October-Lisa+Zaran

=__Lisa Zaran Bio__= Lisa Zaran is a contemporary poet, born in 1969 in LA. She is not only an American poet but has also published novels, essays, and works of art. Many of her poems are vignettes; she tells small snippets of her life that evokes human emotion. Her father was Norwegian; however, he passed away which impacts her poetry. Before she reached the age of sixteen, she had moved over forty times, concentrated in the western United states. She wrote her first poem called Hallway at age six. As a child, she was observant and shy. She followed after her father's talent for writing; she was also inspired by poetry and music since she was a small girl. The most influential poets to her works are Walt Whitman, Thoreau and James Riley. Her poems are also greatly inspired by the Bible, Bob Dylan, and Mozart. She began publishing her works to her high school paper anonymously. Zaran's first publication was in the //Writer's Gazette// and //the Laureate Letter//. She began becoming noticed for her collection of poems titled "the sometimes girl"; she has now been featured in hundreds of magazines, journals, and anthologies. Her founded poetry journal, Contemporary American Voices, was founded in 2007 and attempts to encourage the production and publication of poetry. She hopes and communicates in her confessional poems that she wants people to be in good spirit, the weather be good, the law be controlled by its own morals, to let nature and minds do what they wish, and to further the rights of women. Her poems feature her expression of memories, the painful past, concepts of love, and the ideals of the society we live in.

=__**TPCASTT**__= =//Cemetery Smiles//= =//Dreams//=





= = =**__DIDLS__**= =//Girl//= =//Leaves//=



=__**TPCASTT VS DIDLS**__= When I first started, I thought I would like both equally. I turned out to be incredibly wrong. I thought that TPCASTT was a much better option. Not only did it help make sure I mentioned structure, meaning, and diction, but it also made sure that I so what-ed everything, making my analysis profound and clear. I love how it contains two sections to analyze the title. When I first read dreams, I had no idea why it was titled D//reams// because the poem revolves around Zaran's experiences at midnight. However, I went back to analyze it after reading and marking the entire poem, and it came together seamlessly. Without TPCASTT, I wouldn't have gone back to the title and would have missed a major part of my overall theme statement. Paraphrasing also helps a lot. Although I won't have time to go as in depth on the AP exam, it helped clear up unknown meaning and odd sentences because my brain had to work through them. All of the categories are unique and distinct from one another; each one hits on a major concept that needs to be reflected on in the analysis. I found myself easily filling the chart to the brim whereas in DIDLS it was harder to find evidence and then to analyze it. DIDLS was incredibly hard for me to work with; I felt as if all of my categories were jumbled together, and I used many of the same quotes for each category. I felt like instead of analyzing the poem, I was more worried about what separates diction from language and which adjectives should be used for each. Furthermore, I didn't like having a chart space for evidence because I felt as if all my evidence was clearly marked in my poem. Having to so what everything became challenging too: I felt as if it was hard to create unity among everything when I had to focus on so many parts. The categories became very similar to me after awhile as well. Although it was easier to write a theme statement using DIDLS, I felt as if it was more basic and trivial then the statements I wrote using TPCASTT. I could write about two sentences easily, and then I felt unprepared to finish it. In my TPCASTT theme statements, I was practically bursting to write down every detail i had learned. I LOVE TPCASTT! = = =__**Mash Up of Zaran's Poems**__=

// I’m dreaming. //

It is later than late. Night rises like a poem. Buried in the muck, the soot of the city, She smiles at passing strangers // While I smoke and drip ashes. // There’s no such thing as danger, she said, only the dangerous face of beauty.

The savage stars appear. She liked to fall asleep beneath the stars Between reality and make believe.

So many dying stars, So many graves, And tragic, midnight melodies.

She said “I’m looking for God” Couldn’t seem to shake her own sad feelings // While I am having a drink. //

Infinity, she whispered, Descending into thin air, To the cemetery of stars. // While I’m dreaming, // No arms outstretch to catch her.

My heart never tried to commit suicide before.