I am once again appealing to the amazing book blogging community for help with one of my English Literature degree projects! For my course on Modern & Contemporary poetry, I am collating an anthology that explores the link between poems and popular culture.
Think writing that tackles central issues in popular culture: the Bechdel test in films, cringe-inducing prejudiced ads, POC rep (or lack of) on TV, bad video games featuring women with over-developed cleavage and under-developed character arcs, body image in the music industry, and, of course, diversity in books!!! You catch my drift.
Does one of your favourite poems deal with popular culture? Or maybe you’re even a poet who’s written something that suits this theme? The anthology will not be published at this stage due to copyright limitations but I’m happy to give your work exposure on my blog to say thank you.
You can share any ideas by commenting below, or drop me a message through the contact page if you would prefer. I’m really looking forward to reading any poems you come up with!
OffBeatBooks 
Hi Florence,
This is a wonderful idea and I wish you best of luck with your degree project.
I do have a poem for you, “Right to Life”.
May daughter, Lysandra, wrote it two years ago. “Right to Life” received the 2017 Renee Duke Youth Award Sponsored by Poets for Human Rights and was included on Poets for Human Rights subscription list.
The poem is also included in my daughter’s debut poetry book 🙂
Perhaps you will consider it.
Lysandra hold full rights and she is now over 18 years of age 🙂
RIGHT TO LIFE by Lysandra Furstenberg
“Think about it…
How many stories in your LIFETIME have you heard,
About someone who has
Committed suicide,
Held captive,
Tortured,
Killed?
How many stories have you heard?
One, two, five stories?
We all have heard about one or another story that follows along these paths,
But have you heard about someone who was captivated emotionally,
Or worse; spiritually?
How many stories have you heard?
In our generation, we have this bad habit of
Concealing,
Forgetting,
Ignoring,
The pain that digs deep inside us and
Tortures,
Breaks,
Scars,
Our hearts, our minds, our souls.
How many stories have you heard?
Do you remember William, or Casper, even George?
No?
Don’t you remember making fun of
Willie, Casper the friendly ghost and Georgie Porgie?
Well, they certainly remember, if they are even still alive right now.
Oh, and if any of you are reading this right now, congratulations.
I applaud the content that you had, to just simply exist, you deserve it more than anyone else, even the favorite one.
And if any of you bullies have suddenly remembered, don’t worry,
You’re still special.
Everyone is,
Even the quiet girl that you never hear a word out of,
Even the guy who’s always dressed in black
And yes, even the girl who never eats, but is as thin as a golden leaf.
Now, this is no story, it’s all true, even though we all keep
Concealing,
Forgetting,
Ignoring,
The facts, the things that
Tortures,
Breaks,
Scars,
Our hearts, our minds, our souls.
But we are all more than these
Rumors,
Stories,
Lies,
We are all so much more.
Have you ever felt simply…
Alive?
In awe?
Amazed?
Have you ever felt that you were
On the top of the world?
That nothing could bring you down?
Well, if you haven’t,
You deserve it,
You deserve to live your life of freedom,
You deserve to follow YOUR dreams, YOUR wishes, YOUR heart.
You deserve to be that person that is
Happy,
Content,
Confident,
Alive,
Because that, my friends, is TRULY living.”
Thank you, Florence 🙂
Best wishes. xx
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Thank you so much for sending me this Patricia! What a powerful and inspiring poem and it fits the theme perfectly. I will create a blog post once the project is finished and make sure I promote the included poems. Is there a particular link/links e.g. to Lysandra’s poetry book that you would like me to add? Your daughter is very talented, you must be proud! X x x
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Thank you soooo much, Florence 🙂
Oh, I am very, very proud! And happy for her as she discovered what makes her happy 🙂
Here is a universal link to her book on Amazon:
https://getbook.at/RightLife
If you need extra info closer to the time, let me know.
Best of luck with your degree project. When is it due?
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Lovely, thank you for sending the link Patricia! It’s due 6 June (I’m not panicking!!) and then it will take another 3-4 weeks before it is marked, after which I will write the promotional blog post X x x
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