Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.
- Why do you think Forché went to the colonel's house in the first place? What did she expect?
- Are poems about a specific event limited by their timeliness? Is this poem as important to readers today as it was during El Salvador's Civil War? Why might this poem continue to be relevant?
- Why write this poem in a block of prose, rather than with line breaks, as most poems have? What effect does the form have on the impact?
- If this were pure invention, not true at all, would that decrease the poem's value?
- What is the best way to commemorate those killed in political purges like this one?
- Why is this poem taught in so many high schools? What does it teach students about the possibilities of poetry?