The Poetry of James Keir Baxter

1. The Poetry of James Keir Baxter Lesson plans

2. Tues. Feb 7th Lesson 2 Do Now: • Begin to create a brief time-line of Baxter’s life Success criteria • I can summarise aspects of Baxter’s life • I can provide an interpretation of High Country Weather Learning intention: • To gain an understanding of aspects of Baxter’s life • To have an insight into High Country Weather

3. Read Baxter’s biography • Discuss important events in his life • Analyse High Country Weather taking into consideration what you have discovered about his life.

4. High Country Weather by James Keir Baxter Alone we are born And die alone; Yet see the red-gold cirrus Over snow-mountain shine. Upon the upland road Ride easy stranger: Surrender to the sky Your heart of anger.

5. Wed. Feb 8th Lesson 3 Do Now: • Annotate Baxter’s High Country Weather by noting the various poetic devices it uses. Success criteria • I can provide an interpretation of High Country Weather • I understand other’s interpretations Learning intention: • To have a greater insight into High Country Weather

6. Lynet says: How the heck did he write a poem that had such a marked influence on my secular humanism? 'Alone we are born, and die alone' -- famous phrase -- is not the statement of a person who believes himself to be perpetually in the presence of God. But then, 'to be or not to be' is still the question despite the fact that most people, of most religions, believe that not being is not an option! My point, though, was this. I don't live in a happy manufactured world overseen by a benevolent deity. And I don't need to. As my worldview stands, I have so much invested in seeing-the-red-gold-cirrus-over-snow-mountain-shine! I like it that way. The first line is worth it for the second one. (I have some sympathy as a result for the idea that the best of all possible worlds -- without altering human nature -- might involve suffering. But I'm still pretty sure that this world isn't the best possible one).

7. Barkat replies: I suppose this makes us similar. Neither do I live in a happy manufactured world overseen by a benevolent deity. Somehow the world seems more like a work of art in which I might revel, seeing the red-gold, naming it and loving it. And the deity? A whisper, a wind opening my heart to the mountains, shadowing the valleys with presence rather than rescue. Small postscript...If there is any rescue, it is from my own dark tangle, not generally from the world.

8. Lynet: Fair enough, LL.

9. Anonymous said...I read this poem the first time when I was in New Zeland in Karamea. There it was painted on a wall in a backpacker’s hostel and I immediately could relate to it. For me it sums up some core ideas of existentialism. It hints at the desperation of humans to live in a world deprived of its paradise and unity (Camus would have called it "absurd feeling"). The poem then continues with the romantic revolt against a disparaging and malevolent god, the rider feels anger against the injustice of god. The existentialistic tweak .. which could also be read as a religious turn around ... is that the poem says: although the world is harsh and god is of no interest and therefore you are alone and free and fully responsible of anything you do ,the world is still a wonderful place to be felt in flesh and bone... just like the Greeks did. So here Iread "sky" as the literal sky not as an transcendental sky... just my two cents about a most lovely poem Jens

10. Samantha said...Keep up the good work.

11. Now re-write your own interpretation of the poem using the insights you have gained in this lesson. Write SEXY paragraphs to write about the poem’s subject and theme(s). Include quotes to support each statement.

12. Thur. Feb 9th Lesson 4 Do Now: • Read your interpretation the class. Success criteria • I have read the poem and discussed ideas as a class. • I have began my analysis Learning intention: • To have a greater insight into The Bay

13. Fri. Feb 10th Lesson 5 Do Now: • Read The Bay again and begin analysis. Success criteria • I have annotated The Bay • I have written an interpretation and used at least 6 language terms from the glossary. Learning intention: • To have a greater insight into The Bay

14. Read The Bay together and discuss In our discussion, consider the following: • Subject • Theme • Structure • Language • Style • Attitude • Tone

15. Approaching a poem • Using the resource provided, follow the steps to discover more about The Bay. • Challenge yourself to use at least six terms from the glossary you received today.

16. The Bay (notes) • Stanza 1: He explains a childhood memory of a place where he used to play. This is a metaphor for any place in childhood where we used to find simple, innocent joy. Those places are now places where we can no longer see innocent joy, but instead replace them with adult judgements, based on a "grown-up" set of standards.

17. The Bay (notes) • Stanza 2: This is adding context to his story. The Maori were a South Pacific people. They used a definitive earthen oven for cooking. The reference to amber water describes the color of water upstream from a paper mill (i.e. the logs floated toward the bay to where the paper mill processed them). The Taniwha are part of the Māori mythos and describe any number of evil water spirits. These spirits were thought to lurk in dangerous places in the water (whirlpools, rapids, etc). The word is also used by the Māori to describe the Great White Shark, which is common in the New Zealand area.

18. The Bay (notes) • Stanza 3: This is a weird way to say that basically he has sacrificed his "Bay" and the dream of his Bay for the reality of his adult life. There's also a hint of the anti-industrial in him. There are many people who feel that New Zealand should be left alone, and who recollect a more "natural" appearance. In truth, it's not a very happy poem.