A New Expression

When I started this class I took it because I was fond of poetry but not educated in poetry. I loved the set up of this class. We didn't spend the entire time listening to a professor talk and never implementing the techniques we were being taught. Every class we learned and tried a technique I feel like we definitely got a taste of all types of poetry. I feel that workshop is when I learned the most. Sometimes when you write you know what you're talking and forget to portray in depth to the audience and so other people views can pin point those spots as well as show you what they feel are some of your strongest lines. After a workshop I always took note on what people were interested in as some of my best lines and I would take those lines and create a new poem, trying to follow the style I may have used in those few lines or the imagery. I feel in this short amount of time I have acquired such a wealth in knowledge in poetry.

ReRighting the definition of Bad

Sometimes the only way a person can truly understand anything is to experience it. The reason for wanting to understand isn't fully clear to me but we've all got to get somewhere somehow and sometimes it takes a million and one days and ten times the number of mistakes. 'Is it Love for your fellow man? or control of other hands..' She lost. all her hair the clothing she loves to wear .. all of her despair in a blink. all because of another's glare. she'll give you a reason to stare. the voice she took forgranted and the sight too well depended and the taste of sweetness once shared. she tried too hard to define the lines between mind and time only to find she must throw it all away the laws and cars she'd rather dance for the stars what is deemed unfit to write the true content of a life when you question all that's 'right' what is left? everyone's got to find some piece of mind would you rather see what they tell you to be or that smiling eye of defiance all your own yet all for the whole and what is the beauty of life giving everything you have or being told you have nothing to give ?

Final thoughts

I am not sure how anyone else feels about the class but this was my favorite class, although it wasn't a hard decision. When I first entered this class I knew nothing about about poetry besides what I learned in gradeschool. I knew nothing about poetry language, and first day of class when we did our reflections I couldn't even name one poet. I took the class because I like to write in my free time which sadly isn't very often. I now know how to expand on my poems and not just create simple little end stop rhyming poems. Also having to read collections was a lot cooler than I thought it would be. I was expecting it to be just a boring assignment but once I actually sat down to read the collections I couldn't put them down. I had never been on or used a blog before so even this was a new experince.

Bukowski's Fire Station

The more modern collection of poetry that I read for our class presentation was by Charles Bukowski. Many of his poems are about or contain references to alcohol, smoking, gambling and sex. Very entertaining stuff to read, although except for the form I am confused on why some of his work is even refered to as poetry. Most of them are just written down thoughts and experiences. Almost storytelling. But still an excellent read for anyone that has some extra time on their hands.I read part of his poem "Fire Station" in class and have attached a youtube reading of the poem by Bukowski himself for anyone who wants to know how the poem ended. Very comical. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yalRn12UzSQ

A Puzzle

I seem to be stuck lately when it comes to finishing a poem. I find myself half way through and paying too much attention to details or being too critical of what I've written. I find if I treat my poems like puzzles it tends to help a bit. So, I find if I take the pieces of my unfinished poems and combine them with pieces of other poems that I couldn't finish I can create a new poem without focusing on being so critical. It can often strengthen the connections between stanzas because the ties are going to be one of the most important factors because the stanzas may not flow as easily because they are from different poems. Sometimes we can get so wrapped up in focusing on details of the poem or form of a poem that we create a writer's block. I'm not by any means dismissing form and detail because both are very important. The next time you get stuck though try making it into a puzzle.

Poetry in the Movies

Sometimes I feel like poetry is a lost art in some ways. It gets lost in the shuffle amongst other forms of art such as music and movies. It seems like many people just don't even bother to read anymore. The other day I came across the movie, "Dead Poets Society", and it really made me think about how some movies have brought back classic poets and poetry and sort of revived them in a way. Some of these movies have really inspired me to get back in touch with my creative side and to get back into writing more poetry like I had in the past. These films bring the poets alive and make people interested which is great.

