tag...you`re it.

VOLUME 3, ISSUE 3
DECEMBER 2010
HEY! VISIT
A Teen Advisory Group Magazine
tag...you’re it.
THE LIBRARY
@
MARKHAMPUBLICLIBRARY.CA
April is Poetry Month!
Teen Summer Reading Program Preview!
We’re unsure of whether
we’re doing a Facebook
page or a blog or even
both! But we’re planning
a weekly change of
themes—everything from
Action/Adventure to Romantic Reads.
And how do I enter, you
ask? Well go to the soon
to be opened Facebook
page or Blogger page
and post a review of anything you’ve read (books),
watched (movies) or
heard (music/band/artist). Each review counts as
an entry. The more reviews, the more entries,
the more prizes you have
a chance of winning. All
entries go towards the
grand prize (again still to
be determined). The program is open to all Markham teens aged 13 to 18
years.
Prizes are still yet to be
determined but we’re
hoping for something
good as a grand prize
for all those who enter.
Keep your eyes glued to
TAG...You’re It!, our website @
www.mpl.markham.ca/te
ens
reading.
The Markham Public Library is gearing up for its
annual Teen Summer
Reading Program. This
year’s theme is “Free
Your Mind @ your library” or reading beyond your normal reading
habits.
Check Out:

The Poetry Glossary—
a list of poetic terms and
styles.

The Most Poetic Dude
of All Time—Who is
considered the greatest
poet of all time?

Test Your Poetry
Knowledge—Take a
quiz inside to test your
poetry acumen! And, yes,
the answers are attached…
I know it’s not summer yet.
Heck, sometimes it still
doesn’t feel like spring
yet.
But here at Angus Glen
the Teen Services Department is already thinking
about the heat waves we
will no doubt get and all
the free time to do just
about anything, including
Inside this issue:
The Poetry Issue
A Tribute to a Band
2
Poetic Dude of all Time
4
If you weren’t aware,
April is poetry month…
I Am...A Poem
5
Poetry Glossary
6-7
So in celebration of poetry month, this issue of
TAG...You’re It! will feature as much poetry as
possible.
Red Riding Hood Review
8
Poetry Test...Seriously
9
The Back Page
10
Inside you’ll find TAG
inspired poetry, articles
on poets, a poetry glossary of the types of poetry and more!
So enjoy the fruits of our
labor, of words grander
(or cooler) than usual.
Hopefully this will inspire
you to pick up a book of
poetry, read up on a famous poet or even listen
to some really good music. As far as I’m concerned, music is the ultimate form of poetry—
sung and made into ballad for our ears and souls
to enjoy!
Have a great April!
VOLUME 3, ISSUE 3
NEWSLETTER DATE
Right here,
Tribute to my favorite band---TVXQ, who was disbanded last year.
Flora Dong
For those who may
know:
 August, 2010: Trial
with SM Entertainment

Last song: Stop the
time

Date: 04/04/10 (all
activities were
terminated)

