Guided Notes for Found Poetry Lecture

Mr. Swanson’s English Class

1. Instead of referring to certain kinds of conventions in novels or books, by “novel

language,” we refer to language that is ______________________ (fill in the blank) and
un-usual. For our purposes, “un-usual” doesn’t necessarily mean strange, but _________
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______________________ (put our class’s meaning of “un-usual” into your own words).
2. Name three types of found poetry:
 1) _________________________________________
 2) _________________________________________
 3) _________________________________________
What are other ways you can imagine “finding” a poem?
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3. This is an artwork made by Kurt Schwitters called Das Unbild, which was premiered in
1919. It is an example of collage art.

The lecture presentation doesn’t say this, but a collage is an artwork made of an
assemblage of different forms. It’s often made of even differing media (e.g. paper, paint,
text, photographs bits of random objects like string or ribbons, etc.).
(Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collage)

Collage has been adapted by the different arts (such as in music).

Jot down notes about what makes a “literary collage” artful?

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4. Five Minute Free Write

When considering the found poem (a literary collage), how does the reordering of words
alter what they work together to mean?

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5. What is the etymology of context?

con- ______________ (root), _____________________ (meaning)
texere _____________ (root), _____________________ (meaning)

6. This is an abstract discussion by now. You had some understanding of what “context” is
before today’s lecture. Try to simplify the ideas we’re looking at. Write with your gut
when you answer the question, “What is context?”

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