It's been a while since we've had class together on Friday, so we have not had the pleasure of Poetry Friday for a few weeks. Today's Poetry Friday plan includes a famous poem from Tupac Shakur called "The Rose That Grew From Concrete".
Shakur is an interesting figure in the history of rap music and popular culture. He grew up in East Harlem, surrounded by ghetto life and a family with legal troubles stemming from their connections to the Black Panthers. Shakur was highly educated in the arts and was an avid reader. If you listen to his music, there is no doubt that he was well-read and highly intelligent. Though he only lived to be twenty-five, Shakur is still widely recognized as an important figure in rap music.
His poem "The Rose That Grew From Concrete" is simple, direct, and full of figurative language and imagery. We're going to take it down from dictation today and then you'll write you own poem based on Shakur's where you'll compare yourself to a plant growing out of a surface in our rural environment. I'll post some of your poems here next week after you're all finished.
Also, please remember to hand in your interview questions for review. I'll hand them back to you before you go on Thanksgiving break.
