Poets in Places
James Wright
INTRODUCTION: James Wright grew up along the Ohio River Valley. During his youth in the Depression, Wright's family moved a number of times around Aetnaville, in the south end of Martins Ferry, Ohio. The poems he later wrote confronted these difficult years and his oft-grim surroundings, such as diving for lost bodies caught in the river’s "suckholes." However, he also found solace and a love of nature by walking out among the region’s more rural reaches.
PART 1. Scan these sites about James Wright. Use information from all three sites to collect a list of 7-10 significant pieces of information regarding Wright’s background and experiences, his writings, and his connection to ‘place.’
PART 2. Look at the following sites for examples of ‘place’ in James Wright’s life. Using the following two sites, record 5-7 thorough descriptions of these areas. It is permissible to cut and paste chunks of information.
PART 3. Read each of Wright’s poems listed below. Consider the locations he talks about, the tone of his experiences in these places, the characters he writes for each of these places. Look at his descriptions and word choices, too. Pick a couple of favorites.
PART 4. Choose TWO poems you really like and re-read them carefully. Use the ideas in the poems to help you write about the connection between a writer and the place from which he came. Include information from both poems when you respond to each of the following questions.
(a) POEMS BY WRIGHT: (Write the name of each poem.)
(b) THE POET'S BACKYARD: Since we don't all live in Wright’s area, it is difficult to really feel the way he did about it. Make a list of quotes from each poem that seem to capture life along the Ohio River and in Martin’s Ferry, Ohio during the Depression. Then, after looking at some pictures and reading his poetry, write about your impression of Wright’s ‘place.’
(c) FEEL THE IMAGERY: What sights, sounds, smells, sensations, and descriptions of landscape (urban, rural, pastoral, or otherwise) are featured in the poems you chose? What emotional effect are they supposed to have—think about what Wright wants you to feel about them? Write about some of the best examples from the poems.
(d) THE PLACE: Do a search of your own to find images that illustrate the moods, topics, details of setting, or any other things in Wright’s poems. Cut and paste them within your document, and explain their connection.
(e) CONCLUSIONS: What conclusions can you draw about hte poet's response to place and its relationship to human beings? What is being reflected in this place?
Photo Credits:
James Wright http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/pictures/james_wright.jpg
Nostalgic and Grim Ohio River Valley http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/
~henryhowesbook/1Belmont326.jpg
Football http://www.centre.edu/web/news/2006/images/august/bo_football.jpg
Map of Ohio River Valley http://en.academic.ru/pictures/enwiki/79/Ohiorivermap.png
Industrial Ohio http://mambo.noguska.com/Mambo_452/images/stories/fg04.jpgOhio River Cliffs http://photos.igougo.com/images/p60731-Indiana-Ohio_River.jpg
James Wright http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/pictures/james_wright.jpg
Nostalgic and Grim Ohio River Valley http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/
~henryhowesbook/1Belmont326.jpg
Football http://www.centre.edu/web/news/2006/images/august/bo_football.jpg
Map of Ohio River Valley http://en.academic.ru/pictures/enwiki/79/Ohiorivermap.png
Industrial Ohio http://mambo.noguska.com/Mambo_452/images/stories/fg04.jpgOhio River Cliffs http://photos.igougo.com/images/p60731-Indiana-Ohio_River.jpg