Eight Weeks In

This semester is already halfway over (doesn’t feel like it, does it?) and this is just a brief meditation on where we are right now. Personally I feel like I’ve learned so much from you guys–reading your poems, hearing your comments on everyone’s pieces, and reading your responses have strengthened my writing (not only as a poet but in general) and given me a better understanding and appreciation of poetry. There are still things I want to work on, of course, like experimenting more with punctuation and meter. I’m both excited and terrified that we only have eight more weeks left together, and what that will mean for our continued progression. We have so much time yet so little.

With that, how do you guys feel you’ve grown as poets and writers so far this semester? What haven’t you tried yet that you still want to? I think it’s great that we’re pushing each other and ourselves.

3 Replies to “Eight Weeks In”

  1. I definitely feel like I’ve been pushed to explore form & punctuation more this semester. I want to do a tight little compact poem like Romy’s and a poem that plays with movement like your last workshop piece! I want to steal Erin’s “Susan Smith” poem completely. You guys keep me from getting too off in my head & remind me that flat lines are necessary to keep the reader grounded in the piece. I’m also always reminded to push back on what I think poetry is (or should be)–I still really want to write a long section poem & a poem from a historical or famous figure’s perspective.

  2. This semester I’ve been trying to work a lot more with white space, which is something scary and new. I think it’s going at least not-that-bad. Like Amy, I’ve been trying to figure out how to effectively use flat lines (yikes) to keep the poem from flying away. I’m not sure what I’ll try next. Someone did make a suggestion to write an entire poem as a compound word, so perhaps that will be my next endeavor. I’ve had a great time learning from everyone and bouncing work off of each other. I’ve actually most enjoyed being able to talk to people about their poems outside of class, because I think we can learn more from each other after we’ve had a chance to process.

  3. It’s amazing how much I feel like I’ve improved and it’s really incredible to see how much everyone else in the class has too! For me I’ve tried to experiment with structure and punctuation more, and working with different speakers than I’m used to. I’m really surprised how much I’ve pushed myself and how happy I am with the results. I still have yet to write that dreaded prose poem, but I still have a couple more weeks to try my hand at that 🙂

Leave a Reply to Amy Elizabeth Bishop Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.