What it's Like to Write About Poetry Vs. What it's Like to Write Poetry

 Hello blog readers, for this post I'd like to discuss poetry. In the past week in class we've been trying our hands at writing our own poetry instead of writing about it. After so many semesters of classes spent studying poetic form, meter, and poets, I found it surprisingly difficult to do it myself. I've read so much good poetry by talented poets in my life that of course I would hold myself to a high standard. I had to write like Shakespeare or Poe otherwise I should just skip the poetry assignment so I don't embarrass myself. Eventually I came to the conclusion that I could never write like them, especially not poetry! Writing myself was definitely a much more emotional and stressful experience than writing about it. 

When writing poetry analysis, it's so much easier to take an objective stance and see the clear flaws in a piece. I also write much quicker when analyzing poetry than writing it even when the poem I'm writing is very short! Maybe anyone would agree that it's much easier to be on the side of the judge than on the side of the one being judged, to be the observer rather than the creator. Even though I could easily say that I don't particularly enjoy writing poetry, I think it was a very important experience that everyone should have, not just those studying English or taking a class, but composition should be a part of any English curriculum in public school. Especially for children and adolescents, it could be a great way to encourage students to express themselves. 

I remember when I was in middle school, we had to write poems and perform them in class. It was a simple assignment to write about how colors make us feel, and I wrote about gray. The class was quite impressed with my poem and I got a good grade, but it was a confidence-building moment for the young me who realized that even I could write something that people enjoyed. When I become a teacher in the future, I'd want to make sure every other kid gets that same opportunity.