Now: JYJ & DBSK
Another sleepless night,
the clock slowly ticks by…
Stopping at another midnight,
I’m left alone to wonder why…
I don’t hear your laughs anymore,
our old pictures now an eyesore.
Sitting by myself through another lonely night,
I can’t lie to say that we will be alright.
Our wall of past memories,
is finally tumbling,
into crumbles, ruins,
and fading remains.
I don’t want to watch from a distance;
I don’t want to move on.
You know, I’m holding back my tears to watch you depart?
I’m choking on my words, to let you know,
that I’m the last to be letting go.
For one more time I want to make believe,
that what I’m about to hear is not the truth,
what I’m seeing is just a fictitious film,
where I’m standing is a bad dream…
I want to run, but I’m already giving in.
So please, why won’t you tell me,
that this isn’t happening?!
Between our blames of rights and wrongs,
between our arguments & fights that last all night long,
all I really want is to still be by your side,
like we used to,
back in once upon a time.
All I want to feel,
is all that is real—
Your hand on my shoulder,
and mine on yours.
Knowing we won’t stay forever,
but together for now.
Hoping time will stop right here, right now,
at midnight with you on my side,
forgetting our differences,
and fears of tomorrow’s daylight.
At this hour: right here, right now.
It’s not us when we are less than five;
it’s not us when we don’t stay at the same time;
it’s not us when we aren’t sitting under one moonlight,
I can’t tell you,
04.04. 2010
how much I’m terrified.
But if you are willing,
then I’ll dare to take a try.
But please do know —
MARKHAMPUBLICLIBRARY.CA
Page 3
RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW
Only Time
By: Flora Dong
It lasted awhile,
what we had.
Been through the smiles and tears,
through our past memories.
As long as I’d like to stay,
the distance will draw us apart eventually.
I don’t believe in fairytales,
Heard enough of the same fake stories.
Time will let us see,
together is only temporary,
together isn’t for eternity.
For all the friendships that may be
ongoing today, or only exist in
past memories.
Perhaps it’s time to break away,
the distance seeps through us with decay.
Maybe it’s time for our goodbyes,
We know we both won’t forget,
But let us allow time to pass by.
I promise you nothing will be erased,
But face it babe,
We are both on a different page.
We are lying to ourselves if we stay,
Deceiving ourselves to pass another day.
The only time I’ll smile to say my farewells,
The only time I’m fine to be alone for awhile.
Only time will let us know,
If to each other we are just another passer-by.
So if the bond crumbles,
Just let it fall:
Only time will tell who we are.
Another sleepless, restless night,
Tossing myself & wondering if we’d be alright.
Should’ve known then to let you go,
But I was too scared to let you know.
Waiting for us to be fixed,
Only to let time punch another hole.
Since when did we start?
When was where we saw each other last?
It was hard to admit,
But “us” fell into the past.
Every time I see the sun set to another night,
Every time I hear the clocks tick away,
Knowing we are growing faraway,
I’d rather not believe,
A joke wrapped in another lie.
It doesn’t mean done,
When we finally break.
It’s just forever,
That never really stayed.
“...With every word I said,
only time can tell that I kept the faith.
With every move I made,
only time knew that I wasn’t afraid.
MARKHAMPUBLICLIBRARY.CA
TAG...YOU’RE IT.
Page 4
The Greatest Poet of All Time Is…
The Most Poetic Dude of All
Time. True story...
Sources:
 www.shakespeare.org.uk/
content/view/708/623/
 www.shakespeare-online.com/
sonnets/116.html
 www.shakespeare-online.com/
sonnets/116.html
 www.online-literature.com/
shakespeare/
There will be flak for my
choice, I do not doubt it.
He is a personal favorite
of mine. But having done
an extensive Internet
search, plus flipping
through at least a dozen
poetry books and various
literary criticism sources,
his name was at the top
of many of the lists.
Slick Willy. Billy the
Shakes. Shakespeare.
Billy Shakespeare. William Shakespeare.
Born in Stratford-uponAvon, Warwickshire, England around 1564 (true
date of birth unknown),
wrote around 40 plays,
dozens of well known poems (or sonnets), married
Anne Hathaway, had
three children (Susanna,
Hamnet, Judith), and died
April 23, 1616.
Many will say he’s more
playwright/writer than
poet but his plays read
like poems within poems
within a larger poem.
Where he obviously can be
called a poet is the 154
sonnets he wrote throughout
his life and career. And
those remain some of the
greatest written in the English language.
A snippet:
Let me not to the marriage of
true minds / Admit impediments. Love is not love / Which
alters when it alteration finds, /
Or bends with the remover to
remove: / O no! it is an ever-fixed
mark / That looks on tempests
and is never shaken
(Sonnet 116)
Dude. The word “deep”
couldn’t even begin to
cover the weight and pertinence of the words ol’
Willy uses in just this sonnet.
Imagine the other 153. I
don’t think anyone can
write anything as good or
better…
But more proof required?
Well, he died nearly 400
years ago and we’re still
talking about his life and
literary contributions: university courses are devoted to
his work, high schools are
required to read his plays,
people honor him in art, print
and in cyberspace. His
works have been translated
into 80 languages (despite
the fact some of us still don’t
understand the English version), and no doubt his literary accomplishments will outlive many of us.