Before watching "Il Postino" years ago, I had no idea who Pablo Neruda was. After watching the film I was really moved by the story as well as Neruda's work. The same goes for Shakespeare's work which I always hated reading because of the language and how confusing it was. Watching movies based on his work such as "Shakespeare in Love" really opened my eyes to the language more and helped me understand it. I feel like more types of these films should be made to get people more in touch with poetry and writing. I would love to see more stuff on film and TV with meaning rather than this reality crap that's always on. I want something that is going to motivate me to be more creative and these movies have definitely done so.

Reflecting on Work Shop

Workshop yielded a lot of interesting observations. The contrast between how the author intended the poem to read and how other classmates read it was intriguing. I feel as though I have a very strong sense of rhythm. Trying to notate it and force the reader to read how I originally intended has been a struggle. The second reading rarely seemed to be quick enough. I feel it was very beneficial to be exposed to such an array of writers. Some poems really resonated with me while other went over my head. It was fun trying to solve why certain things went over well with me. One of the most common recommendations was to increase specificity and to leave out rhyming. I’m especially fond of rhyming; I have come to terms that it doesn’t suit every poem. A lack of rhyme can help a poem have a more natural feel and give the writer greater freedom in word choice. Rhyme can also serve as a distraction and lessen the seriousness of a piece. The majority of the time I find rhyme to help with rhythm and generally be entertaining. I’m an avid supporter of concrete detail. Specificity is needed to vividly illustrate concepts and makes poems seem real. However too much specificity limits the interpretations of a poem, and can hinder the reader from making meaningful personal connections. I feel at least a small amount should always be left to the imagination.

Emotion in Art

Similar to Aristotle in Poetics, I feel the true purpose of art regardless of the medium is to get an emotional reaction. I'm hoping for love but I would settle for hate. I don’t necessarily require a positive response. However I do want people to feel something or have some opinion after reading my work. Great sources of inspiration for my work are personal tragedies. It becomes difficult to express how I feel while the emotional energy is still so raw. I struggle to find the words that adequately convey how I’m feeling. It’s also scary to throw myself in the middle of something still going on that actively bothers me. The risk of really tapping into those feelings rather than trying to suppress them or distract myself makes me somewhat hesitant. Over the break I received unfortunate news that in both a metaphorical and literal sense I’m losing a member of my immediate family. While trying to come to terms with the situation I’ve written several pieces.

Delmira Agustini

Interesting as I try to figure out what poem I should post, I find that there is so much that I have to revise. Many of the poems that I have written for class are very abstract and ephemeral and yet I see that I now write quite differently and with more detail. Have any of you noticed that your writing has changed?

Anyways I figured I would share one of my favorite Poetesses, Delmira Agustini. Her works have been translated into English but some of the translations aren't that great. Enjoy and good luck to all who are presenting on Monday! Al Claro De Luna (In the Light of the Moon) The moon is pallid and sad, the moon is bloodless and cold. I imagine the half-moon as a profile of the dead... And beyond the renowned and praised pallor of Arab pearls, I prefer the rose in recent bud. In a corner of this land with the colors of the earth, I adore this pale moon, I adore this death mask! And at the altar of the night, like a flower inflamed, inebriated by the strange perfumes, my soul resigns. I know of lips withered with blasphemy and wine; after an orgy they kiss her trace in the lane. Insane ones who die kissing her image in lakes... because she is light of innocence, because white things illuminate her mysterious light, things taking on white, and even the blackest souls become uncertainly bright.

Oral Presentation

I worked all vacation on writing up my oral presentation on powerpoint and finishing up some reading about the poets that I researched. I found it kind of hard to figure out exactly what I liked about them and putting it in slide format. I basically just finished my oral presentation and I am going tomorrow. Being one of the first people that actually has to go, I am kind of nervous and don't really know if I have done the assignment as well as everyone else is going to do it. I did mine on Vladimir Mayakovsky and Gary Snyder, two poets who I really identified with throughout the semester. I chose them because they were my two favorite Notebook entries I did and they ended up being like my best poems I wrote. I have been reading their poetry during workshop and stuff and have been trying to use it to make my poetry better. I still feel like it will never be anywhere near as good as them. So when I am showing their influence on me I think that I am not really doing a good job with it. I really like their poetry but mine is kind of a mix of the two but way worse. The only thing I had trouble with was kind of emulating them and making their poetry reflect in my own work. Hopefully I did a good job, I guess we will find out tomorrow.

