Workshoping and discussion

Hearing other people’s comments and opinions during the workshop portion of the last assignment seems to me to be an invaluable part of this class. The first assignment, as well as the second, were somewhat nerve-wracking experiences. I had no idea if what I wanted to express in my poetry would come across at all. But the workshop checklist sheets and the group reading and discussion of our poems have definitely helped me recognize what my strengths are and what I need to work on. Also, hearing and workshopping others poems has also been beneficial to my own. When reading through other’s poems and marking them and evaluating them according to what we’ve learned in class and the workshop checklist guide, I can see what techniques work well, which ones don’t, and how to manipulate tension. So far, I have found that the most important part in writing poetry to me is finding a good subject; one that I’m interested in and/or feel somewhat passionate about. I’ve also found it helpful to pick topics that are less personal to me. Creating characters and stories that deal with issues one has experienced in their own life can lessen the anxiety that can come with writing about something personal. I usually try to distance my involvement in what I’m exploring in order to see things from a more objective point of view.