Originality Continued

I really like the points that have been raised regarding originality. I agree with Shaunie when she said that to be original does not mean having to come up with ideas that have never been written about before. If you just think of all the poetry that has ever been written, or even books, or songs, it would be impossible to cover a topic that has never been spoken of. Why do you suppose there are so many covers of songs? Or books that are made into movies? Or even poets who borrow styles from other poets? These are all ways of using someone's ideas, and then putting a spin on them to find new ways to entertain and to reach people.

To write a poem about something that has been done before, but to make it fresh, new, exciting and original, is quite a mighty and praise-worthy task. For example, we all discovered how hard this was to do during our writing exercise, using magazines, in last week's class. We have even come across poems in class that have been worked off previous pieces or used by more recent poets. For example, when reading William Carlos William's poem 'A Sort of Song', I couldn't help but be reminded of Tupac Shakur's poem 'The rose that grew from concrete." They both use strong symbolic images such as a rock, and a flower. They both have similar metaphors and messages, too, referring to creation, overcoming obstacles, growth, and the difference between conventional and modern poetry.

I think referring to past poetry can be a way to overcome writer's block. Even if you don't use ideas or styles similar to the ones that you read, the act of reading any kind of material can spark ideas completely unrelated to what the was trying to be conveyed.