Workshop post

I really enjoyed workshop over the course of this semester I found it very helpful with my revisions for my poems. I really find it hard to write a poem then go back and revise it on my own. Also I am not brave enough to show it to my friends and ask their opinion and I am not sure if they would even be able to criticize it or give me good feedback. Workshop really works well because we all have some knowledge of poetry and we are all have to write so it is a lot easier to get actual feedback that can really improve your poems. Also it has helped me with feeling comfortable showing my poetry to other people. Not for revision purposes but ones that I am proud of. For example I showed one of the love poems I wrote to my girlfriend and she really liked it. Not like she had a choice but I thought she genuinely liked it. Another thing about workshop that I enjoyed is hearing other people's ideas and how they are writing poetry. I kinda got some good ideas about writing by listening to their poems and seeing what generally works and what doesn't. Lastly the thing that I always think about now is what my stake in a poem really is. I find that it helps me narrow down where I am trying to take my poetry and the message I am trying to portray. I am actually really sad that workshop was only 3 rounds long. I really think that it should be longer because I had a lot of fun doing it.

Accessing the Muse

When I first started class, I was unsure what was meant by accessing the Muse. Now that I know what accessing the Muse means, I love it! I think that it is really fun to sit down, daydream, and write. I find accessing the Muse an enlightening process. Some of the writing that comes out of accessing my Muse is pure crap, but some of it is actually pretty interesting. At least, that is what I think. Personally, I have always hated everything that I write. I always find the faults in my writing. It is almost like I am looking for the faults in my writing because I am terrified of liking it. Who knows? I love using my imagination to write. At the beginning of the class, I hated accessing my Muse. Now, I love accessing it. I am glad that I took this class because it opened my eyes to the beauty of accessing my imagination and letting it flow onto the page. Accessing the Muse is a great metaphor and an inspiring experience. I will continue to access the Muse throughout my life. Anybody have any thoughts about accessing the Muse?

Oy vey, Revision!

Is anyone else terrified of revising? Even on the poems that I have comments on from Workshop, I am still afraid of revising. I look at the comments and I know that I should start there, but I am unsure of how to revise a poem without ruining it. How do you know what to revise? How do you know when you have revised enough? I know that revision will make my poems better, but that does not make me any less afraid.

Revision is the hardest part of any writing. Revision is also the most important part of any writing process. I mean you learn a lot about poetry and all of its implications when you revise a poem. When you write a first draft of a poem you are only writing a stream of consciousness, but when you revise you are able to focus more on the little details of poetry. Even though I am terrified of revising, I look forward to learning more about poetry and myself through the revision process.

Missing Girl

This is not a post for class, I just want to spread the word to those who have yet to hear. A girl I know is missing from her house in Liverpool NY, and has been since Friday the 19th. She came home from school for Thanksgiving, as we all are right now. She was home for maybe 24 hours and then she disappeared. There are major searches going on, as well as increasing amounts of news coverage. Facebook has gotten word out across the state, and to other states as well, but she is still out there. Somewhere unknown, with someone unknown. This is affecting all of CNY, including those who do not know her. I am close with her sister, but used to dance with them both and this is affecting me greatly. It has actually woken my lazy muse up a bit and has inspired me to write, but I have been busy trying to help in any way possible. My next post may just have a poem inspired by this tragic event. But until she is found I will be helping in any way I can - especially by spreading the word Here is the link to the Facebook group, as well as the local news coverage. http://www.facebook.com/?sk=messages&tid=1710687324082#!/home.php?sk=group_166720936693987 http://www.cnycentral.com/news/story.aspx?id=544125 Please, if you see this, spread the word to all of your friends and family. Just by doing this you will be helping find this innocent young woman.

Edward Lear (1812-1888)

One of my favorite poets is Edward Lear. Lear is remembered most for his nonsense poetry. In 1846, Lear published a book entitled “A Book of Nonsense”. This work contained Lear’s favorite poetic form, the limerick. Lear also illustrated this work himself. In 1871, Lear wrote another work of poetry that he is most famous for entitled “Nonsense Songs”.

