British Literature Survey
Poetry Recordings: Assignment Guidelines

Poetry Recordings
Purpose: to interpret poems dramatically--to bring them to life
Audience: your peers
Foci: dynamism; articulation; appropriate inflection, pauses, etc.


Instructions

Turning in a recording of your poem(s) alone will earn you 1 pt. If you want a higher grade, you'll need to work for it. I recommend the following . . .

Read your poem quietly a few times, takes notes on it, research it, read it again, reflect on it, read it to a friend, write out parts of it, dissect it, mention it in your next Path 2 essay, stick it under your pillow at night, look at it while eating, recite parts of it in the shower, send a copy of it to your mother, read it again.

Then record yourself reading it, about 5-7 days before the recording is due. Make sure no unwanted background noise gets captured (page-turning, roommate snoring, etc.).

A couple days later, listen to yourself and take notes on what could have been done better. Have your friends listen to it and comment on it.

Then read it aloud a few more times, and record.

Repeat until perfect.

Turn in to me on a CD, in MP3 format on Wed, Feb 22 (just put it in the slot on my office door if I'm not there).

Logistics

You may use whatever program works for you, but choose something which can export sound files in .mp3 format (not just .wav, which is much larger). One option is Audacity--you'll also need to download the program and the supplementary LAME MP3 encoder which will allow you to export your work in .mp3 format (or AAC format), or else use iTunes.

For PC Users: Using Audacity and I-Tunes to Record Your Poem(s)
1) Download and then open Audacity
2) Record your poem and save the project. Remember to save EACH poem as a SEPARATE sound file.
3) With Audacity still open, choose “file” and then “export as WAV”
4) Export your file to your Desktop
5) Your next step is pulling your WAV file into I-Tunes, which can be done one of two ways:
a. Drag and drop the file directly into I-Tunes, or
b. Right-click on the file, choose “open with,” and select “I-Tunes.”
6) Either of these previous two steps will copy your file into I-Tunes itself. At this point, your file is still a WAV file.
7) Find your file in I-Tunes, click once (not twice) on it to select it (but not play it)
8) Click on the “Advanced” option at the top of I-Tunes and select the “Convert Selection to MP3” option.
9) This will create an MP3 of your file, at which point you will have TWO files with the same name in I-Tunes, one which is still a WAV file, and a new one which is an MPEG (same as “MP3”) file.
10) To distinguish between the two files, you’ll need to open I-Tunes wide enough that you can see each file’s extension—this is visible in the “Kind” column to the far right (well past “Artist,” “Album,” etc.)
11) Drag this MPEG file into a new Playlist, and burn onto a CD
12) Hand in to me!!

For Mac Users: Using Garageband and I-Tunes to Record Your Poem(s)
1) go to “Track” and choose “new track”
2) choose “real instrument,” then “vocals,” then “no effects,” and “channel 1” or “channel 2” for input and then hit “create.”
To export file as MP3
1) choose “file” and then “export to I-Tunes”
1) Find your file in I-Tunes, click once (not twice) on it to select it (but not play it)
2) Click on the “Advanced” option at the top of I-Tunes and select the “Convert Selection to MP3” option.
3) This will create an MP3 of your file, at which point you will have TWO files with the same name in I-Tunes, one which is still a AAC file, and a new one which is an MPEG (same as “MP3”) file.
4) To distinguish between the two files, you’ll need to open I-Tunes wide enough that you can see each file’s extension—this is visible in the “Kind” column to the far right (well past “Artist,” “Album,” etc.)
5) Drag this MPEG file into a new Playlist, and burn onto a CD
6) Hand in to me!!

Paul Marchbanks
marchban@email.unc.edu