Poet laureate project
Project Description:
In this project called “Poet Laureate” we were set with the task of creating a poem about a country in a WW1. We were all assigned a country that was involved in the war. We learned about poetic form and meter and rhymes and we also learned about different types of poems and what they are called. Our poems had to be in a specific meter and rhyme scheme and also had to fit within the parameters of the type of poem we personally chose. We also had to research a battle involving our country and then we chose a perspective from which to write our poems. An essay was also written to accompany the poem to explain the background and context behind our stories.
In this project called “Poet Laureate” we were set with the task of creating a poem about a country in a WW1. We were all assigned a country that was involved in the war. We learned about poetic form and meter and rhymes and we also learned about different types of poems and what they are called. Our poems had to be in a specific meter and rhyme scheme and also had to fit within the parameters of the type of poem we personally chose. We also had to research a battle involving our country and then we chose a perspective from which to write our poems. An essay was also written to accompany the poem to explain the background and context behind our stories.
Poem
My Brother I Followed
German East Africa and the Battle of Tanga
Cheyenne Gaudreault
Death does ring with resounding cracks
War does rage on the African plane
They came with motherland plaques.
We forge ahead with heavy packs
Our hearts grow weary of this pain,
yet we are not finished on this track.
The sun bears down upon our backs
My brother I followed on this dusty lane,
though my age severely lacks.
We reach the fight, hard air soot black.
The shells rule here with vicious reign.
British at harbor, time to attack!
I look ahead with hope so slack
“Brother, have you not been slain?”
But I do smile as my kinn looks back.
I turn around, something goes smack.
I have been hit and blood has drained.
I am Askari and none fall back.
Can I rise up and fix what lacks?
German East Africa and the Battle of Tanga
Cheyenne Gaudreault
Death does ring with resounding cracks
War does rage on the African plane
They came with motherland plaques.
We forge ahead with heavy packs
Our hearts grow weary of this pain,
yet we are not finished on this track.
The sun bears down upon our backs
My brother I followed on this dusty lane,
though my age severely lacks.
We reach the fight, hard air soot black.
The shells rule here with vicious reign.
British at harbor, time to attack!
I look ahead with hope so slack
“Brother, have you not been slain?”
But I do smile as my kinn looks back.
I turn around, something goes smack.
I have been hit and blood has drained.
I am Askari and none fall back.
Can I rise up and fix what lacks?
essay
Historical Context: Battle of Tanga
In the Poet Laureate Project, we were assigned a country involved in World War 1 that we had to write a poem about. The country that I was assigned was German East Africa. Then, we chose a battle taking place in, or directly involving our country to write about. The event that I chose to base my poem off of is the Battle of Tanga. This battle is also known as “The Battle of Bees.”
In earlier dealings between German East Africa and British East Africa, there was a treaty made stating that the port of Tanga was neutral land. The German forces later tried to take hold of the port and the British/Indian forces took the opportunity to fight back and seize, not just the port of Tanga, but some land belonging to German East Africa[1]. The British decided to attack from the water, but they were held back because they were under the false impression that the harbour was mined. This battle was nicknamed “Battle of the Bees” because during the skirmishes at the harbour and in the streets, native Tanzanian bees were aroused from their underground homes. They ended up attacking both sides of the fight but it was ultimately another leg up for the German/Askari forces. During the fight, many of the Indian soldiers who were not as well trained surrendered or fled. When the British forces dropped out of the fight completely, they left behind enough weapons to rearm many companies in the German army. This battle was a big win for the Germans[2].
The reason I chose to commemorate this event was because I thought it was one of the more unique battles to take place on African soil in World War 1. It is unique for the fact that nature seemed to “fight back” but also because the Germans won. After this battle I'm sure the Allies really started to worry about their stance in the war. I thought it would be interesting to write looking from the perspective of an army that won the battle but not the war. Most of the Askari soldiers were fighting for their own native land despite the motives of the war itself, unlike the British, who were there to conquer other land even if it was for the sake of getting a leg up in the war. I thought it would make my experience in this project more interesting and my poem unique and exciting.
A word from the author:
The main character of my poem is a 15 year old Tanzanian native who followed his brother into war. This brother was part of the trained Askari forces led by General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck. The structure of my poem is an iambic tetrameter. My poem is in the style of a villanelle. Something that I noticed while writing my poem is that I was very focused on the rhyme scheme and meter. Once I had the right structure, I rearranged my stanzas from draft to draft to develop the story.