What I love about his poems is that there is a sense of sadness and fantasy to his limericks. His limericks are truly fun to read. One of my favorite limericks that Lear wrote is entitled “There was an Old Man from Calcutta”. This poem goes as follows: “There was an Old Man of Calcutta,/Who perpetually ate bread and butter,/ Till a great bit of muffin,/ On which he was stuffing,/ Choked that horrid Old Man of Calcutta” (http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/limerick-there-was-an-old-man-of-calcutta/) . I remember loving this poem as a child. I love how it is complete nonsense and it rhymes. I love how such a short poem can say so much. What do you think of this poem? Have you ever heard of it? I love Edward Lear because he reminds me of my childhood. I hope you like his poems too.

For more information on Lear and his poems look at the following websites:

Biography: http://www.poemhunter.com/edward-lear/biography/

Biography: http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/140

Poems: http://www.poemhunter.com/edward-lear/poems/

Edward Lear Homepage: http://www.nonsenselit.org/Lear/

eenie meenie miney moe

i seemed to have a lot of trouble picking which poems to use in workshop. the poems that i wrote that i'm most passionate about are extremely personal. for that reason, i was afraid to share them with the class because i didn't want to force myself to be that vulnerable. the poems that i did pick were somewhat personal to me, but they were more spur of the moment poems that i wasn't extremely attached to. by submitting poems that i wasn't that attached to made it easier to get critiqued on. if i submitted one that was extremely personal and emotional for me and got critiqued on it, it would probably make me feel terrible about myself since i put my heart and soul into those poems. it was just easier to be able to put a "quick fix" poem up for discussion. did any one else feel like that during workshop?

revision issues

i recently starting getting all of my work together for the portfolio. in this process i began, or at least tried, to revise some of my work. by doing this, i found that i absolutely hate revising my poems. i do understand that sometimes changes do need to be made to better some of the poems but most of the time i enjoy my poems the way they come out the first time. i write them for me and feel like they turned out how they are for a reason, whether it was due to my emotional issues that day or just me being random and shaping the poem differently. i like them how they are and i'm struggling to revise them. i wonder if anyone else is having this problem?

Story/Conflict

I have found that my poetry is very amateur. It is all off the cuff emotions, but there is a very limited story/conflict there. I prefer to write about observations, very simple small poems, but even within some of the shortest poems there is a sort of conflict. For example Ezra Pound's poem IN A STATION OF THE METRO The apparition of these faces in the crowd ; Petals on a wet, black bough. I have found that the story or conflict is the driving point of the poem, built with emotion and imagery, not the other way around.

Portfolio

The last few weeks I have been going through my notebook and working on my portfolio. I noticed that between my rough and revised poems I noticed a big difference between the transitions to beginning to end. I liked my muse work but when thinking on the concept of each poem I feel like my muse was even better with direction. Strangely enough my poems were relatively dark when working on them I didn’t except for my work to be so depressing and melancholy. But I really focused on some personal issues I have been having, then reading and revising my poetry, I can really feel the feeling I felt when going through these experiences. I usually am very reserved especially in a classroom setting so I didn’t expect these personal situations to come out through my poetry. I feel like my peers really open the door way to be open in class with their poetry during workshop. Reviewing my work I am completely satisfied with it, and I am pleased with my work. Surprisingly enough when doing my homework I sincerely looked forward to working on my portfolio.

Concrete Detail

Throughout most of the rounds of workshop my poems lacked a certain need that is in poetry. This need was concrete detail, week after week I would hear my peers say my poem was decent but I lacked concrete detail. I feel, yes, my poem needed some concrete detail but I also had this perception that poetry was suppose to be abstract. I feel the reader is suppose to take what they want out of the poem and also create an image of what they want to see. That’s what makes poetry so likeable and personal, because even though the reader isn’t the author it can still feel personal with the reader.