In short: Shakespeare’s the
man. Undisputed heavyweight champion of the poetry world.
But a greater tribute was
written by a historical contemporary, Ben Jonson (a
great playwright himself):
He was not of an age, but for
all time!
I guess that is safe to assume,
nearly four hundred years
later, as you read this article
and visit any library on this
planet.
Some Notable Poets Worth Reading
Edgar Allan Poe
“J. Alfred Prufrock”.
Dark, deranged, gothic
and just plain sad, Poe
stands out because he
wrote some of the most
haunting verses ever
penned by a human.
Check out “Annabel Lee”.
Emily Dickinson
T.S. Eliot
Cynical, penetrating and
provocative, Eliot was part
of the Modernist movement
in the early 20th century
that focused on “a revolt
against the conservative
values of realism”. Deep.
Check out “Waste Land” or
She wrote around 1800
poems, with only about a
dozen ever widely published during her lifetime.
Why? Perhaps because she
wrote primarily about death
and immortality...bummer
but worth the read. Check
out “You Left Me” or “The
Heart Asks”.
Dante Degli Alighieri
Epic poetry that encompasses three colossal volumes, and endures as one of
the most celebrated poets
MARKHAMPUBLICLIBRARY.CA
of all of literature. Check
out the master’s works of
“Inferno, Purgatario and
Paradiso” - the three levels
of the afterlife.
William Butler Yeats
Nobel Prize Winner, politician, writer, poet—a true
renaissance man. An Irishman noted for "inspired poetry, which in a highly artistic form gives expression to
the spirit of a whole nation."
Cool. A poet that spoke for
an entire country...Check out
his best “The Second Coming”.
VOLUME 3, ISSUE 3
Page 5
I am...by Alex S.
I am from Coca Cola bringing me back to Time Square adverts with bright
lights and big crowds
I am from eating dead lamb with lively faces
I am from starbucks, snow-blinded on the tip of mainstreet
I am from falling asleep under grape vines with crumbs on my shirt
I am from Christmas turkey dinner with the smell of gravy passing from
room to room
I am from big hugs by big people
I am from Britain where meat, potatoes, and beer are a common language spoken
I am from quickly wrapped gyro and easy going, lawn chair enjoyed
frappe
I am from having to taste everything, from strong brussel sprouts and
native-smelling Moroccan Chicken Pie, to hot steaming dumplings
and blue ocean sea food
I am from Sunday pork chops that I finally know how to make
I am from brown floating Shreddies in a sea of pale milk, swaying from
side to side, crashing against banana slices
I am from Sparti* not Sparta where we kill time, not Persians
I am from cinnamon rolls making my mouth twitch with delight, cradled in a basket by the clean, reflective counter of a corner store
I am from that old village house where bread baking, fish tossing, and
cuscus eating began
I am from wobbling Jell-o on a plate, sailing over waves of a deep blue
going to Victoria
I am from that old village house where my lessons were learned
I am from having peanut butter toast’s scent swerving into my head
and turning toward the Pacific
I am from a place that is not of this one.
MARKHAMPUBLICLIBRARY.CA
Page 6
TAG...YOU’RE IT.
Great Resources for Reading, Finding and Writing Poetry
So now, for some freakish reason, you love poetry—pretty much want to read it and
write it. Well you came to the right place...some useful links to get you started...
 100.best-poems.net/ - A list of the best poems of all time. Not a bad compilation
but worth looking over.
 www.poetryfoundation.org/ - An unbelievably comprehensive database of poets
Dude, that is one big pen.
I’d really like to see the
notepad that goes with it!
and poetry PLUS tools to search for obscure as well as famous poets and poems.
Worth a look!
 www.ehow.com/how_2045044_write-poetry.html - Stumped as to how to start writ-
ing a poem? Try some of the 6 suggestions they post to get you started and at least
thinking poetry...
 www.poetrymagic.co.uk/approaches.html - Another great “simple steps to writing
Sources:
 www.types-of-poetry.org.uk/
 www.poemofquotes.com/
articles/poetry_forms.php
 www.kyrene.k12.az.us/
schools/brisas/sunda/poets/
poetry2.htm
poetry”, though some of the suggestions can be slightly difficult if you are a beginner...but again worth just reading through.
Types of Poetry/Poetic Devices
Did you know that there are 55 types of poetry? Well I didn’t…
So the following is a list of the top ones we all know, plus some added entries
that we didn’t know. So enjoy! We’ve listed the more well-known ones but feel
free to visit www.poemofquotes.com/articles/poetry_forms.php for more info.
Ballad—A poem that tells a story similar to a folk tail or legend which often has a
repeated refrain.
55 types of poems?
Really? No way!
Really? The real question is “Why do I
care?”...
Concrete—Also known as "size poetry". Concrete poetry uses typographical arrangements to display an element of the poem. This can either be through rearrangement of letters of a word or by arranging the words as a shape.
Elegy—A sad and thoughtful poem about the death of an individual.
Epic—An extensive, serious poem that tells the story about a heroic figure.
Free verse (vers libre) - Poetry written in either rhyme or unrhymed lines that
have no set fixed metrical pattern.
Haiku—A Japanese poem composed of three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and
five morae, usually containing a season word.
Iambic pentameter - One short syllabel followed by one long one five sets in a
row. Example: la-LAH la-LAH la-LAH la-LAH la-LAH
