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Voter Instructions:
- The countdown at the bottom of each pairing indicates how much time is left to vote.
- When voting closes, timer will disappear.
- Read both poems as many times as you like.
- Mark the poem you like best by clicking the circle next to its name.
- Press the “Vote” button to record your vote.
- Votes are counted in real time and cannot be changed once entered.
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- Classrooms should submit one vote as a class.
- Students can then vote again individually from home.
Things to Consider in Making a Choice:
- How well the poem incorporates the authlete’s assigned word.
- Technical elements: meter, rhyme, form, shape, and other poetic standards.
- Creativity: wordplay, imagery, unusual approach, etc.
- Subtle elements that make the whole greater than the sum of its parts.
- Your overall response: emotional reaction such as admiration, tears, laughter, terror, or some indefinable feeling.
Here are the poems:
1-host
Foreign Exchange
by Charles Waters
My family is playing host to a foreign exchange student named
Hua Hua. Mom’s old office, her new room, clean as a church pew,
Meal times locked in on dry erase board in kitchen, “From now on
We eat like a family.” Dad says. I spend weeks fretting over books about
Chinese culture, I plan on introducing myself in her native tongue. At last
Our door swings open, an 18 year old, short haired marvel steps in, trailed
By a mountain of suitcases. I bow, “Ni-Hao Hua Hua.” She smiles, matches
my bow, offers her hand and says, “Hello friend.”
vs.
16-priggish
Survival of the Fittest
by Miranda Paul
Our substitute teacher looks piggish.
His hair is suspiciously wiggish;
His thick finger-shaking is priggish,
But we’re glad he’s unbearably biggish…
