To Have Loved [BxB] Book I ✓

Chapter 36

a/n: Welcome back, everyone. Guess who actually put up a chapter when they said they would? The 300 words a day thing has been really working out. I got this chapter done early and have the next one already in the works for next Friday. Anyways, enjoy your chapter which is mostly poetry talk with a bit of playful banter tossed in.

It was the first Monday in March. When Kayden sat down in his seat, the look on Mr. Adler's face told him that there was a new project of some kind. There had to be, he never looked that happy without some new book being introduced or essay being announced. He'd already passed out the new book last Friday, My Antonia, so of course, everyone assumed there would be some essay related to it announced in two weeks or so when they'd finished it. This though, this was strange.

"Alright, everyone, welcome back to class. Today we're going to talk a little bit about poetry. We'll do a basic overview of poetic devices, techniques, and rhyme schemes, but I'm sure you've all learned those before. In our next few classes, I want you to ask yourself one simple question. What makes a poem good? What makes a masterpiece?" Mr. Adler started, folding his hands on his podium. "Can anyone answer that for me?" He looked around a moment. "Tim."

"Quality?" The black-haired boy suggested.

"Yes, but how is that quality determined? Ian."

"Good grammar."

"That's one of the standards, yes, but-" He looked around, sighing and nodding a bit to Kayden with a smile.

"Good poetry isn't really determined by good grammar though, because a lot of famous poets break grammar rules, and poetry is a type of abstract art that can't really be judged based on traditional rules of prose, so how can anyone determine what is truly good or bad poetry past a subjective feeling? Does good and bad poetry even really exist when it's viewed as art? Of course, traditional art has a specific set of criteria that must be met and often follows basic anatomy and rules of physics, but modernist art and surrealist art don't do that and can't be judged by the same metric. In the same way, modernist poetry like E.E. Cummings might be considered terrible by traditional standards but was revolutionary for his genre and time," Kayden said.

Mr. Adler just looked at him, then covered his mouth with his hand as if he was trying not to laugh and Elias gave him a little smirk. "You raise a fair point. Most poetry, like art, is determined by subjective measures. So, tell me, in your own subjective view, what makes a poem good?" Mr. Adler asked.

Kayden thought for a moment. "It depends. There are factors like originality, genuine expression, and depth, but it all boils down to what feeling the poet is trying to capture and how they do that."

"So you're saying the only factors that determine whether art is good or not is whether it's innovative and honest?" Elias asked.

Kayden thought about it for a moment, resting his cheek in his hand. "It feels like there should be more to it than that, shouldn't there? There is, I just don't know how to describe it, like a depth of soul."

"I thought you didn't believe in souls," Elias said, seeming much too smug for Kayden's liking.

"I don't, but I don't know how else to put it without using that terminology."

"Boys, we will have plenty more time to discuss this question and come to some kind of decision because you're going to be answering this question in depth in our next project," Mr. Adler said with a smile. So that's why he was so excited at the beginning of class. "This month, instead of writing a book report, you'll be writing an essay answering the question 'what makes a poem good?' and then you will put together a small book of your own original poems. It will be done just in time for April, which is national poetry month. When the project ends, we will all share our top two favorite poems from our books with the class," Despite Mr. Adler's unfaltering smile, there was a resounding groan from just about everyone besides Kayden, Elias, and two others. "Oh, come on, it'll be fun, we're switching things up!"