WEBVTT

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My students know
that they will get

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an assignment, a personalized
writing assignment, when

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they least expect it.

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There is no syllabus for this.

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And I called a wild
card, and I make

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them do some pretty
crazy things all

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to try to shake them
out of what they

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imagine the right attitude is
to approach writing a poem.

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So they've written
on oranges, they've

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gone out in the middle
of fields and howled,

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and they've done
all sorts of things.

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And they usually
hate me terribly

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when I give it to them,
but afterwards they

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write some pretty amazing poems.

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But they also said, well,
do you do this to yourself?

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And no, of course not.

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So I said fair was fair.

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I should give
myself a wild card.

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What I decided to do, of
course, is a little odd

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because you give yourself
one, and you can kind of build

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your own, but I
decided that I would

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write a poem in which each line
began with the same letter.

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I mean, well one line would
begin with one letter,

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and then you could
switch on the next line.

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So for instance in
this poem it starts off

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every word in the first
line starts with an O,

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every word in the second
line starts with P,

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and I did give myself
some latitudes.

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I could use any letter I
wanted to start the next line,

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but whatever was on that line
had to start with that letter.

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And that was the only thing
that was my assignment.

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I realized quickly
that prepositions

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were the problem, and
then conjunctions,

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but it was a
sobering experience.

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And so I thought I
would read this to you.

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I did mention that
we've been dancing

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and how strenuous it is,
and I've been having a--

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my right knee has
been not behaving.

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So this is my ode
to my right knee.

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Oh obstreperous one, ornery
outside of ordinary protocols,

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paramilitary probate
par-excellence.

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Every evidence you yield yells.

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No noise too tough
to tackle, tears

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springing such sudden salt
when walking wrenches.

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Haranguer, hag, hanger-on,
how much more maddening,

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insidious imperfection?

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Membranes matter-of-factly
corroding,

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crazed cartilage calmly
chipping away as another arduous

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ambulation begins.

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Bone bruising bone.

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Leathery Lothario, lone
laboring gladiator,

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grappling, groveling for favor.

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Fair-weather forecaster, fickle
friend, jive jiggy joint.

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Kindly keep kicking.

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[APPLAUSE]