(lively music)
-: Hi, my name is Daemond Arrindell.
I am a poet and teaching artist
and today I have a lesson for you on odes.
And I'll get into exactly what an ode is in a moment.
The big idea of this lesson
is that nothing is ordinary
and that there is beauty everywhere if we chose to see it.
So where we're going to start together
is I want you to make a list
of things that you like that other people
don't appreciate the way that you do.
This can video games, this can be movies,
TV shows, a particular character.
It can also be food.
I've had some students in the past
come up with all kinds of different things
that they shared at this point of the lesson
that I thought were really interesting.
I had one student talk about
how he loves taking his cold cereal
and putting it in the microwave
just for about five to 10 seconds
so that the top layer gets really crispy and warm
and the rest of the milk is just fine.
And as soon as he said it out loud,
every other student in the class was like eww!
And that's exactly the point.
What are some things that you appreciate
that other people don't appreciate as much as you do.
For myself, I absolutely love Brussels sprouts.
I love cheesy dance movies.
I like cats more than dogs.
I love graffiti and street art
a lot more than a lot of the art that I see in most museums.
What are some things that you appreciate
or like a lot that other people don't like as much?
And it doesn't mean that you're
the only person in the world that likes them.
It just means that you're probably
more in the minority on this.
Another food thing for myself,
I really love pickle juice.
And I've typically had a fair amount of students
in my classrooms say, "yes!",
and most of them go, "Ew, that's horrible!".
And that's the point.
What are some things that you appreciate
that other people, not so much.
Take a moment to come up with five different things
that you like a lot.
And I'm gonna add to my list.
(lively music)
okay, some things that I added:
foreign movies with subtitles,
really, really hot sunny weather,
Steven Universe, and I know that that's something
that a fair amount of people do love,
but not as many people love it as much as they should.
So an ode, which is our focus today,
an ode is a poem that celebrates
someone or something ordinary
and shows the beauty of it.
So, taking that thing that you think is amazing
and showing what makes it amazing.
Some strategies that a lot of poets use with odes
is they'll mention colors.
They may bring it to life,
especially non-living things, using personification,
talking about it like it's a living, breathing thing.
Odes can also be about people
and I'm gonna give you a really great example
from a song that is a bit old,
but I think it's really appropriate.
It's called Dear Mama by Tupac Shakur.
And I'm not gonna read the entire thing.
I'm just gonna read the first verse.
Dear Mama, you are appreciated.
When I was young me and my mama had beef.
17 years old, kicked out on the streets.
Back at the time, I never thought I'd see her face
ain't a woman alive that could take my mama's place.
Suspended from school and scared to go home.
I was a fool with the big boys breaking all the rules.
I shed tears with my baby sister
over the years we were poorer than the other little kids.
And even though we had different daddies the same drama
when things went wrong we blamed mama.
I reminisce on the stress I caused.
It was hell hugging on my mama from a jail cell.
And who'd think in elementary
hey, I'd see the penitentiary one day
and running from the police, that's right,
Mama caught me, put a whooping to my backside.
And even as a crack fiend, Mama,
you always was a Black queen, Mama.
I finally understand for a woman
it ain't easy trying to raise a man.
You always was committed.
A poor single mother on welfare.
Tell me how you did it.
There's no way I can pay you back,
but the plan is to show you that I understand.
You are appreciated.
Now, the title of the poem is Dear Mama.
He's writing it almost like a letter to her
trying to show her how much he appreciates her.
And some of the things that I love about this poem
is the simple fact that he doesn't hide
the things that could be seen as negative.
There's a fair amount of things
that he mentions in this poem
that would not be seen as positive.
The fact that they were on welfare,
the fact that she was addicted to crack,
the fact that she gave him a whooping,
the fact that there was a point in time where she was
talking to him through the bars of a jail cell.
There's a lot of negativity,
or rather negative things that happened
in their lives together, and yet
despite all of those things,
Tupac still refers to her as a Black queen,
and I think that's kind of amazing.
And it speaks again to that big idea
that nothing is ordinary and there is beauty everywhere
and we just have to be willing to see it.
So, we're gonna use this as a template for our own odes.
And again, the point here is to pick something ordinary:
a place, a thing, a person, someone that other people
don't appreciate the way that you do,
or maybe someone or something that you appreciate now
but you didn't appreciate it at a previous time.
You're gonna give your subject praise or thanks.
You're gonna speak directly to the object
or about the object, just like Tupac did
in talking about his Mama.
You're gonna use adjectives and descriptive words
to bring this thing to life
to tell us what it looks like,
what it sounds like, what it feels like.
Feel free to think about this thing,
especially if it is a thing, to bring that thing to life
through what is called personification.
And feel free to repeat lines.
And I'm gonna give you an example of my own that I wrote.
This is called Ode to my Bald Head.
Like a lawn whose grass is dead or dying
you are sprinkled with black and grey hairs.
On long days I lack the energy to mow the weeds
so I cover you with a hat.
In the cold you shiver like a homeless alley cat.
Oh Bald Head, my neglected field.
When I shave you clean you glisten bright as a mirror
for people to see their own reflections in.
Dear Bald Head, you shine like the sun.
So, being descriptive,
comparing it to other things.
You can exaggerate and point out the negative things,
but also point them out in a way
that seems really positive.
I'm referring to my head as a neglected field
on those days when I haven't shaved it clean.
On the days when I have it kind of shines
as bright as the sun.
You can see your own reflection in it.
I'm exaggerating within that.
So for yourself, again,
pick an ordinary place or thing,
maybe something that was on your list from the beginning.
You're gonna give your subject praise or thanks.
You're gonna speak directly to the object or person,
just like Tupac did, just like I was doing.
"Dear Bald Head."
Feel free to use verbs to bring that object to life
using personification.
And feel free to repeat lines,
like "Dear Bald Head," or "Oh Bald Head".
Just like I did.
So, I'm gonna give you a few moments to write
and see what you come up with.
(lively music)
Okay.
I'm gonna share with you what I just came up with.
There's a fly that's been buzzing around the room,
so I decided to write about the fly.
Dear fly buzzing around the studio,
I love to watch the camera operator's eyes
follow you to and fro like a pendulum
or a tiny, tiny tennis match.
You are black, not neon green like the ball,
but we cannot stop watching you.
You buzz in my ear.
Your buzz in my ear is radio station static
I can't not tune in to.
Oh fly, your persistence is magical.
Thanks for writing with me.
Thanks for being here
and enjoy the rest of your day.
(upbeat music)