Click here for authlete instructions.
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.
- You can only vote once from a given IP address.
- 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:
7-chisel
The Rock
By Catherine Johnson
Mama gave me a rock.
Now sandpaper smiles don’t buff me up.
I’m boulder as I skim the water.
I whittle away time in the brook.
I polish my rock to a shine.
I chisel a new adventure every day,
vs.
10-hubris
The Moment Jonas Salk Decided to Stop Polio
By Liz Steinglass
Was it hubris to say I can?
I can stop this scourge, which arrests the lives of 20,000 every year.
I can isolate this germ, defuse it, reuse it to teach the human body
To purge this plague from the earth.
Was it hubris?
Or was it the first step?
7-chisel vs. 10-hubris: Which Poem Did You Prefer?
- 7-chisel (Catherine Johnson) (49%, 83 Votes)
- 10-hubris (Liz Steinglass) (51%, 89 Votes)
Total Voters: 171

“This is awesome, where can I find more?”:
Browse other matchups using the slider below and click to go straight to that matchup!