I do not think concrete detail is a bad thing. I think it does create a scene for the reader and really draws in attention. I guess I feel I do not know how much is too much, but I obviously know what is too little. I suppose it is a matter of opinion to the reader. I personally like when poetry can feel personal to the reader and relatable too. But poetry tells a story and stories needs scenario, so it is understandable.

Def Poetry Jam Inspiration

I like all types of poetry and styles from free verse to rhyme, but one type that really inspired me is Def Poetry. Call it rap, call it whatever you like but it is such a passionate form of getting your feelings out. I remember the first episode of Def Poetry I saw on HBO really caught me off guard. I never put much interest into watching it until I was really bored one night and decided to give it a try. I was completely blown away by some of the poets. They had such passion, personality, and courage. I definitely don't think I'd ever be able to be that vivacious in front of a crowd like that. One poem in particular stood out the most to me and has become my favorite poem I've seen on the show. It's called "Barbie and Ken 101" by Rafael Casal. I posted the youtube video link below as well as a link for the lyrics. Let me know what you think! Enjoy!

video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8MVhIiy8UQ

lyrics:

http://www.writing.com/main/books/entry_id/600908

my muse is on lunch break

as much as i like muse work, because it allows me to write freely, i hate it just as much. i enjoy using it instead of having to write a poem in a set format, but then again, it frustrates me at the same time. sometimes i'm just not inspired to write something at 1020 in the morning during class time. it got annoying for me before doing workshop when we had to write a poem based on our readings. sometimes i came to a blank. a blank that i couldn't even write about because it was so empty. most of the time i can only write my best work when something happens to me or if i have a very strong emotion about something going on in life. for example, i'm going through a lot right now between family and school and friends. i could probably write a million poems based on those emotions. but if you gave me a concrete object to write about, i wouldn't be able to do that because my mind is focused on something else. my muse likes to take breaks whenever it damn well pleases and makes it hard for me to write poems, at least good ones, when it doesn't want to participate

Un-fulfilled

Writing poetry, to me, has always been about the expression of my feelings. I've taken classes in high school, and now in college, that have tuned the direction of my thoughts, but it always comes back to the same principle. I write about the things that come to my mind, the things that affect my life. I've tried writing about subjects that don't involve me; subjects that are basically pointless, but I always come back to the same problem. If I don't have a feeling for the subject nothing will come out. I realize now that I just have no inspiration for the subject if it does not affect me in any way. I have a strong emotional personality. That part of me doesn't come out unless I write about it. Sometimes it comes out as metaphors, sometimes in rhyme. The point is that unless I have a strong hold on the meaning of what is being written by pen, it will only come out as useless scramblings of student. I don't like that. I wonder if anyone feels the same way. I can't write unless by body, my mind tells me I can. It cannot be an order, it has to be felt.

Picture Street

Picture Street

Time will reveal everything I want to know now.

I wish time was just the name of a street.

I’d drive a black car up and down time.

I’d be happy.

I came across this poem on the internet just today and I wanted to share it. I think it's clever, and even though it's short I found that it really takes hold of such a strong emotion of time; something that people are constantly worrying over every day. I loved the way that the writer made it into a physical thing like a street sign. The comparison of that worked really well. Also, after reading it, I totally wanted it to come true. The fact that I felt this way, I think, really makes a poem complete. Agreed?

Inspiration

I don't know why, but I always seem to get inspiration while driving. It is this time where I can just zone out and take everything in without interruption. I usually spend this hour drive home every night just spouting off whatever pops into my mind. Here I'm not concerned with having all the right answers or having everything just right. Today I came up with this.

My weak knees portray a portrait of a coward

As my resolve crumbles beneath your grasp.

Drowning in the depth of your brown eyes

My hallow insides unmasked by your lies

The smudges of your fingertips erase again.

Just wondering, what inspires everyone else? Where does your material come from?

Concrete Concrete Concrete

I find it difficult a lot of times to write something concrete. I really enjoy leaving everything up to the reader's imagination. I feel like it helps them get more emotionally involved, that is if they're not confused. My favorite poems are the ones where I don't have a clue whats going on but its jammed with so much emotion that my imagination takes me on one trip to another, putting myself into any situation that fits. With such poems being my favorite to read, its hard to find that balance. I'm trying to inject a little more concrete detail into my poems while keeping it allusive. Does everyone like it concrete?

