Writing poetry and writing about poetry can be very different experiences for each individual. Both are creative exercises, but the act of writing your own poem is more of an emotional experience. Poetry is supposed to be profound and is reflective of inner expression and personal experiences. There is no set form with poetry, there are no rules of grammar. In contrast, academic writing does require this. Being able to address issues in critical essays with proper grammar is helpful for preparing in academic or professional social interactions. Both styles of writing have impacted my personal work in the way that I know when certain assignments call for creativity and when more formal approaches are necessary.
By writing about poetry versus writing my own poetry, I learned that all forms of writing are exercises for the building of any writing skill. Neither, in my personal opinion is more important than the other. Even if you are an individual who is aspiring to write fiction or publish their own poems, you should still exercise your skill in academic settings. In regards to my future in teaching, I can see how important it is to value the creative side of writing. Not all students are going to agree that essays are better than writing poetry or vice-versa. By allowing students to experience both sides of the writing spectrum, educators are giving the young minds of a classroom more variety and freedom to express themselves. In the future I would love to give my students the chance to write their own short stories and poems in the classroom. In my opinion, sharing poetry can definitely bring students together.
Hi!
ReplyDeleteI agree that writing is such a profound experience and allowing students to be creative and write in a classroom can be extremely beneficial to their education. For me, I think that writing poems, while they can be free verse and lax, is filled with lots of rules and structure. I think that the masters are that for a reason, because they employ so many rules while making it look effortless. I think it is imperative that students learn both the academic paper writing but also the creative writing of poetry because it will only benefit and help them in their careers. It teaches them the form and hard work that goes into something that seems so effortless.
Hi Jessica!
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that writing and reading poetry is a profound experience for all parties involved. Poetry is a way for us as humans to open up and allow our hearts to express how we feel and how we can give compassion towards others.
This is why I also agree the importance of bringing a creative side to the classroom, especially with teenagers. At a time in life where a person is going through emotional roller coasters of feelings, giving them an outlet to express themselves is a great way for them to lay everything out and reflect. As a teacher too, you can find out a lot about your students by what they write and how they interpret a poem. As I said in my blog post, the way we interpret a poem can reflect on our own life experience. Therefore, if I see how a student writes or analyzes, it can give me an insight look into their psyche and work with them.
I love the points you made in this blog! The fact that writing a poem requires an effort that is emotional besides being set as academic is truly a difficult process for many writers. I felt the same when writing my own poem, but enjoyed it as well... I did feel however, that many of our classmates disliked or tried to distance themselves from this experience. Others well wholeheartedly into the experience, and some of the poems that I will not mention was truly profound. Experiencing the different types of poems as well, and having them read by multiple voices was an eye opening experience. I as well, would like to have my future students go through the act of creating poetry and "slamming" as we have done.
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