Eating Together by Li-Young Lee

1. Eating Together by Li-Young Lee By Zachary Briddell

2. Eating together • In the steamer is the trout • seasoned with slivers of ginger, • two sprigs of green onion, and sesame oil. • We shall eat it with rice for lunch, • brothers, sister, my mother who will • taste the sweetest meat of the head, • holding it between her fingers • deftly, the way my father did • weeks ago. Then he lay down • to sleep like a snow-covered road • winding through pines older than him, • without any travelers, and lonely for no one.

3. Literary/poetic terms used • The literary/poetic terms used in “Eating Together "are… Free verse (Form of Poetry) Stanza Imagery Similes (Figure of Speech)

4. Free verse • The form of poetry in “Eating Together "is Free verse. A free verse poem does not have a regular meter or rhyme scheme. • This poem doesn’t have a regular meter or rhyme scheme.

5. stanza • A Stanza is a division or unit of a poem that is repeated in the same form--either with similar patterns or rhyme with variations from one stanza to another. • This poem only has one stanza, because there aren’t any repetition of patterns or rhymes.

6. Stanzas and Lines • In the steamer is the trout • seasoned with slivers of ginger, • two sprigs of green onion, and sesame oil. • We shall eat it with rice for lunch, • brothers, sister, my mother who will • taste the sweetest meat of the head, • holding it between her fingers • deftly, the way my father did • weeks ago. Then he lay down • to sleep like a snow-covered road • winding through pines older than him, • without any travelers, and lonely for no one. ************************************************************************ Free Verse=No Rhyme Scheme *1 Stanza *12 Lines

7. Imagery Line 3 says “Two sprigs of green onion, and sesame oil”. This line helps me imaginethe smell of onions being cooked. Line 4 says "We shall eat it with rice for lunch". This line helps me imagine the taste of fish with rice for lunch.

8. SIMILIES • “Then he lay down to sleep like a snow-covered road” Lines 9 and 10 of the poem has a simile. A simile is a comparing of two unlike things using “like” or “as”.

9. Figurative Language • Figurative Language is when you describe something by comparing it with something else. • Lines 5 and 6 describes that the speaker’s mom is now the head of the family because she tastes the sweetest meat of the head of the fish the way that the father did before he died.

10. Figurative Language • “Then he lay down to sleep like a snow-covered road” Lines 10 and 11 describes the father dying in his sleep and going to heaven.

11. The speaker • The speaker is probably a child that has a mother, 1 sister, and more than 1 brother. The family lunch and eating together reminds the Speaker of the father who has died.

12. Li-Young Lee • This poem is written by Li-Young Lee. Li-Young Lee was born on August 19,1957. He is an American poet. He was born in Indonesia.

13. Li-YoUng Lee (continued) Li-Young Lee’s grandfather was China’s first Republican President. His father was a doctor. His family fled the country to the U.S in 1964. His father then became a minister. Li-Young Lee went to the University of Pittsburgh, University of Arizona, and the University of New York in Brockpat.

14. LI young lee’s literary achievements • 2003: Fellowship of the Academy of American Poets, which does not accept applications and which includes a $25,000 stipend • 2002: William Carlos Williams Award for Book of My Nights (American Poets Continuum) Judge: Carolyn Kizer • 1990: Lamont Poetry Selection for The City in Which I Love You • Delmore Schwartz Memorial Award, from New York University, for Rose • American Book Award, from the Before Columbus Foundation, for The Wingéd Seed: A Remembrance • 1988: Whiting Writers' Award • 1995: Lannan Literary Award • Fellowship, National Endowment for the Arts • Fellowship, John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation • Grant, Illinois Arts Council • Grant, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania • Grant, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts

15. meaning/summary • A family lunch gathering is a reminder to a child of the father that has died and how the mother is now the head of the family and how the family is still together. • Li-Young Lee survived a hard childhood when his family escaped his country and fled to the U.S. They stayed together through it all and made it together. This is probably what he was thinking when he wrote this poem. • The theme of the poem is about families staying together through everything.

16. Documentation Sources • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia • http://www.poetryoutloud.org/ • http://farm1.staticflickr.com/41/76809981_bab566151e_o.jpg • http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3mlCxfqfSDs/UkJJQa5RPzI/AAAAAAAABBY/rjtK46pRlXg/s1600/sesame-onion.jpg • http://static3.depositphotos.com/1000577/115/i/950/depositphotos_1154607-Fry-fish-with-rice.-Mugil-soiuy.jpg

17. documentation sources(continued) • http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3mONHO-gvzg/UGuQvkKVFmI/AAAAAAAABjA/FPpsO325I0o/s1600/JenLaraHeadShot.jpg • http://i.imgur.com/nqJML.jpg • http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0072405228/student_view0/poetic_glossary.html