In the Poet Laureate Project, we were assigned a country involved in World War 1 that we had to write a poem about. The country that I was assigned was German East Africa. Then, we chose a battle taking place in, or directly involving our country to write about. The event that I chose to base my poem off of is the Battle of Tanga. This battle is also known as “The Battle of Bees.”
In earlier dealings between German East Africa and British East Africa, there was a treaty made stating that the port of Tanga was neutral land. The German forces later tried to take hold of the port and the British/Indian forces took the opportunity to fight back and seize, not just the port of Tanga, but some land belonging to German East Africa[1]. The British decided to attack from the water, but they were held back because they were under the false impression that the harbour was mined. This battle was nicknamed “Battle of the Bees” because during the skirmishes at the harbour and in the streets, native Tanzanian bees were aroused from their underground homes. They ended up attacking both sides of the fight but it was ultimately another leg up for the German/Askari forces. During the fight, many of the Indian soldiers who were not as well trained surrendered or fled. When the British forces dropped out of the fight completely, they left behind enough weapons to rearm many companies in the German army. This battle was a big win for the Germans[2].
The reason I chose to commemorate this event was because I thought it was one of the more unique battles to take place on African soil in World War 1. It is unique for the fact that nature seemed to “fight back” but also because the Germans won. After this battle I'm sure the Allies really started to worry about their stance in the war. I thought it would be interesting to write looking from the perspective of an army that won the battle but not the war. Most of the Askari soldiers were fighting for their own native land despite the motives of the war itself, unlike the British, who were there to conquer other land even if it was for the sake of getting a leg up in the war. I thought it would make my experience in this project more interesting and my poem unique and exciting.
A word from the author:
The main character of my poem is a 15 year old Tanzanian native who followed his brother into war. This brother was part of the trained Askari forces led by General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck. The structure of my poem is an iambic tetrameter. My poem is in the style of a villanelle. Something that I noticed while writing my poem is that I was very focused on the rhyme scheme and meter. Once I had the right structure, I rearranged my stanzas from draft to draft to develop the story.
Book Launch Team:
I was part of the Event Management Team. Our purpose was to organize the event, find a venue, put together playlists, make invitations and many other things. The first thing I did in my group was help everyone else come up with a place to do our book launch party. We also came up with the theme that we would like the party to have. I went and talked to other teams such as the design and fundraising teams about creating the invitations. One of the big tasks that I was assigned was making a slideshow of pictures from each person’s country. I emailed everyone in my class and got their pictures, resized them, and put them all together on a slideshow to be shown at the event. I also helped with the setup of equipment and decorations at the party.
I was part of the Event Management Team. Our purpose was to organize the event, find a venue, put together playlists, make invitations and many other things. The first thing I did in my group was help everyone else come up with a place to do our book launch party. We also came up with the theme that we would like the party to have. I went and talked to other teams such as the design and fundraising teams about creating the invitations. One of the big tasks that I was assigned was making a slideshow of pictures from each person’s country. I emailed everyone in my class and got their pictures, resized them, and put them all together on a slideshow to be shown at the event. I also helped with the setup of equipment and decorations at the party.
Reflection:
I, along with the rest of the class, produced many things. A lot of components went into the making of our final book. A few things that I produced are a poem with specific rhyme and meter, an essay explaining the historical context behind my poem, a slideshow of primary source pictures from each country, and a presentation of learning about a battle involving my country. Before writing the poem, I did extensive research on German East Africa. During this research I discovered a battle called The Battle of Tanga, which I used as the focus of my poem and my presentation of learning. Something that I feel like is an accomplishment is the research notes and stuffed outline. I have never been very good at research but I ended up with a lot of information about German East Africa that helped me to produce the things that I did in this project.
Something that I am proud of in this project is my poem. When I first started writing the poem, I had no idea where to start or if I could even write a poem while sticking to a specific rhyme scheme and meter. I like to write stories but I felt that I had a lot more freedom in writing narrative fiction stories then I did in writing this poem. I thought I wouldn't have a lot to write about, or I wouldn't be able to stick to the poetic form I had chosen. When I started actually producing the poem, I realized that it was much easier than I thought. Staying in a specific meter and rhyme scheme was not restricting as I had previously thought. It was just a new challenge. I wrote many different drafts of the poem and I feel that my final draft is something that I can be proud of.