Rap?

I’m a huge fan of rap. I’ve always thought of it as a sub genre of poetry. Good poetry doesn’t have to rhyme. However a good rap must rhyme. Similar to slam poetry the delivery of a rap is key. Most poetry is written to be read. Rap is written to be listened to. Usually rap is accompanied by an instrumental which helps set the rhythm of the piece. Rapping is almost obnoxiously rhythmic. The use of phonetics and tempo are usually apparent. Often times when reading a poem unless I say the words out loud the rhyme will escape me. All of the various literary techniques such as metaphor, simile, personification, are present but not as prevalent as rhyme. In my writing for the class I’ve tried to deemphasize the rhyme. It’s been hard to do, because rhyme really helps set the tempo and provide a musical feel for the piece. I’ve been working really hard on complex metaphors and stanzas with variations in spacing. The increased work in formatting hasn’t really impacted my rapping much. However I find I have been producing more meaningful lines in my verse that don’t rhyme. My usage of simile has been more frequent and abstract. I definitely feel it has been helping my rap to have a more well rounded feel.

Rhyming

I don't understand why many people don't prefer exact rhyme in poems. Especially people saying how exact rhyme gives a poem a sense of comedy. Maybe it's just the grade school coming out of me, the way I learned it when I was a kid (Green eggs and ham). I think that rhyme gives poetry a flowing sensation that other types of writing can't experience or give to its reader.

Angry with the MUSE

I think it is very frustrating to work with the Muse. My reasons are, when we had to write poems in class based on using the muse I could not access it or use it. It was embarrassing because I was afraid of people thinking I am not doing the work since I had a mental block. It seems to me that my Muse or good writing comes when I am either driving in the morning at 1am after work (pull on the side of the road to write it down if I have pen and paper available) or when I am about to go to sleep. I am not that good at writing poetry but when looking at what I wrote in class and what I write or think about during those times it is a lot better. I asked other people I know and they say that the ones I write when I am in class seems like a child wrote it but the poems that I write after work or before sleeping sounds like a college student wrote it. Anyone else get that way?

ideas, opinions on my freewrite.

I'd like opinion's on how to make this more like a poem. I feel its too much like a story. Not sure how to change it to look/sound more like a poem. Thanks!! :) We had our final talk the other night I had finally let everything I needed to say off my chest but it still didn't seem to phase you. You showed up just to please me, not because you wanted to. You say you want to go back to the way we were friends, but how is that possible when my feelings are so strong for you. In all honesty, If we go back I'd be afraid that I'd fall all over for you again. and you wouldn't give a shit. I have all the things I want to do, places to go to... things I know you'd like too. but all you'll say is "Yeah, great idea." and you'd probably bail to go do something with the guys, like always. You told me not to change for you, but changing my major, my job- it's not for you, it's for me! I'm doing it so I can get out of this god forsaken place. And in a way I need to get away from you. I waited three years till you were ready, Your opinion mattered to me, its why I'd always ask your opinion on every guy I met. When all you would say is "You can do better than him." Then when you ended it, you asked me not to date the next guy I meet at a party or bar. So where does that leave me? How am I suppose to meet someone if you have me dangling on the end of a string and you don't even realize it.

Poem from Workshop Help

So I've been paying a lot of attention in during the workshops in class the past couple weeks and I really think it is paying off. I like to listen to the critiques on all of the poems but I also spend time in class thinking about my own poems. When we are going over someones poem and they write something in a similar fashion as I probably would I listen to every ones critiques almost as if it was my own since I probably do have a poem that is similar. I decided to try and take everything that I am learning in the workshop and put it toward my poems. Some of the main feedback in class is always line breaks and punctuation, as well as detail everyone always wants more detail and yet they want it to be relatable. I took some of these things as well as some of the other comments in class and tried to write my poem. I think it is one of the better poems that I have written but I don't want to submit it for the final round in the work shop. This poem is beyond personal about some stuff that I am going through right now and I don't think I could deal with reading it out loud even though I do want feedback so I figured if I put it on here at least then I don't have to read it out loud.
Where Have You Gone?

