Talk:Poems on Slavery

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment
This article is or was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Aporter90.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 02:27, 18 January 2022 (UTC)

Prolegomena
Dr Aaij, who do I need to become friends with to make sure my article is all nice and neat? I am sure Ed will find my new topic quite boring! --Aporter90 (talk) 22:17, 10 April 2017 (UTC)
 * Ed doesn't know what he's talking about. He's a young man, he'll improve. Let me think on this. Dr Aaij (talk) 13:53, 11 April 2017 (UTC)
 * OK, the first thing you need is a ton of content, more than you have right now. You got some books, which is great, but "longfellow poems on slavery" on JSTOR is a goldmine, and I don't see any of the hits that I get listed in your article. What are the titles of the poems? Is "The Warning" one of them? Shouldn't you discuss the fact that in that poem he compares a slave to the biblical Samson, in a supposedly Christian society in which many thought that slavery was allowed if not mandated by their god? You're working on the reception history--how did black publications and scholars read these poems? Isn't that important? (Rhetorical question: start .) JSTOR has a ton of good stuff, including reviews of scholarship which will help you pick more better books and write a more complete background. Until you have (more) material, there's really not much to clean up. But you got a great topic--now get on it. Dr Aaij (talk) 14:07, 11 April 2017 (UTC)
 * What of his relationship with Charles Sumner? Dr Aaij (talk) 14:08, 11 April 2017 (UTC)
 * Dr Aaij, I know I've got more to work on! I have two pages front and back of notes that I have yet to put into my article, I am just slow at typing it up....very slow.... :) --Aporter90 (talk) 20:34, 11 April 2017 (UTC)
 * Dr Aaij, should Charles Sumner have his own spot or should he be a subheading? I feel like I keep hitting a brick wall, I am trying not to sound like an essay. This is much harder than doing some dead guys bib. --Aporter90 (talk) 22:41, 12 April 2017 (UTC)
 * If Sumner is, one way or another, relevant to the poems' genesis, write him into a "Background" section. I haven't read the article, so I don't know what to say--that's your job! Dr Aaij (talk) 17:27, 13 April 2017 (UTC)

Sorry for the delay. Why in the love of all that is holy would you pick poetry? ;-) A couple thoughts.
 * "" – you're presuming that the reader knows why Longfellow was out at sea. Could use a bit more context.
 * What were the poems like—can you summarize them, broadly speaking? (I don't think individual summaries are needed; they'd overwhelm the article.) Were they pro- or anti-slavery? Are there any particular passages that critics have quoted?
 * I hunted down a poem featured article that might give you some ideas related to that second bullet point (but please don't think I'm asking you to add thousands words here or something! Just for ideas.) Ed [talk] [majestic titan] 05:26, 13 April 2017 (UTC)
 * Oops, forgot to ping ya . Ed [talk] [majestic titan] 05:26, 13 April 2017 (UTC)
 * Ed, I see some excellent edits from 2014 in there, with a nice allusion in one of the edit summaries... Look at who brought the article up to GA and then FA--remember? Dr Aaij (talk) 17:30, 13 April 2017 (UTC)
 * I don't know what you could ever be referring to. ;-) Ed [talk] [majestic titan] 20:58, 16 April 2017 (UTC)
 * Ed, I was actually thinking of someone who got banned in 2009 but is now back. :) Dr Aaij (talk) 20:50, 29 April 2017 (UTC)
 * Huh. Had no idea that they had been unblocked. Ed [talk] [majestic titan] 05:37, 4 May 2017 (UTC)
 * Ed, the secret ArbCom cabal must have handled it, with little fanfare, since there is a high risk of baiting. Allegedly. Dr Aaij (talk) 14:30, 4 May 2017 (UTC)
 * Ed, I wondered the same thing too...why poetry?! But in all honesty I like Longfellow and I also was trying to beat Dr Aaij to the punch! lol I do believe I have bitten off more than I can chew! --Aporter90 (talk) 02:38, 15 April 2017 (UTC)
 * That can happen. Just remember that Wikipedia will never be finished. :-) Ed [talk] [majestic titan] 20:58, 16 April 2017 (UTC)