Many things happened during this project. Something that I remember best is learning about poems. I have always liked to write poems but when we started to learn about meter and types of poems I realized that none of my poems had structure. I used my grandfather’s poems to help me understand poem writing. He was a structured poet and he and some people that he knew created a book of poetry that was professionally published. I analyzed his poems like we did with other poems in class. Learning about the form and rhyme scheme that he used really helped me to understand the type of poem and meter that I had chosen and to produce my own.
One important thing that I learned during this project was time management and organization. At the beginning of the project, we started to research our assigned countries. We were given a paper that stated all the things our research notes were to have and in what order the information was to be presented. I was unorganized and I lost the paper. I ended up with very inadequate information. I also made the mistake of focusing on the wrong thing for too long. I fantasized too much about the perspective my poem was going to be written from and I focused on my battle more than I researched the other things that our notes were required to have. By the end of the project, I got organized and found the paper that we were given at the beginning. Once I knew what to research, I quickly gathered information. I put together good research notes that were very helpful in writing my poem and background essay. I leaned that time management is important and focusing on the right things helps to get things done faster. If you are organized, then you have the materials that are needed to complete tasks well.
A transferable skill that I learned during this project is teamwork. Working in my book launch team taught me that everyone has to participate and communicate to make things work. With all of the book launch teams working together, we created a book of poetry that looked professional and organized. Each team had to work and each person in each team had to talk to each other and find out what to do next. The individual work that we did had to be put together into one and that couldn't have happened without the teamwork of the entire class. I feel like this skill will help me in the professional world because working together in harmony is an important part in most businesses and organizations.
I, along with the rest of the class, produced many things. A lot of components went into the making of our final book. A few things that I produced are a poem with specific rhyme and meter, an essay explaining the historical context behind my poem, a slideshow of primary source pictures from each country, and a presentation of learning about a battle involving my country. Before writing the poem, I did extensive research on German East Africa. During this research I discovered a battle called The Battle of Tanga, which I used as the focus of my poem and my presentation of learning. Something that I feel like is an accomplishment is the research notes and stuffed outline. I have never been very good at research but I ended up with a lot of information about German East Africa that helped me to produce the things that I did in this project.
Something that I am proud of in this project is my poem. When I first started writing the poem, I had no idea where to start or if I could even write a poem while sticking to a specific rhyme scheme and meter. I like to write stories but I felt that I had a lot more freedom in writing narrative fiction stories then I did in writing this poem. I thought I wouldn't have a lot to write about, or I wouldn't be able to stick to the poetic form I had chosen. When I started actually producing the poem, I realized that it was much easier than I thought. Staying in a specific meter and rhyme scheme was not restricting as I had previously thought. It was just a new challenge. I wrote many different drafts of the poem and I feel that my final draft is something that I can be proud of.
Many things happened during this project. Something that I remember best is learning about poems. I have always liked to write poems but when we started to learn about meter and types of poems I realized that none of my poems had structure. I used my grandfather’s poems to help me understand poem writing. He was a structured poet and he and some people that he knew created a book of poetry that was professionally published. I analyzed his poems like we did with other poems in class. Learning about the form and rhyme scheme that he used really helped me to understand the type of poem and meter that I had chosen and to produce my own.
One important thing that I learned during this project was time management and organization. At the beginning of the project, we started to research our assigned countries. We were given a paper that stated all the things our research notes were to have and in what order the information was to be presented. I was unorganized and I lost the paper. I ended up with very inadequate information. I also made the mistake of focusing on the wrong thing for too long. I fantasized too much about the perspective my poem was going to be written from and I focused on my battle more than I researched the other things that our notes were required to have. By the end of the project, I got organized and found the paper that we were given at the beginning. Once I knew what to research, I quickly gathered information. I put together good research notes that were very helpful in writing my poem and background essay. I leaned that time management is important and focusing on the right things helps to get things done faster. If you are organized, then you have the materials that are needed to complete tasks well.
A transferable skill that I learned during this project is teamwork. Working in my book launch team taught me that everyone has to participate and communicate to make things work. With all of the book launch teams working together, we created a book of poetry that looked professional and organized. Each team had to work and each person in each team had to talk to each other and find out what to do next. The individual work that we did had to be put together into one and that couldn't have happened without the teamwork of the entire class. I feel like this skill will help me in the professional world because working together in harmony is an important part in most businesses and organizations.