I lie in bed and think of you,
Love seeps through my pores...
our Connection, unlike any other,
to know I am meant for you
and you, for me...
the perfect puzzle, Finally complete.

Yet I look for you, and you are gone
off fighting demons in your head,
leaving me cold and alone
Dying inside without your love,
my bed is empty, Incomplete,
my heart, Inconsolable.

You travel through your thoughts,
fighting the past, hopeless insecurities
all in the name of our Future,
but must you do it alone?
and leave me here fending for myself
praying to the Lord that I see you soon?

You are what I live for,
Each thought ends in "Dave"
each day gets harder...missing you,
I try to eat, I try to sleep... nothing
is the same, somepletely lost in this world
until you come back to me.

I curse those who have harmed you,
and made you leave my arms,
your fucked up past, threatening our Future
still not easy even knowing, you needed to go
to fix everything, to have our Happily Ever After,
but please hurry back each breath I take without you
is slowly killing me...

Poetry and other classes

This poetry class has had many effects on other areas in my life, including other classes. I took this class because it is my last semester and I found that I would have some open spaces in my schedule to take elective classes. Another class I chose to take was an art class. The class is art 102 (studio) and I have found poetry to be very useful in that class. One of the things my professor stresses for that class is the importance of titles on all of our work. A lot of times it is very difficult to try to pick a title out for a piece of work I have done, especially if it is abstract. I have found that if I write a poem on it, however, it is much easier to find a word or a phrase to describe it. My art professor also has us create art work based on a particular topic, and then do a write up on why we did what we did. For example, our last project had to be an abstract representation of the difference between males and females. I was finding difficulty in deciding the best way to arrange my piece, so I wrote a poem on life and how males and females fit into life together. The poem helped me come up with the idea of creating a river to describe the flow of life and then use my abstract pieces of male and female and have them floating down this river but in a separate way.

Post on Workshop

For workshop, I decided to submit a poem that was not necessarily a personal one, because personal poems can be a little scary to share with everyone. I think because I chose to not submit a personal poem, however, it was more difficult for people to understand. I wrote the poem on the muses and the history of them because history is something I am very comfortable writing on. I think, however, that I overlooked the portion of poetry that makes it relatable. It is hard for me to consider something about my feelings to be worthy of submitting for a class. I am just not used to having something graded/looked at in an academic sense that I would do in my spare time. Though I did like the way my poem on the muses sounded, I think I would have to include a lot more description about the actual history of the muses instead of writing a reaction to the history that not everyone knows about. I think for my next poem, I will try to submit a more personal poem.

work shop

coming into this class i have to say i never expected much to get out of the class. i knew i wasn't the strongest of writers and i have very little experience of writing when it came to poetry. but one thing that is really helpful in making become a better writer was listening to the feed back i got from the class during work shop and then reading everyone's feed back on what they wrote when it came to my poem. but it wasn't easy for me to hear the feed back to be honest when this was to me one of the best things i could have written about something that really came from the heart and came from personal experience putting a real burden on my life. but it is a good thing because it was constructive and it is helping me. it is just a bit awkward to hear it about something i am not all too familiar with because i am used to knowing a lot more about the work i am doing. but over all this is a great working experience to make myself a better writer, and to be honest it is working very well.

Leap

I would love some feed back on this poem I wrote it some time ago and haven't touched it in months.

Leap

Leap off the edge of life

I beg of you,

let me know if those luxurious wings work.

Maybe then I too may leap-

Watching you fall - so gracefully

Slipping through the breeze;

Your broken wings flapping vainly.

My heart should break......

if only it were not already shattered into pieces

hands pierced bloody holding shards together

Your song of extacsy shimmering in the air.

as I watch you fall

dripping hands outstretched.

Hoping,

hoping to catch,

reaching - reaching to catch,

to catch....?

NO,

to save you .

So then I too may leap.