Limerick—A short sometimes vulgar, humorous poem consisting of five anapestic
lines. Lines 1, 2, and 5 have seven to ten syllables, rhyme and have the same verbal
rhythm. The 3rd and 4th lines have five to seven syllables, rhyme and have the
same rhythm.
Continued...
MARKHAMPUBLICLIBRARY.CA
Narrative—A poem that tells a story.
Continued...
Ode—A lengthy lyric poem typically of a serious or meditative nature and having an elevated style and formal stanza structure.
Petrarchan—A 14-line sonnet consisting of an octave rhyming abbaabba followed by a
sestet of cddcee or cdecde.
Romanticism—A poem about nature and love while having emphasis on the personal experience.
Rhyme—A rhyming poem has the repetition of the same or similar sounds of two or more
words, often at the end of the line.
Shakespearean—A 14-line sonnet consisting of three quatrains of abab cdcd efef followed by a couplet, gg. Shakespearean sonnets generally use iambic pentameter.
Visual—The visual arrangement of text, images, and symbols to help convey the meaning
of the work. Visual poetry is sometimes referred to as a type of concrete poetry.
 Alliteration - The repetition of initial consonant sounds.
 Assonance - The repetition of vowel sounds.
 Imagery - Words or phrases that appeal to any sense or any combination of senses.
 Metaphor - A comparison between two objects with the intent of giving clearer meaning to one of
them. Often forms of the "to be" verb are used, such as "is" or "was", to make the comparison.
 Meter - The recurrence of a pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables.
 Onomatopoeia - The use of words which imitate sound.
 Personification - A figure of speech which endows inanimate objects with human traits or abilities.
 Point-of-view - The author's point-of-view concentrates on the vantage point of the speaker, or
"teller", of the story or poem.
1st person: the speaker is a character in the story or poem and tells it from his/her perspective (uses "I")
3rd person limited: the speaker is not part of the story, but tells about the other characters but limits information about what one character sees and feels.
3rd person omniscient: the speaker is not part of the story, but is able to "know" and describe what all characters are thinking.
 Repetition - the repeating of words, phrases, lines, or stanzas.
 Rhyme - The similarity of ending sounds existing between two words.
 Rhyme scheme - The sequence in which the rhyme occurs. The first end sound is represented as the
letter "a", the second is "b", etc.
 Simile - A comparison between two objects using a specific word or comparison such as "like", "as", or
"than".
 Stanza - a grouping of two or more lines of a poem in terms of length, metrical form, or rhyme scheme.
MARKHAMPUBLICLIBRARY.CA
Page 8
TAG...YOU’RE IT.
Reviews and Ramblings
Movie Review: Red Riding Hood
Star Amanda Seyfried, wonders when Edward will appear to save her from this
mess.
Lured by serendipity and
chance,
Grimacing
So…
By a beautiful woman’s
glance
At something not “Twilight”.
Sauntering off quietly,
Feeling all of eternity,
Apologizing to myself
To a work
Thus ending not quickly,
Just as quietly,
By the auteur of the first
“Twilight”.
Crap that was
For another movie from
the auteur of the first
“Twilight”.
Only but ten short minutes
in,
A choice turned out to be
sin,
Worse than “Twilight”.
Yet mercifully it ends...
The dialogue bereft of substance,
To see work
The characters no deeper
than puddles,
That was nothing like
“Twilight”.
The acting forging no sympathies,
Every fifteen or quarter
hour
And
Sweet slowly melted to
sour,
The direction so amateur
As to insult intelligence.
MARKHAMPUBLICLIBRARY.CA
Final review:
Two words…
EPIC FAIL.
0.5 stars out of 4.
Test your Poetry Knowledge!
1) The iambic pentameter was made famous by
6) What was the longest poem ever written?
A) T.S. Eliot
A) Milton’s “Paradise Lost”
B) Christopher Marlowe
B) Dante’s “Divine Comedy”
C) William Shakespeare
C) Firdausi’s “Shah-nama”
D) Tupac Shakur
D) Shakespeare’s “Lucrece”
2) This poet wrote the now-famous poem “The Raven”
7) Which poet died at the tender age of 25?
A) Walt Whitman
A) Sylvia Plath
B) Samuel Coleridge
B) Dylan Thomas
C) Edgar Allan Poe
C) John Keats
D) Emily Bronte
D) Emily Dickinson
3) An epic poem is a poem
8) Who wrote the controversial poem “Song of Myself”?
A) That is long; a serious poem that tells the story of a heroic figure.
A) Samuel Taylor Coleridge
B) That is similar to a song or ballad.
B) Justin Beiber
C) That is ten beats long, with a couplet or two.
C) W.H. Auden
D) Composed of three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables.
D) Walt Whitman
9) From what poem does the excerpt come from:
4) Which of the following is a form of alliteration?
“Rage, rage against the dying of the light”
A) She’s like the wind.
A) “The Second Coming” by Yeats
B) Lovely ladies look longingly.
B) “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Coleridge
C) The sun winked to the green forest below.
C) “Cantebury Tales” by Chaucer
D) A bird sang a beautiful song of sadness.
D) “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Goodnight” by Thomas
5) A poem that has no rhyme or regular meter is considered:
10) Which famous rapper wrote “Sometimes when I'm
alone / I Cry, / Cause I am on my own. / The tears I cry
are bitter and warm.”
A) a ballad
A) Jay-Z
B) a limerick
B) Kanye West
C) a song
C) Tupac Shakur
D) a free verse
D) Notorious B.I.G.
Answers: 1) C; 2)C; 3) B; 4) B; 5) D; 6) C; 7) C; 8) D; 9) D; 10) C
MARKHAMPUBLICLIBRARY.CA

