October 16, 2009
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LOOK at that cast! Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, and Boris Karloff.
Not to mention Jack Nicholson. Never seen it.
The Daily News
1 Poe time. Always a part of the Heidi unit.
2 Teaching Poe is fun, because the guy had SO many issues.
3 He’d be a two-bit emo guy on Facebook nowadays, but that’s another story.
4 But I always love getting into the Poe thing, mainly because I LOVE Annabel Lee, and I think The Raven is brilliant. I named my guitar Annabel and even wrote a song that has a character who is a cross between Annabel Lee and Sweet Anne Marie, a character in the Grateful Dead’s Friend of the Devil, lyrics by Robert Hunter, who is every bit as good a poet as Poe.
5 The deal with me and Poe is that his stuff is so self-absorbed, constantly losing himself in his own egomaniacal ravings to the point of corniness. I’m guessing he didn’t have a lot of friends. And he uses words like “dissimulation” to keep the average schlep off guard.
6 And really, how are you going to make an entire movie about The Raven?
7 The Raven is brilliant, undoubtedly. But I’m wondering where and how Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, AND Jack Nicholson fit in? Are they on the Plutonian shore? Is Nicholson’s head the bust of Pallas Athena?
8 So it’s always a fun thing. I have to teach Poe, naturally, so that my students will understand The Simpsons. That’s a part of my teaching strategy these days. Teach any piece of literature that is mentioned on The Simpsons or Family Guy, and you’ve probably done your job.
9 Yet students enjoy Poe. And the ones who get into it the most are the ones who don’t get all A’s and B’s. It’s something that a lazy guy can jump in on and contribute in class discussions.
10 I’ve told this tale but it bears repeating: a few years ago I started “popcorning” with my students, that is, asking questions and having THEM raise hands and teach each other. It starts off slowly with a simple question: “Whatdya know about Edgar Poe?” and then I start pointing.
11 Since every teacher they ever had taught Poe, they usually start answering rather quickly. This always gives me energy, allowing me to circulate, laugh, give quick one-liners, and enjoy NOT teaching, but side-coaching.
12 It’s called “popcorning” because it starts slowly, and then it goes madly out of control each time, which is a great way to teach, with the lesson moving into a frenzy.
13 And when the students get excited, I light it up.
14 Anyway, I remember distinctly beginning with “Whatdya know about Edgar Poe?” and hands popping up all over the place. The answers got me wound up:
15 One kid who never talked perked up during one such session, and his eyes grew brilliant. He raised his hand each time, but I wanted to time it so that HIS answer would give me an opportunity to say, “YES!” Sometimes that’s all it takes with some kids.
16 So I walked all over the room pointing at kids and repeating, “Whatdya know about Edgar Poe?” and the answers came fast and furious:
“He died!”
“He married his cousin!”
“She was fourteen!”
“His parents left him”
…and on and on. I would intersperse with, “Yes!” “Correct!” “She was thirteen!” and I’d keep pointing and prodding.
17 On that particular day, I asked, “What did he write?”
“The Cast of Armonchillado!”
“That’s “Cask of Amontillado.” I corrected.
“Oh yeah.”
“Annabel Lee!”
”I LOVE Annabel Lee! What else did he write?” I said.
18 I looked to the corner and spotted my mark. I set it up perfectly for the kid.
19 “What else did he write?” Major clue for “The Raven”.
20 I was setting the kid up for the answer, “Nevermore!” I went to the others.
21 “And what does the Raven do?”
“It raps and taps at the door!”
“It flies in and sits on some head, or a statue, something!”
“It sits on a bust of Pallas Athena,” I said. “And whom is the Raven mourning?”
“Lenore!” came the answer!
“Yes!” I retorted. Good!”
22 The time was right, the set-up perfect. I threw my question and then pointed at the kid. “And what does the Raven repeatedly say? YOU!” I pointed at the kid. His reply:
“CAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!”
23
24 Ya gotta love it.
25 Yesterday I had a similar experience. I got the thing going, and the answers flew to me at high speed, as always. I got to the topic of Poe’s wife, Virginia Clemm, trying to set up how he changed a rather ugly name into the very lyrical Annabel Lee. I always ask, “Why didn’t he simply name the poem ‘Virginia Clemm?’ “, resulting in the simple answer that Annabel Lee is much more luminous, lovely, and lyrical.
26 That set-up stopped short yesterday when I said, “And what was the name of Poes’ wife?”
27 I pointed to a wiseguy.
28 “Mrs. Poe!!!” he shouted, all ears and braces. The room broke into smiles and laughter, again, all ears and braces. I shook my head.
29 Moving on: of war stories, I’m rarely at a loss.
30 I think I’ll leave you with that. I got to sleep early last night, and thinking it was Saturday, didn’t write the DN until I awoke at 3 a.m. and realized that I still had to go in one more day. I think I mentioned my confusing Wednesdays and Thursdays in yesterday’s DN, which had a lovely picture of Cyndi Lauper removed when it hit Facebook.
31 I just had to throw that in.
32 Aight then, that’s the news. Have a wonderful day, and an even more wonderful weekend. Hope you do everything you want to do, and hope you see everyone you want to see.
33 Peaceout.
~H~
