Journalist lawyer-politician Albert Pike began writing poetry soon after his arrival in the Territory in 1832. In more recent years, John Gould Fletcher of Little Rock won the Pulitzer Prize in 1938 for his poetry. Maya Angelou, who grew up in Stamps, is widely celebrated for her poems. Fayetteville resident Miller Williams delivered the presidential inaugural poem in 1997. Arkansas poetry provides an interesting framework with which to study Arkansas.
Most writers derive their inspiration from their surroundings.
List their ideas on the board. Encourage them to name possible locations. Then, if no one identifies the correct location, name the author and the poem and help them see the clues to the poem. Discuss what a muse is. Divide the class into five groups.