Comments
, a few quick comments--I may have more after I read it more carefully. a. the lede needs expansion: surely you want to discuss the subject matter of these poems. b. when he sailed to England, he was on his way to a very abolitionism-minded country; surely this played out one way or another in his conversations etc. I really think you should include some political background--and at the least provide the proper link to the peculiar institution. c. I don't see anything on how these poems are regarded today. Are they still read? Are they in print? Have they been published in a critical edition? And if so, why? What was the impetus? Or is there no modern interest in it at all? Are they good poems? Are they good political poems? Etc. And when you've done that, you have given yourself an opportunity to expand the lead some more, and make it 150 years long, instead of one moment. Plus you probably have DYK hook material. Good luck! Dr Aaij (talk) 22:51, 25 April 2017 (UTC)
 * "Political views" isn't for this article, though somewhere, early on, you should make it clear that Longfellow was an abolitionist. I made some small edits: look at the edit summaries. Dr Aaij (talk) 23:06, 25 April 2017 (UTC)
 * Dr Aaij, ok....(goes and cry in the corner) --Aporter90 (talk) 00:49, 26 April 2017 (UTC)
 * Why cry? Article improvement is a good thing. Dr Aaij (talk) 03:44, 26 April 2017 (UTC)

Publication
, I don't understand what's happening in the publication section. I'm reading the Harris article, and that is much clearer than your article. What was in the 30-page pamphlet? It can't have been just these poems. And I see now that there was a request to reprint in the anti-slavery tracts, and I assume that's where the problem with that one poem was brought up? So--how many times were these poems published and republished, and were they always together, all eight of them? Dr Aaij (talk) 20:49, 29 April 2017 (UTC)
 * Dr Aaij, All I read about being put in the pamphlet was the poems. And yes they were republished but I never saw if it was all 8 or not. --Aporter90 (talk) 01:24, 30 April 2017 (UTC)
 * Dr Aaij, ok so I added some more things. I hope this will suffice. I think I might need help with the "common meter" and all that jazz at the bottom. --Aporter90 (talk) 04:15, 30 April 2017 (UTC)
 * Dr Aaij, one last thing....is it to late for the DYK and is it even good enough? --Aporter90 (talk) 04:22, 30 April 2017 (UTC)
 * No, yes. Dr Aaij (talk) 02:49, 1 May 2017 (UTC)


 * OK, proofread one more time. "This poem is sunken ship of slaves as a witness to the slave trade" is not acceptable English. The problem with the lead, I noted that last week already--time to fix it. Etc. :) Dr Aaij (talk) 03:06, 1 May 2017 (UTC)

Dr Aaij, ok so I added some more things and I fixed my unacceptable Engllish for "This poem is sunken ship of slaves as a witness to the slave trade". --Aporter90 (talk) 16:55, 1 May 2017 (UTC)
 * Right on. Dr Aaij (talk) 20:27, 1 May 2017 (UTC)
 * Dr Aaij, I also did a few cpoyedits on some other articles too. --Aporter90 (talk) 22:44, 1 May 2017 (UTC)
 * I know--and I did a copyedit in the grade book. Oh, I told people about your donuts. I will not forget those easily. Dr Aaij (talk) 01:49, 2 May 2017 (UTC)
 * Dr Aaij, Thank you! Well if the lit class makes it for the summer semester I'll bring you some more donuts! :) --Aporter90 (talk) 02:10, 2 May 2017 (UTC)

Lead
LadyoShalott, Does the lead meet your requirements to take the tag off? --Aporter90 (talk) 02:15, 2 May 2017 (UTC)
 * It's gone, Aporter. Thanks, Dr Aaij (talk) 14:31, 4 May 2017 (UTC)