ge
Thornhill Villa

Unionvile
u!
e have for yo
tw
And see wha
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the latest fiction to your e-reader?
Come into the library and see what
we have to offer or @
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resources/eBooks.asp
Borrow books, DVDs, Blu-Rays,
video games, magazines and music! Reserve items to borrow, and access to dozens of useful e-resources—
for free. Can your credit card do that?
Benefits of a library
card? Let’s see:
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Visit our new library catalogue!
Upcoming Programs for Markham teens
 Essay Writing for Teens
This program focuses on the full process of writing effective essays, developing critical thinking skills
while converting analysis in to words.
 High School French
This course is useful for Grade 8 students who want an early introduction to high school French and
for Grade 9 students who want a refresher course.
 High School Math
This course is suitable for Grade 8 students who want an early introduction to high school math and
for Grade 9 students who just finished taking math and want a refresher course.
 Public Speaking for Teens
Participants will learn strategies for dealing with nervousness in order to become effective communicators.
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york.cioc.ca/volunteer/

Tel:905.513.7977
lage
Markham Vil
Milliken Mills

V o l u n t e e r ?

Everything from school related programs, to health
programs, to fun stuff. Interested? Then visit us at MPL’s
Teen Site @
www.markhampubliclibrary.
ca/programs/teen.asp
t o
es:
great branch
of our
Visit any one
Angus Glen
Teen Programs
for 2011!
H o p i n g
FOR
TEENS!