It seems that we have careened off the edge

of the cliffs of despair.

We are at a point in our lives

where nothing seems real

and everything is just out of reach.

Why can’t we maintain control

of our sanity?

Why do we just sit and watch

hopelessly, as it all crumbles

so slowly and methodically around us?

We have become stagnant,

and at the most pitiful episode

of our time.

We are not a waste of humanity.

We have the dreams,

everyone knows that.

But it seems that’s all we have these days,

just dreams, waiting to be realized.

We have the means, the desire,

the ability to do something better with our lives.

We need only to move forward

one step at a time.

Hope, however,

is where we are left wanting.

My God, it hurts so bad to say it,

even worse to write it.

But it’s true, that is what’s missing.

I happen to know, through my life’s experiences,

that if left with nothing

mankind will strive to adapt and overcome.

My friends, we are there.

The time is now.

We have been stripped of all we once thought valuable

and all we once held dear.

Yet we are not adapting,

and we are certainly not overcoming.

Instead, we are overwhelmed, overpowered,

and smothered with fear.

The fear of hope,

for we have been let down one too many times.

My brothers and sisters,

I ask you to look back at our history,

not just the history of our nation,

but the history of our existence on this planet.

Since the beginning,

man has struggled to endure, fought to survive,

and hoped to improve.

Since the beginning,

man has faced strife,

in war, and in peace,

all the while, hoping to improve.

Since the beginning,

man has created, destroyed, given, and taken,

all for the hope of improvement.

So why is it that now,

in our present state of misery,

with unemployment and homelessness on the rise,

are we hopeless?

Have we not learned from our past

that life is just a cycle,

complete with its crests and its troughs?

Have we not learned from our past

that without hope there is no point?

We all wish to improve our current state,

yet we lack the faith to move forward.

My people, my family,

yes, we are now in a time of great despair,

but we need not be anguished.

Yes, we are now in a time of great hardship,

but we need not be fearful for we need to survive,

and without hope, we will unquestionably lack the will to do just that.

What I ask of you now may sound crazy,

irrational at best,

but then again, our rationality is now in question.

I ask you to not fear the so-called wrath of this recession,

instead, let go.

Let go of all our hard-lined, close-minded, and self-destructive beliefs,

for that is what has led us here.

I ask you to acknowledge that even in chaos,

there is order;

only then will the pattern of life become clear.

I ask that you have faith in humanity

for we have faced worse, and survived.

I ask that you open your hearts

and trust that mankind is generally good.

But most of all,

I ask that you let fate have its way,

for we have, obviously, lost ours.

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1.       Jorge Avino

2.      The Natural Poet

3.      To Inform

4.      As a result of my presentation, my audience will be able to use poetry, whether their own or someone else’s, as a medium for communicating the importance of the environment’s role in our society.

INTRODUCTION

            In a world where gods of steel and glass look down upon concrete savannahs, it’s almost impossible to recall the days of old; when man looked to nature for hope, found medicines to cure just about any illness not in pharmacies and superstores, but in forests and jungles instead.  These are the times where we go about life not worrying about where we’ll get our food, or if we’ll get any at all.  Our days are lost to the ever-powerful dollar and industrialization continues to wreak havoc on our only chance of survival, our only prospect of avoiding extinction.  Efforts are being made worldwide to help thwart this path of self-destruction; however, much of what is said goes unheard.  It is our responsibility, as components of this Earth, to develop a new, more emotive way to educate the world on the dangers of not being environmentally cognizant.  Luckily for us, though, some have already found the key to unlock our cold hearts and remind us that our very existence is dependent on the survival of this planet.  These “naturalists” use poetry to tap into the well of emotions we keep hidden and pull our heartstrings with effective descriptions and subtle nuances to ground us in what is truly real.  As a self-proclaimed poet, I find this to be the most effective way to communicate that which dwells in the spiritual realm and not in the physical.  Emotion is, in fact, the most basic and natural aspect of being human.  Today I will show you how poetry has been used to shed light on a subject that has existed for over two hundred years, the environmental degradation of our home.  By exploring some notable poets and their work, we will see how man’s self-image influences how we interact with our environment, the concept of balance between textual and referential needs, and the use of poetry as an effective medium to bring change.

BODY

I.                   Man and Nature

Ecopoets have existed for quite some time, often called transcendentalists, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau.  These writers viewed the world as such that everything in the world – even a drop of dew – is a microcosm of the universe.  It is this belief that led them to write about nature in a way that many had never experienced before.

