Like most people say, “Poetry is meant to be heard” and I agree with that saying. However, that’s where it usually stops for me. I like listening to people recite their poetry, but I am not a big fan as far as analyzing poetry or writing my own poetry. However, after those fun exercises we did in class, I like “creating” my own poetry. Poetry is very complicated and powerful, which is why there are only a select group of people that can do it well. Through the poetry assignments that we have done in class, I found that there are similarities between writing about poetry and writing poetry. Both exercises focus on poetry and both require a revising process. They both require you to use poetic devices, but in different ways. On one hand, when we are writing about poetry, we have to read someone else’s poetry and interpret the ideas behind it. On the other hand, when we are writing our own poetry, we have to portray our ideas through clever ways. It is a little like a hide and seek game. When we are writing about poetry, we are seeking for the meaning of the poem and building that meaning line by line. When we are writing our own poetry, we are conveying the meaning in a more discrete way using poetic devices to “hide” the meaning.
Writing about poetry informed my own poetry because after being able to interpret the meaning of other poetry by analyzing the type of poetic devices a poet used, I was able to learn how the poet used the poetic devices and I made attempts to use the devices in my poetry. Writing my own poetry informed the way I wrote about poetry because now I am able to understand the thought process a poet undergoes when trying to convey some type of meaning through poetic devices in the poet’s poetry.
I really enjoyed the poetic experience we had in class. From this experience I learned that poetry does not have to be a terrifying, uncomfortable experience for students. Poetry can actually be a fun and humbling experience. I felt that the poetry writing exercises we did in class (“wrecking the first person” and the “found poem”) are good exercises to introduce students, especially middle school and high school students, to poetry. These exercises can help ease in students into poetry and, hopefully, show them that poetry is fun. I will definitely use these exercises in my classroom.
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Hello Gustavo,
ReplyDeleteI can tell you that I enjoy hearing people recite poetry. I think it is beautiful to visualize and just listen to the words. When it comes to analyzing, I can honestly say that I’m not a fan. I thought that creating my own poetry was fun and not as bad as I thought. I think that the guidelines that Professor Clark gave us helped me not feel so overwhelmed. I just followed the rules and started creating magic :) I think that if I was focusing on making sure that things rhymed, and that there were certain syllables to a line I would have felt horrified. I think this would have taken away from my creativity. I think it takes a certain type of person to be able to say what they want, but make it sound beautiful by using metaphors and different poetic devices. I loved the Wrecking the First Person and Found poems. I think that this will be great for our students in the future. This will take away the pressure for them and they will just feel like having fun.
Hi Gustavo!
ReplyDeleteLet me start by saying that i was very much like you and i did not like writing my own poetry. I am not really the type to express myself through written words, but i think that the exercise Dr. Clark gave us was really helpful too. I can see how you would give this exercise to junior high and high school students because it is was really fun and i liked that not everyone had the same outcome. It is interesting to see how everyone has their own opinions when it comes to writing their own poetry. I think that writing poetry takes time and i feel that in the end the result is worth all of the hard work:)
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ReplyDeleteHola!
ReplyDeleteWell I have to agree with you when you say that the poetry assignments in class made poetry less scary. Although they gave us a structure that we had to follow, I felt they also gave us a lot of freedom. The assignments were pretty easy and gave us the chance to get our thoughts, ideas, and personalities out on the page. I think what makes poetry scary is having to try and measure up to the masters. We are forced to use all the literary devices. Since that is something easier said than done, we get scared and ultimately back away from poetry. I agree that this would be a great way to introduce kids to poetry, especially the found poem. It's a great way to get their imaginations running. I guess kids have to see that poetry is a lot more of a personal experience than it is a structured requirement. If they learn that it is about them and their creativity they’ll really get into it.