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every word counts - oscar ávila lyrics

[intro]
welcome to my podcast, oscar takes on! today, i’ll be talking about a poetry activity that you can do at home! also, at the end of the episode, please leave a review for my podcast. i really enjoy reading them and it helps other people find my podcast

[music, episode]
today, i’ll be reading a list poem that i wrote for an assignment at school
have you ever heard of a list poem? if not, don’t worry—i’ll explain it
but first, let’s talk about poems. what is a poem? it would be easy to definе poetry as imaginative language with figurеs of speech that contains rhythm, sometimes rhyme. poetry is when you’re able to say a lot with very few words. it’s an interpretation of human behavior translated into the most beautiful word combinations you can find. my dad, who is a poet and a professor of literature, says that quote, “poetry is first and foremost an emotional experience rather than an intellectual experience.” (where does his quotation end? you say “quote” and then “end quote” so that listeners know the difference between your words and daddy’s words.) this means that a poem should make the reader feel something. the words should touch the reader’s heart. therefore, the words a poet chooses are all important. the poet must be selective. every word counts,” end quote
this is true of a list poem, where everything mentioned will give the reader an image that they may connect with. having said all of this, it helps if you don’t overthink it
a list poem is just a list of things, that don’t even need to rhyme or have rhythm. for example, you can write a list poem about what’s in your drawer. take a look at the objects that are in there, and just start writing them down
once you’re done with that, you can start forming those objects into sentences, and try to get descriptive when you’re writing about the items that you found in your drawer, or under your bed, or wherever there’s a lot of clutter
once you have that information, then you can become selective as you work on the poem. remember that a lot of writing is rewriting, and that’s the fun part. you can often make it better and better

at school, we had to write a list poem about anything where there’s a mess, or a lot of things piled up. i decided to write a poem about my closet. if your closet is as messy as mine, then you can easily imagine what i mean. for example, my mom calls the bottom of my closet a “dumping ground,” because when i don’t know where something belongs, i just toss on the closet floor and then shut the door—and the mess magically disappears

so, now i’m going to read my poem to you. remember, the goal of the list poem is to name all of the items you see in front of you in a particular place. you should describe what you see in a detailed and creative way, so that other people can picture these images. as i read my list poem, think about the words i use, and how i focus on the tiny details of my closet floor. i also use verbs (or action words) to give my items purpose, instead of creating a list of nouns only. i construct full sentences about what i see in front of me

now, here is my poem titled “the bottom of my closet”

[poem]
faded blue sandals that don’t fit me anymore
rest between a tower of old textbooks
and boxes of school supplies
the base of the book tower
is an anthology of mythical creatures
it supports an encyclopedia of science
an art history textbook, and a children’s collection
of poems, among other volumes
the boxes of supplies contain scissors
glue, crayons, and markers
an electric pencil sharpener bears the weight
of the dusty stack of boxes
on each side, more books
notebooks, a laminator, black wires
and winter boots reside
one day
all of these items will be gone
and the objects i use now
will end up on the closet floor
as part of this graveyard of things
[episode]
when i wrote my list poem, i included in great detail what i saw. but i also showed how the mess wasn’t just a mess. there were little things to fixate on in the mess. think about the behavior that i ill*strated in my poem. i am showing that messiness is part of childhood—it’s a typical childhood behavior. and i’m also putting together really interesting word combinations to ill*strate the messiness that goes along with childhood

i hope that you are inspired to write your own list poem now! anyone can do it. start by finding a messy spot in your home. i think that even the cleanest homes have at least a “junk drawer” to use in this exercise. also, if you have a brother or sister at home with you, ask them to help you write a list poem. feel free to replay this episode if you need help writing your poem. or, consider sharing this idea with your teacher, and maybe your class can take on this fun assignment!

[outro]
thank you very much for listening to my podcast. if you enjoyed this episode, you can subscribe to me on apple podcasts. also, please remember to leave a review so that more people can find my podcast. thanks for listening and i’ll see you in the next episode! bye!

- oscar avila lyrics

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