Renee shared the concept of two types of poetry: poetry of witness and persona poems.
In Poetry of Witness, the speaker sees something and reports it. (e.g., Walt Whitman’s “The Wound-Dresser”)
Here are Two Poetry of Witness Books that Renee Mentioned:
The Rape Poems
by Frances Driscoll Song of Napalm: Poems
by Bruce Weigl Persona poems are poems written from the perspective of something or someone (e.g., Gwendolyn Brook’s “We Real Cool” and Tim Seibles’ “What Bugs Bunny Said to Red Riding Hood” (From Hammerlock).
We listened to both poems, and Renee pointed out that Brooks adapts a group persona in “We Real Cool”.
