Hi everyone!! I hope everyone had a super relaxing week leading up to you unfortunately reading my blogpost! Regarding my experience writing about poetry and the effects it has had on my own poetry, I happen to have a surprising amount of thoughts.
So to preface, I initially hated poetry, but after having read a lot more poetry as I'd gotten older I started to appreciate it a bit more. I didn't think modern poetry had much technique to it as it didn't follow traditional poetry forms, but having written poetry recently I think I've changed my opinion on that?
When writing my poem I had assumed it would be a walk in the park given that there is no real form to follow, just writing whatever came to mind and arranging it in aesthetically pleasing way. Performing my poem however, I realized that a big component in modern poetry is the performative aspect of it? Much as reading the script of a play does it no justice, I feel that reading poetry modern poetry does it very little justice. In relation to that, I feel that it's really changed the thoughts that I've maintained and written about in my work regarding poetry. I mainly focused on the usual poetic techniques but did not consider the physical presence of a poem, and I think that will remain something I address in any further criticism of poetry
If we treat poems as a living creations, why do we not consider their ability to live through a speaker?
In terms of how this could be used in future teaching, I definitely think that the act of creating a poem and performing it is super integral to one's understanding of a poem! As grueling as it was to stand in front of people - all of whom wrote bafflingly good poems - and perform it, I think it truly does create a new appreciation for poetry as more than an antiquated way to show off one's grasp of the language.
I think I'd like it to be integrated as a unit. It doesn't have to be a very long unit, it can just be a few days long, as long as it involves creating a poem and subsequently performing it. The poem doesn't have to be in any specific form or on any specific format, so long as anything one could consider is a poem was created. Likewise, the performance itself doesn't have to be some big thing - I think the performance is simply to create the understanding that poetry can find immense meaning in performance.
I think the unit would just focus on clearing up a lot of apprehension regarding poetry. Most English students have a fear of poetry since it's often the black sheep of English classes, but it doesn't really need to be that scary. With a proper understanding of it I think most people will realize it's actually very fun.
He Jesse!
ReplyDeleteYou make a really good point about the performance of modern poetry. I have never been one to appreciate poetry as a performance. To me, poetry is a personal thing read in the mind or to oneself. The aspect of performance changes how I see my own work. It changes how I express myself in my work. I worry that this outward expression of something inward is not beneficial to the severely introverted student, like me.
I actually think poetry should be taught for a longer length of time than it already is. There are so many terms to learn or way to count the syllabics. Then there are the structures and vocabulary choices. It is too much to learn only in one unit. I think the fact paced teaching of poetry is why so many students hate it. They never have time to truly understand it. Its complexities are apparent, which makes rushing through it hard or confusing. Too many students are glad when the section of on poetry is over and I am not really sure that they grasp much from the artistry.
-Katanie
Hey Jesse!
ReplyDeleteI fully understand the feeling of appreciating poetry more with age. At first, I would view poetry as just another piece of writing with an unusual amount of feeling incorporated. I agree with your point of performing poetry and writing it. To perform a poem is to bring it to life. We tend to only focus on analyzing a poem when it comes to writing about one but not really bringing it to life. When performing we bring the tone and voice out. I would definitely do the same in my teachings. I think poetry is getting the recognition it deserves now more then it did before due to the new poets and poems that are floating around social media. If anything, poetry could be an outlet for the students who need to express their inner feelings and thoughts. Reading your blog was in fact relaxing for sure!