<\/p>\n
After you have watched the film, you may want to discuss your reactions and ask others what they are thinking.\u00a0 Try a few of these questions to get the discussion going.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Where do you think Martin gets his inspiration for his work?\u00a0 How does he prepare for performances?\u00a0 How does he use his audience’s responses as part of his own writing?<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
How did Martin and Paul Laurence Dunbar “meet”?\u00a0 How and why have they worked together over the years?\u00a0 How has HWM introduced PLD to us in special ways?<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Discuss how you feel when you hear Martin perform.\u00a0 What are the values and impact of his work for you?\u00a0 How do you think he reaches people in special ways?\u00a0 What do you think he cares about most in the world?<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Look into some of the places Martin has lived.\u00a0 What were his parents like?\u00a0 How did the places, events, and people he encountered shape his life and works?<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Martin was a student at the University of Toledo and now one of their “most distinguished alumni.”\u00a0 Look up his Collected Papers at the UT Library Canaday Center.\u00a0 What does a writer’s collection of a lifetime tell us about his beliefs, goals, and achievements?<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Which of Martin’s own works and his performances of Dunbar do you enjoy most and why?\u00a0 Try reading some of them out loud yourself. \u00a0Does watching and listening to Martin make you want to perform yourself?<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Research some of the operas and plays Martin has written and performed in.\u00a0 How do you think his roles in theater and music became major ingredients in his poetry and performance?<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
What do you feel Martin means when he says poets often get “too close to the truth”?\u00a0 What does he mean when he says we cannot tell the dancer from the dance?<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Research some of the other accomplished artists interviewed in the movie (Nikki Giovanni, Naomi Long Madgett, and Bing Davis).\u00a0 What do they identify for us about Martin’s achievements?<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Discuss your feelings about meeting Martin’s family in the movie and entering his home.\u00a0 How do you feel his personal life and his life as a writer and performer influence each other?<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
What role does “the divine” play in Martin’s work?\u00a0 Where does he find it?\u00a0 Where does he express it?<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0Martin has written and performed for over four decades.\u00a0 How did his work contribute to–or go against the grain of–various literary movements from the 1970s to the present?<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
After you have watched the film, you may want to discuss your reactions and ask others what they are thinking.\u00a0 Try a few of these questions to get the discussion going. \u00a0 Where do you think Martin gets his inspiration for his work?\u00a0 How does he prepare for performances?\u00a0 How does he use his audience’s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-48","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jumpbackhoney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/48","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jumpbackhoney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jumpbackhoney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jumpbackhoney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jumpbackhoney.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=48"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/jumpbackhoney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/48\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50,"href":"https:\/\/jumpbackhoney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/48\/revisions\/50"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jumpbackhoney.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=48"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}