For my wonderful and lovely I-search paper I have chosen to undertake the teaching of poetry (and yes, you could say that makes me “Poetry’s Undertaker,” in fact, I kind of like that title). Essentially I chose this topic because poetry and I have never really gotten along. While I do enjoy reading some poetry, and even writing it a bit, having to teach something I am still quite uncertain about is terrifying. So basically I chose poetry because I’m scared of it (that, and spiders...and commitment) and my hope is that by doing this project on the teaching of poetry I will feel more comfortable and better prepared to teach it to others.
I know very little about poetry up to this point in my life. I have taken one creative writing class that focused on poetry in college (but that was at OTC, so yeah). In that course I did learn a lot, including many of the “rules” of poetry, many of the misconceptions, and that I am bad at writing it (or so my grades reflected). I know that poetry may not rhyme, that the length, style, and rythm can all vary, and that sometimes the less you say, the more you get across (I know that, but I haven't learned it yet). In all honesty I am quite familiar with the "rules" of poetry, but not with the creative side of it.
p.s. This hateful Google Blog thing closed on me 3 times while I was writing all of this so if it seems a bit random or mind numbing, well....actually it’s because I can be a bit random and mind numbing at times. Sorry.
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4 comments:
I love the "Poetry's Undertaker" title. That is so poetic, I think you are well on your way. Poetry was made much easier for me by one of my professor's introducing Billy Collins, and the Poetry 180 project. I bet you could incorporate both Billy Collins and Poetry 180 website into your paper. Hope this helps!
Stan
you should take this paper a step further and make it your in-class lesson. I am really bad at teaching and learning poetry, so i need a few things taught to me!
I think it's awesome that you're taking on a subject to learn more about it, so you can teach it better. I can't wait to see how it goes for you.
Poetry Undertaker - I like it!!! I feel you on the whole teaching poetry thing, Joe. Over the years I have written a bit of poetry myself, but I am no expert. Plus I also find that I tend to have different interpretations of pieces than other; making me feel like I am wrong, or mistaken. It is a tough thing to teach and get the point across.
~emms
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