The Art of Description: Welcome to The Terrordome

I once taught a course called “What’s a Canon?” and for the final assignment, each student created a literary Canon and defended his/her/she/him/them choices.  I told them this was a final assignment I had done and never forgotten in an undergrad history course at CUNY Hunter College. In preparation for each class, I printed copies of every poem we discussed for my students to mark up—the way I had been taught—so they would never be afraid to get involved with the content. I told them to write on the copies during the class discussions too. I let them know on the first day this would be their final assignment so they could prepare for it. Twice a week we discussed classic and modern poetry and other. 

I  asked my students to make clear choices: “What other kinds of poetry—rap, slam poetry, and others—do you feel should be part of this canon?” They contributed with the kind of enthusiasm a teacher could only hope for.  It was the poetry.  I know that for certain. If I say that poetry counts as high cognitive learning I hope it makes you squirm.

This country is in deep trouble if schools are forced to quit teaching poetry in all grades, and the kids, students know it. That’s the truly sad part of it.

The classes on Welcome to the Terrordome by Public Enemy are profoundly memorable. We had copies of the text—a discussion that carried over for two classes—and we listened to the song version several times paying careful attention to the beat, rhyme, half sentences, missing words.

I asked this question: “Does this count as poetry?” and well, I’m just going to say if you are a teacher try this assignment. 

The poet Mark Doty once described his vocation as: “It’s what I do, the nature of my attention, the signature of my selfhood: finding words!”  

Doty meant to include my students too, as they struggled to interpret classic and new poetry, and ultimately described clearly and brilliantly what Chuck D meant by, for example, “Raw metaphysically bold, never followed a code/Still dropped a load” meant. They told me during office hours they knew what he meant, but they had to write, re-write, and re-write what they thought he meant to get there. And then they got there. 

I am so grateful for having my students show me what teachers need to know.

That’s why education can’t work unless a student is permitted to learn in the same way other students get to learn (equity) and understand how to write about things that matter to them (social-emotional, Black history, poetry, music, art, dance, film, for example). That’s why Welcome to the Terrordome works as art for so many.  

Here’s the book I quoted from and I highly recommend it if you need someone to explain to you what’s at stake for writers.