My History with Poetry

Poetry to me is both an extremely complex and delicately simple thing. I have loved writing, reading, and learning about poetry since the 8th grade when I first studied it. I remember being immediately grasped by two things of poetry. One, the beauty and sincerity in which authors wrote in its format and two the freedom poetry offered. I admit the idea that poetry was a form of writing without rules (even though that isn’t completely true) was highly enticing to the grammar poor 8th grade version of me.

But just like Madeleine and Sam when I started writing poetry it was entirely for personal reasons. The first poem I ever wrote was written after I was rejected by a crush of mine at an 8th grade dance. When I got home after that event, I remembered what I had learned and read about poetry and decided that I wanted to write about how I felt that night. Since then I have been hooked on writing poetry not only for personal releases, capturing moments in my life, but also as an expression of my heart and soul and how I see the world.

While there can be no doubt that all my poetry is personal on one level or another, I still consider it my art. I look forward to this class and the rest of the semester to help me improve my art, my poetry, and the techniques I use to connect my heart, mind, and vision to my readers.