Tuesday, July 3, 2018

Teach this poem: "Dead Men Don't Know Jack"

BACKGROUND:

My poem, "Dead Men Don't Know Jack" was first published on my Medium page at:  https://medium.com/@lbsedlacek/dead-men-dont-know-jack-95cdd5d6ac5f  As of the writing and posting of this post it has received 3600 views and 2900 reads!  It has to be my most read poem ever.
I'm very proud of it.

I've always enjoyed reading westerns and watching westerns so once in a while I write a western poem.  Another one I wrote pays homage to Louis L'amour - it's called "Boots Crunching on Gravel." 

This poem, "Dead Men Don't Know Jack," is about the shooting of Wild Bill Hickok by Jack McCall so it's based on a true story.  It's a rhyming poem.  Most of my early poems, as this one is, were rhyming poems.  I wrote it when I first started writing poetry so it's one of my earlier works.  Most of my earlier works, as with a lot of beginning poets, rhyme. 

It was inspired by a teacher of mine who used to play the character of the Judge in a play about the shooting of Wild Bill Hickok.  I never saw the play, but every class I had with him he usually brought it up.  My teacher was a story teller himself.  I'm not sure if he ever wrote anything or not.

I am thrilled that my poem has garnered such an interest.  It was a fun poem to write.  I do enjoy writing cowboy poems!

TEACHING THIS POEM:  "DEAD MEN DON'T KNOW JACK"

1) Read the story of Wild Bill Hickok.  What kind of person was he?  Write a poem based on a modern day bad guy.

2) Look at pictures of South Dakota.  What does it look like?  Write a place poem set in the days of the wild west.

3) Talk about cowboys with your group.  What kind of cowboys exist today.  Where did the term come from?  Write a poem about your favorite cowboy hero or bad guy.

4) Watch your favorite western.  Who is the star?  Who are the characters?  Were they real people or made up?  Write a poem like a scene from a western.  Be sure to include settings and wild west characters.

5) Read some of your favorite rhyming poems.  Why are rhymes so popular?  Do you like to read rhyming poetry?  Do you like to read other kinds of poetry?  Write a rhyming poem.  Then take the poem and turn it into a non-rhyming poem, aka free verse.  Compare the two poems.  Which one do you like better.

You can have a lot of fun with western poetry.  You can read real life stories of the wild west or even the modern day west.  You will find plenty of situations, tales or characters (real or not) to write about.  Visit a western movie set (I did that once in New Mexico).   Watch some westerns!  Read some Louis L'amour and come up with some stories of your own. 

You can find out more about me at:
LB Sedlacek
or
LB Sedlacek on Medium

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