The poetry workshop is going well. There too I have a room full of willing participants. Many simply wanted to experiment with poetry, having no real idea how to approach or write it. That is brave of them. They are beginning to discover it is much more complex than they imagined, but I think most are up for the challenge. A few other students are experienced writers, and it is wonderful to have their wisdom and acute comments.
We spend a good half of the class reading published work and discussing it, then take on an exercise related to the theme or technique of the poems we were discussing. Last night it was childhood experiences plus sensory images/description and also we discussed the judicious use of rhyme and internal echoes. We had a lively discussion of Roethke's "My Papa's Waltz" and Bishop's poem "The Waiting Room, " among others.
I introduced the class to Reb's literary blog, "The Mark on the Wall," and they will be attending readings. We may go to some together, as a class, or at least some of the students may choose to go as a group, I am hoping.
Then we had our first workshop discussion. There were 4 poems I believe. We got so wrapped up in discussing them we almost ran over, though generally I start to fade by 9 or so since I am such an early riser. I think it was a useful discussion.
2 comments:
Sounds like an excellent meeting. The first topic is very good, something everyone can tap into.
Yes it was very good! But I had noticed in the exercises we did the first week that people predictably thought poems should rhyme no matter what, so I talked about why poems rhyme, when they do, and what other options to create internal echoes writers have. I used the poems I chose for the theme of childhood memories to show that, so I didn't have to bring in more than was necessary.
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