have been taken literally or used as a metaphor, but that is the cool thing about it, you never know. I took the poem literally the first couple of times, but after seeing my friends posts about it, I started to see how the poem can interpret slavery all around the world at all different time periods. I just liked how Langston Hughs was able to use a river as a symbol for life. I hope you guys had as much fun doing this over spring break as much as I did! It was really cool to see all the different types of African- American Literature that is out in our world. Well have a great hour that we all have left of our Spring Break. I will see you all in Monday!

[karlpreisner]

My favorite piece was "If we must die." Initially the poem sparked my imagination and I started to think about the 300 Spartans and how they boldly defended their land even if they must die. Even though my interpretation did not exactly connect to the Harlem Renaissance, I still enjoyed the poem because it opened my mind up to imagination. To me, the most productive thread was "Ain't I a woman?" because so many people were involved and shared some fantastic insight.