A.                Ralph Waldo Emerson

Perhaps the most influential ecopoet of his time was Ralph Waldo Emerson.  He saw the harsh reality of a planet abused and chose to communicate his fear of possible human extinction by reminding us that we, as humans, are the newest addition to the global ecosystem, and the most frail.  In a poem called “Song of Nature”, Emerson begins writing of the universe and how our planet came to be.  He continues by writing how all the Earth’s creations came before mankind.  I specifically chose these two excerpts from the poem as they show the reality that before man was Earth, and after man fades away, Earth still remains. [PP text:  Song of Nature] 

B.                 Henry David Thoreau

A friend of Emerson, Henry David Thoreau believed that nature was the outward sign of inward spirit, and Emerson once stated that this belief expressed the “radical correspondence of visible things and human thought.”  This idea is the foundation that modern day ecopoets will base their poetry on.  Thoreau differed from Emerson, however, in that he depicted the planet as “dead” due to our overindulgence of its resources, whereas Emerson viewed the planet as a permanent entity that instead of “dying,” gets rid of what is harming it.  A great example of this idea that the planet was “dead” was written by Thoreau in a poem called “Epitaph on the World.”  [PP text:  Epitaph]

II.                Textual and Referential Needs

What these poems attempt to do is point out the imbalance that exists between mankind and nature.  But before we can understand how to balance the environmental scale, we need to understand the different needs of humans.  Only then can we determine what we really need and what we can do without. 

A.                Harder Than it Seems

Gary Snyder, a modern day ecopoet, suggests that “one maintains ethical health by balancing the textual and the referential.”  The textual are the imaginative needs of humans for pleasure and the referential are the survival needs of life on Earth. Armed with that knowledge, we can now begin to do away with those little extravagancies that we have all indulged in at one point in our lives.  You know, the drive to the store a couple blocks away, the extra gallon of water wasted when we leave the faucet running while brushing our teeth.  You get the picture.  While this is a fine concept, the problem arises when you try to communicate it to someone.

III.             The Poetic Medium

In order to convince the masses that drastic measures must be taken, you have to make it so that they see the inherent danger of their continued abuse.  Enter sustainable poetry. 

A.                Keeping Humans and Nature Separate

While experts agree “that achieving a sustainable environment depends on changing behavior, such as patterns of production and consumption, the question is how to persuade people to re-examine how they live.”  This is where a carefully and properly written poem can succeed like no other medium can.  Sustainable poetry does not subordinate nature to a superior human perception; instead it treats nature as a separate and equal entity and respects it as a series of ecosystems.  It then becomes clear that these ecosystems sustain every moment of our lives and it becomes impossible to reduce them to nonexistence.  Leonard Scigaj, author of Sustainable Poetry, states that “a sustainable poem is the verbal record of an interactive encounter in the world of our sensuous experience between the human psyche and nature, where nature retains its autonomy.”

B.                 The Voice of Reason

What makes the sustainable poem different from any other poem is that it does not project human fears or aesthetic designs on nature.  Instead it gives nature a voice separate and equal to that of humans.  This is done to create a balance where both humans and nature can survive.  We see a wonderful example of this in Emerson’s “Song of Nature.”  He gives the planet a voice and through this separate and equal voice we see the historical events described from a different perspective.   

CONCLUSION

           When the time comes when food and water are globally rationed and the highly acidic rain caused by years of pollution keep us from going outside, it will be too late.  The Earth will either rebel and cause the extinction of humanity or it will die, which in turn, will also cause the extinction of humanity.  Now is the time to reflect on the words of the great transcendentalist poets.  The written words of these men have served to entertain many, but the true meaning behind their poetry is to inspire – to inspire us to make smart and responsible decisions about our needs.  Now is the time to truly accept that we cannot survive without nature and its complex, yet fragile ecosystems.  Now is the time to reach out and use sustainable poetry to communicate the needs of our planet to its most dangerous inhabitant, us.  [PP text:  Proverb] 

REFERENCES

Suite101.com.  (2008, Feb 28).  Eco-Faith and Sustainability: How Religion and Poetry can Help Save the Planet.  Retrieved March 16, 2009, from http://environmentalism.suite101.com/article.cfm/ecofaith_and_sustainability

Poets,org.  (2009).  “Song of Nature” by Ralph Waldo Emerson.  Retrieved March 17, 2009, from http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15483

Scigaj, Leonard.  (1999).  Sustainable Poetry.  Kentucky:  University Press.

