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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72" style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'>Critiques for Group-2-4-27-23 <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>1. Joan’s piece: <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p style='margin:0in;text-align:justify;line-height:200%'>A piece that deplores the madness of our 21<sup>st</sup> century world. Beginning with the insurrection, mass shootings which are just now part of our culture and phony Nazi lunatics spouting patriotism. However, three things stand in the face of all the negative forces. Goodness, Longing and a whispering voice that feeds our fragile feelings of hope. These are things we must hold onto, in order to even maintain the following: “<span style='font-size:18.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>sweet and sad and urgent leading us to a place of deep dark peace.” A starkly real poem about hanging onto hope.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align=center style='margin:0in;text-align:center;line-height:200%'><span style='font-size:18.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>***<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;text-align:justify;line-height:200%'><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>2. Leonard’s piece:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>A poem where Leonard describes the struggle to fly in the face of family culture, Faith and custom, by pursuing a potential marital relationship with a woman of different cultural and spiritual beliefs. Though it is specific, it seems to address powerful and yet antiquated social conventions that inhibit and impede the desires of individual’s. There are two choices: to hold with convention or put it aside and go forward with what one believes is right and true. Shades of Romeo and Juliette. In line two: “<span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:106%;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'>For it seemed, in my enfeeble mind” would work better as: “to my enfeebled mind.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:106%;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'>Leonard captures his sense of uncertainty quite effectively.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:106%;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'>***<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:106%;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:106%;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'>3. Alice’s piece: <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:106%;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:106%;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'>A tribute to well over 26 types of poems. Alice nicely covers specific poetic forms, memories, family, celebrations nature and even “</span>Under-rated poems that should be published” to mention just a few. The sincere love of virtually all types of poetry comes through very strongly. A very appealing poem for National Poetry Month!<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'>***<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>4. Dawn’s piece:<span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:106%;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:106%;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:106%;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'> A vividly descriptive piece of creative nonfiction. It manages to cover: an intriguing old house of a friend, close friendships, a nicely backfiring prank, the sometime diverging paths that previously close friends take, growing up Gay in NJ in the late 60s and 70s and the later Aids epidemic. The author makes her presence strongly felt in this piece. It held this reader’s interest and ignited the desire to hear more of the story. Two pages+ that seemingly effortlessly create an easy mind-movie to step into. </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>