1. I explained yesterday that the first part of this course is about looking back. The first three poems we’re studying do just that, but in three different ways. One is from the perspective of someone looking back before deciding to leave, the other is from the perspective of using youth to measure how far they’ve gone in life, and the third initially begins with remembering the pleasant things of childhood but turns into an angry vent when the “other” memories come back about the harsh parts of youth. We read through each of the poems several times, discussed the style and certain particulars that stood out in each, and then answered questions together on the handout.
2. A lot of the question topics should have been easy enough for them to respond to because they’re the same as the ones we answered throughout last semester’s English class.The first of these poems is actually Bruce Springstein’s song “My Hometown”. The character in the song is connected to his hometown because it’s where he was raised by his father, where he witnessed racial tensions in high school, where he started his family and worked (possibly at the same mill as his father). He has to face some hard decisions, though, because the mill has closed and the town is winding down – he must choose whether to stay and raise his own son there despite the situation or whether to go and start a life somewhere new. At the end of the song, though, it’s significant to point out that it’s not clear whether he’s decided to leave or stay; he only shows his young son the same town and says it’s his hometown.

Harry Connick, Jr. is a world famous musician, singer, and actor who grew up in New Orleans. In the after-effects of Hurricane Katrina, Connick was very vocal about his connection to the place where he grew up – it never leaves you. Listen to him explain that in the video here. (It’s the first forty five seconds.)