Transcendentalists Home Page.  (2002).  Henry David Thoreau.  Retrieved March 17, 2009, from http://www.transcendentalists.com/1thorea.html

American Transcendentalism Web.  (1999).  Thoreau.  Retrieved March 16, 2009, from http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/authors/thoreau/thoreaupoems.html

Introduction

Hi, my name is Jorge and today I am going to show how important it is to use descriptions in public speaking.  There are three definitions to the word description.  One is – the act of describing; a delineation by marks or signs.  Another definition is – a class to which a certain representation is applicable.  And finally the last definition is – a sketch or account of anything in words; a portraiture or representation in language.  This last definition is the one that pertains to us.  Brandon, would you please join me up here for a minute?  OK, thank you.  Brandon, I have someone I would like to hook you up with.  Can you pick her up at 7:00 tonight?  Now before you answer I would like to let the audience know that this scenario is likely to be different depending on how desperate Brandon is, but let’s assume for the sake of argument that Brandon is not desperate at all.  Alright, back to my question.  Brandon, would you take her out tonight?  (Assume Brandon says no)  Of course not.  He doesn’t know anything about her; what she looks like, her personality, nothing.  Now let’s try this using the power of description.  Brandon, I have this bombshell of a friend, man.  She looks like a playboy bunny, has an impressive level of intelligence, she cooks like a gourmet chef, and she LOVES to sail.  She’s single and she wanted to know if I had any single friends that would show her a nice time.  What do you say, Brandon, will you call her?  Of course you will.  Thank you, Brandon.  Give Brandon a round of applause.  You see, Brandon was much more willing to call my friend after I gave him a good description of her.  Without that, he was left to his own imagination which may underestimate or overestimate the reality.  That being said, I will discuss the types of description used in speech and how tone affects whether or not your description works.

Body

1.      Types of descriptions and when to use them.

There are two types of descriptions and learning when to use them is vital

a.      Subjective description.

 This is when one provides their personal view when describing something or someone.  It is meant to elicit a strong reaction or create an impression.  In the example I showed, with Brandon’s help, the description of my friend was subjective.  I chose specific words that I knew would invoke a certain reaction from Brandon.  This type of description is perfectly suited for persuasion purposes.

b.      Objective description.

This strategy relates facts, is straightforward, and should be free from bias.  It should not reveal your attitude towards the subject.  This type of description lends itself to technical subjects and reporting.  I am going to read for you a short excerpt from a 1968 Christmas Eve message from Apollo 8, in orbit around the moon.

 “The horizon here is very, very stark.  The sky is pitch black and the moon is quite light, and the contrast between the sky and the moon is a vivid dark line.  The sky up here is also an…expanse of blackness with no stars visible when flying over the moon in the daylight.” 

This describes quite eloquently what they were seeing without any personal influence.  This is a perfect example of objective description.

2.      The Importance of Tonality

a.      Now, in order to be effective when using descriptions, it is important to note that tonality is the thread that weaves it all together.  If you just throw out a bunch of descriptions without any sense of direction, then your message will fall on deaf ears.  The tone of our voice is the music of the spoken word.  The emotions you choose to summon from your audience directly dictate the tone that should be used.  This simply translates to “Feel what you say.”  I will now read to you a descriptive paragraph that encompasses all the elements of description.  Note the importance of tone and what emotions are awakened as you listen.

“My most valuable possession is an old, slightly warped blond guitar–the first instrument I taught myself how to play. It’s nothing fancy, just a Madeira folk guitar, all scuffed and scratched and finger-printed. At the top is a bramble of copper-wound strings, each one hooked through the eye of a silver tuning key. The strings are stretched down a long, slim neck, its frets tarnished, the wood worn by years of fingers pressing chords and picking notes. The body of the Madeira is shaped like an enormous yellow pear, one that was slightly damaged in shipping. The blond wood has been chipped and gouged to gray, specifically where the pick guard fell off years ago. No, it’s not a beautiful instrument, but it still lets me make music, and for that I will always treasure it.”

Conclusion

            Now, in my speech I have taught you the two different types of description and their application methods, but remember that without proper tone, the audience will see you as nothing more than Charlie Brown’s teacher – mwah, mwah, mwah.  So keep in mind that descriptions in speeches act as the paint on canvas.  The topic of your speech is the sketch while the descriptions are the color, and finally, the tone you choose brings it to life.  The life it leads may be short-lived or perpetual and that depends solely on what you feed it. 

Thank you very much for your time.  I’ll now attempt to answer any questions.

http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=7&hid=109&sid=1d5ef7f6-53cc-45a9-b9b2-39a0c0135e69%40sessionmgr108&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=8868533

http://grammar.about.com/od/developingparagraphs/a/samdescpars.htm