AH! I cannot believe how fast this time has gone by! It is absolutely nuts. I love my workshop group so much and I'm so glad I've gotten a chance to work with all of you guys and have gotten to learn from all of you. I reallly have gained a lot through this workshop experience and really hope to continue this sort of writing experience after this class. I'm a little nervous as I start to go through all of my work and begin to revise it but I've really received a ton of great and helpful feedback on what can do to improve my work which really is making my life a lot easier as I finish this assignment. If anyone wants to have like a group study thing in the library or elsewhere for that matter just to work on the chapbooks with each other I'm totally all for it. I've completely loved being a part of this class and getting to know all of you especially through your writing. It is certainly a unique experience and I would not trade it for anything. I know that my writing in poetry has really developed throughout this course and I've truly enjoyed watching the rest of you develop your skills as writers as well. I love workshops because it gives me the chance to read your work and continue to see your progress as writers and it is so cool. Can’t wait to see you all in classs! ☺

Just some thoughts

Not my last blog post, actually...I'm probably going to do some next week. Blah blah, that's because I have chronological issues.
Anyway. In one of my other courses we've been reading T.S. Eliot, and it got me thinking more about playing around with words and tones and wondering if there is really a specific formula to writing captivating poetry. With "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" and "The Hollow Men", most of the imagery is pretty bleak and depressing; the poems are flat-out depressing!! There is plenty of tension, given that the tone and general story are of futile longings for salvation in a barren surrounding, but somehow its not something that I really find appealing. Because, in "The Hollow Men", for instance, there is the image of humanity as a row of scarecrows in a barren field, covered in animal carcasses- the statement being that humanity is just countless bodies with nothing inside, no souls, just physical, empty waste in a barren purgatory. The subject is horribly depressing, and in my opinion doesn't give the reader much satisfaction. (Ironic given that Eliot tried to keep individual emotions out of his work. Hmmm.)
And YET, there is something innately appealing about his works. Maybe it is the language, or the sentence structure, or the rhyme scheme, but despite myself and despite being rather turned-off by the themes, Eliot's work appeals to me. Six magical lines from "The Hollow Men": "There, the eyes are/ Sunlight on a broken column/ There, is a tree swinging/ And voices are/ In the wind's singing/ More distant and more solemn/ Than a fading star".
I hope that I can someday incorporate such elegant language into my own work, because it seems to me that with words like that, the subject, theme, and tone of the poem don't matter. I loathe the topics of Eliot's poetry, but I like his work because of the way he discusses things.
That's what is on my mind at the moment.

Chapbook

As I am reflecting on all of the poems I have written this semester, I am realizing how both my analytical and creative skills have developed. This is the first poetry class that I have taken, as well as the first English class in university for that matter, so writing and then critiquing others in a workshop setting was all very new to me. However, I have developed an appreciation for words and the power they have. Poems can make people smile, cry, and sometimes even both in the same poem! Now when I read my own pieces, I look for ways to improve on them which I hadn't before. These include the form of the entire poem on the page, increasing tension, bringing emotion into the poem, reaching out to a large audience, avoiding the use of cliches, describing images and visual things rather than literal explanations or things that can't be seen. I can also see the impact poetry can have on many different people, from different backgrounds. I experienced a kind of release when I wrote certain poems this year, and then others, not so much. This was a great learning experience. I found that to write about something that you are very passionate about is much more enjoyable for the author and the audience. Forcing a particular subject or form never worked out as well for me.
I have also developed interests in particular poets such as Dylan Thomas. I thought that 'Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night' was amazing and very touching. It was incredibly powerful, and I would love to be able to write as powerfully as Thomas one day. I most definitely will continue to read poems by Thomas, and try to find other poets that draw me in as much as he does.

Wrapping up

Wow. I can't believe our semester is almost over and this is the last Tuesday post! I feel as if the semester as gone by pretty quickly and it was just days ago we were getting our first assignment, yet at the same time it seems like we've been together writing poems and learning for forever. I have found being in this course to be very helpful in my writing and has opened up my eyes to new styles of writing and areas that I had not yet discovered as a beginner poet. It has been a bumpy ride for me in trying to step outside my comfort zone but I especially feel that our workshops have really made a difference in how I look at writing poems and the inspiration that I received. I truly feel that our class has amazing talent in it and that everyone should continue to pursue writing poetry. I love how we've all worked together and the feedback has been amazing over the semester, from students and Professor Hummer. I truly believe that I will take away a lot from this class and continue to use what I've learned. I am also excited, as others have mentioned, to work on assignment 12 and revise some of my works, with the knowledge and feedback I've acquired. Thanks so much guys for a great semester!!

Final workshop, chapbook, and last blog post

Well, gang it’s been a crazy ride, I just wanted to take the beginning of this last blog post to thank everyone who has helped me with my growth as a poet. To my workshop group, you guys are the best it’s been an honor being able to read and help you with your great works, thanks for all the helpful advice. The same goes to Professor Hummer thank you for all your input on work. With that said I greatly look forward to these last days of workshop I know it will be a lot of fun reading and advising on what my workshop group has done for their final pieces. I also can’t wait to hear what they will have to say about my last pieces as well. Looking ahead for the last time, I can’t wait to finish assignment 12. The chapbook seems like a wonderful way to end the class by going back and actually revising the works we have had so much feedback on. Well, with that I will leave off by just saying that its been a really pleasure guys, I hope everyone has a great vacation and finals don’t beat you guys down too much. Hang in there and keep writing.

-Gary

some comments on the chapbook

I’m actually pretty excited to make a chapbook for assignment 12. It will be very interesting to look over previous work and then to revise it using the knowledge I’ve gained throughout the semester. I’ve looked at several of the first poems I wrote and I feel that I have made them substantially better while still being able to keep the overall ideas. It was also neat looking for cover art too. When you find some cover art that really fits, its very satisfying. There are some poems that I want to put in it that I also don’t really want to change very much. In my villanelle, I made some improvements to some lines but that’s about it, but I also want to use it in my chapbook. I hope that counts as a substantial revision, cause its going in there. While looking over my poetry, both the new and the old, I could definitely see improvement in organization, word choice, and line breaks, as well as overall line structure too. I think the subjects I have been writing about have become increasingly meaningful and personal as well, which was something a was afraid to do in the beginning of the year. Overall, I really feel that my work has greatly increased over this semester.

Response to the starving artist post

So, I thought I’d throw it out there for discussion what this all means. Do you guys think we live in a world that, in a sense, punishes those that are creative, and is this particularly true for poets? Is it hard to make a living from poetry because the craft has become under-appreciated in contemporary society?

Shaunie, I'm really glad you brought up this topic! This year, I've really grown to appreciate the role poetry plays in my life, and I would like to continue to expand my "creativity tunnel" and possibly get published in the future. However, I realize that the world we live in does not promote the idea that just anyone should pursue the arts. Although artists can produce a great number of works, their works may not be well received by critics or the masses. As a result, many artists and writers struggle because they do not receive high income. However, I feel that this lifestyle is something that the artist consciously acknowledges--a true artist is someone who will take a blow or make a sacrifice, all for the sake of art.

It is true that artists and writers can make a decent salary by holding some sort of job. I think it would be really ideal for someone with a creative nature to work in a place where there is an opportunity to meet a variety of people, and to get an opportunity to really listen to and observe what people say and do. This kind of opportunity can aid a writer to expand their creative horizons and understand a variety of perspectives on many issues. I think what is important for any artist to remember is this: being receptive to the change within the self and the energy in others is what yields great art.