William Matthews Poetry
Think about Matthew ’s poetic “idiom.” How does he use words?, What kind of words does he choose to use? How does he string them together? What does he seem to be talking about? What is understandable, what confusing? What is it about the way he puts his poems together that makes them confusing? What makes them interesting? How might Jazz be influencing the way he expresses himself in poetry?
Students will be responsible for these poets and poems eventually and will need to think about them a bit as while listening to the jazz music. The poems may be part of an assigned project. They will definitely be on the final exam. They will be part of class discussion in the week we discuss poetry.
"Blues for John Coltrane, Dead at 41"