Inspiration & Workshop on my mind...

After reading both the published poems assigned for class and the poems of my classmates, I have come to hold an even greater appreciation for different writing styles. It’s so fascinating to dive into the thoughts and feelings of another individual, and to be able to understand what is going through his or her mind. Although I appreciate the highly structured poetry of Shakespeare and more traditional poets, I absolutely love the more contemporary poetry we have been assigned in the 21st Century Poets book. D.A. Powell, in particular, writes with such elegance and humor, but his choice of words is very obscure and unconventional. Because of this unique style, I feel a diverse audience can appreciate Powell’s poems and come to a set of different conclusions about what message the poem is conveying to them.

I am very eager to learn about the sources of inspiration my classmates incorporate into their poetry. Workshopping each other’s poems will certainly be a learning experience for all of us, both in terms of analyzing poetry and creating it. I hope to gain more insight into the world we live in, based on every individual’s personal, unique perspective that shines through his or her work. It will also be interesting to hear my workshop group’s thoughts on my own poetry—what meaning they got from reading it, feelings that were evoked through reading, and most importantly, suggestions and feedback that I can use to improve my writing. I believe that our class is a great group—everyone seems very passionate about the art of poetry and I’m happy that we are confident in sharing our thoughts about each poem assigned for class. The willingness to be open with who we are as individuals and writers is so essential to the success of workshop, and I feel that the more open and honest we are, the better writer each of us can become. Our first workshop is tomorrow, so let’s make it an awesome experience!