Why Poetry is Still Relevant Today: From John Donne to Taylor Swift

Written by Hiela Haider

There is such beauty in poetry that nothing can compare to it. People 500 years ago admired the imagery of poems like John Donne’s “The Broken Heart.” Nowadays, people enjoy listening to Taylor Swift’s songs such as “We are Never Getting Back Together,” eating chocolate and watching chick-flicks to grieve a breakup. 

Evidently, the majority of young adults today prefers listening to music over reading poetry. But music — good music — is not much different from poetry.

In honor of World Poetry Day, I would like to dedicate this post to one of the most famous metaphysical poets: John Donne. Donne’s poetry is bizarre, and maybe totally confusing to beginners, but it is so crucial to the world of literature. 

“The rest of the world is black and white but we were in screaming color” (from “Out of the Woods,” Taylor Swift). 

Well, it is obvious that Tay uses the power of imagery and figurative language to emphasize that the subject of “we” is stronger and greater than any touch of color in this world. 

But John Donne is quite a competition when it comes to using imagery and other poetical devices. 

“If they be two, they are two so as stiff twin compasses are two; thy soul, the fixed foot, makes no show to move, but doth, of the other do” (John Donne). 

This is a line from “A Valediction Forbidding Mourning.” Once you figured out that “compass” represents more than the navigational device with a magnetized pointer, this line becomes extremely potent and beautiful. 

Love poetry does not always have to sorrowful or delighting. Tay and Donne prove that love poetry/songs can be creepy. When Donne’s speaker states “then shall my ghost come to thy bed,” he really means it. The same goes for Tay: when she sings “ghosts from your past gonna jump out at me,” she is actually scared of facing crazy ex-girlfriends. 

These are only a few examples that show that poetry and music can be equally appealing to young adults and future generations. The purpose of World Poetry Day is to dedicate this day to the appreciation of poetry. This does not mean that you have to go out and buy a collection of John Donne’s poetry, but it means that you should step out of your comfort zone and try something new such as reading poetry. If you do not like Donne, try Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson or more modern poets. 

Share your favorite poet, poem or poem line below! 

Life as a Band Kid

Written by Emma Mills

You practice for hours and hours in one day. The work is physically and mentally exhausting. Months are spent repeating one thing until it is perfect. You must work as one mind with your group or everything will fall apart. When you finally put your skills to the test, everything comes together. All your hard work has paid off and you, as a group, perform perfectly. You feel so satisfied and proud. 

This activity isn’t football, basketball, or any sport. It’s band. 

Many people do not understand how difficult playing an instrument can be. As a member of the Daphne High School Band, I can personally attest to how challenging it can be to play your instrument correctly and at a high technical level. It doesn’t just consist of blowing air into a horn or hitting a drum with a stick. Musicians must use a combination of mental focus and physical strength. 

For wind instruments such as a clarinet, trumpet or tuba you must have strong diaphragm muscles in order to sustain air and pitches, and you must know how to control your embouchure, or facial muscles, to get a clean beautiful sound. In addition, musicians put their mind to the test. They must simultaneously use these physical aspects with mental aspects such as reading music, playing correctly and matching tone and pitch with the rest of the band, as well as keeping time. 

Daphne High School has one of the best bands in the county due to the dedication and hard work of the students and the excellent guidance of the band directors, Mr. Dumas and Mr. Foster. 

During the fall we have marching band and practice our half-time show. We spend the entire summer memorizing our parts, learning how to march and putting that all together in a coordinated marching pattern. It is hot, grueling work but it is all worth it when we hear our band name called out for one of the top spots at a competition. 

In winter and spring we stop marching and switch gears to symphonic band. We are currently in symphonic band season, and we have spent from November until March working on our music. 

On March 3, 2015, we journeyed to Baker High School in Mobile to perform our Music Performance Assessment. It is the single reason that we have been perfecting our music. Our two bands, symphonic and concert, performed their pieces. 

It is exhilarating to be on stage with the lights trained on you, people staring at your face and people listening to you perform, judging you. After the performance we felt so proud; however, it was not over. 

We then had to walk across the hall to a room where we would sight read a piece of music. This means that we have to play a piece of music that we have never seen in our lives.  We only get one chance to do it, and someone is judging us. When we finally walked out of the building we were exhausted. We were already satisfied with our performance, so we were ecstatic to learn that all of the judges gave us the highest scores possible. 

I am so proud to say that I am part of the Daphne High School band!

Patricia Arquette and Why Intersectionality is Necessary

Written by Hannah Denham

“It’s our time to have wage equality once and for all and equal rights for women in the United States of America.”

These were the concluding words of Patricia Arquette in her Oscar’s Acceptance Speech on February 22, 2015, that received an enthusiastic response from Meryl Streep and Jennifer Lopez, as well as praise from other advocates for women’s rights across the country.

In the backstage press room, she expanded on her statement with a call for constitutional backing to support wage equality. However, has been subject to recent controversy.

“It’s time for all ... the gay people and people of color that we’ve all fought for to fight for us now.”

While she did later clarify her controversial statement on Twitter, the conversation that ensued is an important one to address. The issue with this line of thinking is that people by nature are not as simplistic as the limitations of a single category. We are so much more complex than that. However, sometimes our privileges blind us into seeing things as only black and white (in both senses of the phrase). 

intersectionality (noun): The view that women experience oppression in varying configurations and in varying degrees of intensity. Cultural patterns of oppression are not only interrelated, but are bound together and influenced by the intersectional systems of society. Examples of this include race, gender, class, ability, and ethnicity (Kimberlé Crenshaw, 1989).

Patricia Arquette is a white, straight woman. But there are plenty of women who overlap the lines of racial and sexual orientation: women of color, lesbian women, etc. To simplify this concept that the only women who are affected by wage equality are those who are not on the front lines of anti-racism and LGBTQ rights is to erase the voices of women who cross these borders. In reality, women who have been subjected to racism and other oppression often have greater wage gaps. 

This is why intersectionality is key. Social justice is not a mutually exclusive concept. And feminism does more harm than good without the inclusion of all women — not just straight, white, middle-class women without disabilities. Excluding women who have different experiences limits the scope of change that feminism seeks to acquire and further represses those who are seeking this freedom.

The fight for women’s rights is one for solidarity, for joining hands with people and ensuring that all experiences are heard.