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- Reading responses must be AT LEAST 350 words.
- Include your full name at the end of your comments. Unnamed comments will be deleted.
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- Reading responses are due by 10pm on the day PRIOR to our discussion of the required reading.
I like that there are different types of poems and that there’s just not one type. I also like the way describing new art from people who are beginners because they make it their own style. It is their own perception of what it should be. I also like that the author mentions that every piece of poetry is important from the rhythms, to the wording and the repetition. I also really like that imagery is also a key part to poetry. It tells a story that requires you to read between the lines. Overall it was a great read and I’m looking forward to the next few poems we have in class.
ReplyDelete-christopher capello
David Starkey makes me interested in poems. I never knew there was specific details in the poems such as the stanzas, lines and rhythm meter. Poems are fun because you can imagine mental pictures the writers express to you. I think it is beautiful because I'm sure everyone will see something different in their head. If everyone thought alike it would be a boring world. I believe it when I read that to become a poet is to keep writing poems. It's like practice makes perfect. The more practice the better you get and the more you write the greater it'll get. You have to look into the syllables, moments, and sounds of your poem in how passionate and interesting it can get to capture the readers attention. Iambics are new to me. I'm willing to learn what this is because it's so new and different to me. I like how there's more than meets the eye in things and in poems there is detail to everything. Lines and syntax seem to be everything. When you are in control of your lines and how it is worded, in order to make it perfect in the way it is read.
ReplyDelete-Adelisa Fuentes
I have written two poems in my entire life that I can remember, and both happened in elementary school. I basically wrote down sentences that ended in words that rhymed with last word of the previous one. That’s about as far as my poem background goes. I assume we will need to write a poem for this section and I am unsure how it is going to go because I have no idea what I would write a poem about.
ReplyDeleteI understand that there are different types of poems, but even at that I’m leery about the whole creating a poem from scratch. Every piece of the poem has to be purposeful from the wording, literary elements embedded in the text, and how the words flow, or don’t. I always thought poems had to rhyme. As I previously stated I thought poems had to rhyme every last word with the last word of the sentence before but that is definitely not the case. I’m not sure if that is a good or bad thing though.
Moving on with poems I never realized how important, or how much the format and structure of the poem can say without the poem even being read. I like how poems can tell a story or simply talk about a cat. There are no limits on what a poem can or can’t contain. I really do agree with Christopher’s comment in regards to having to read between the lines. I have read countless poems where I think it means one thing, but to the person sitting next to me it means something entirely different. I think poems are art pieces where the medium is words. Although I am iffy about this section I think it will still be fun. Not looking forward to the workshops but I’m sure they will be extremely helpful.
-Alfredo Montemayor
I personally love reading poetry, but I do not enjoy writing it. Unlike the other forms of creative writing, this type seems to have the most rules and restrictions. It is a very tricky style of writing and can either end up a success or a complete fail. Even free verse has rules, not to mention all the other types with meters and rhythms. I have probably written maybe 8 poems in my life, and all have been for grades 3rd through 11th. It is amazing how a person can fit meaning, figurative language, “music,” and abide by the rules of poetry all in one small piece of writing - but practice does make perfect. What shocked me while reading this section was the wide variety of different types of rhythms and rhymes there are in poetry - and we haven’t even gotten to the different forms of poetry yet! In high school we only focused on a handful of poetry styles, and I know there are many more different styles I probably haven’t even seen. There is already so much to learn on poetry, but like the other forms of writing – we will not learn how to write them until we do it ourselves. I’m excited to see what exercises and activities we will do in class to get the hang of writing in this style. Though it will be difficult, it would be nice to get some feedback on our work. Poetry really is beautiful, I guess the outline of it just seems very touchy to any regular person’s eye. That’s probably why it is the last form of creative writing we will learn in this class. I think it will ultimately be the toughest. I believe it takes a true poet to make poetry, but I’ll give it a shot along with the other people in this class.
ReplyDelete-Alyssa Ramos
Rr#17
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, on poetry I think it is very interesting and with a few simple words you can have this image. I think poetry is very strong because of the word usage. As starkey says, “Learning to appreciate those moments of odd insight and strange imagery – mental pictures or impressions that evoke one of the five senses – is a crucial step toward becoming a poet.” In my opinion, this is exactly how I feel about poetry even if the poem is pages long or only a few short sentences – I love the challenge on being able to portray an image in my head. While reading the line lengths, I didn’t know there were so many rules to poetry and the right way of how it goes. This seems very interesting to me but this section I think I am afraid of because I don’t think I know how to put emotions into words (if that made any sense). *the gail white piece seemed of a girl who wasn’t popular and her looks weren’t high in the sky either but she still had a mother and still got married. I like how this was short and simple but yet there were good words toward the ending “(but I got married, mother, all the same.)” like that didn’t matter, in the end she still got what every other pretty girl got, she still won. *the ruth stone piece, I read the beginning of how it’s about the loss of her husband and it fit well, I just don’t think I got much imagery from this piece. I don’t think it was something I was quite interested too. I did like how the author chose the train being an object of remembering her husband by because she can reminisce of how he would be running and waving at the train. The las piece made me feel like this was about the reminisce of a mother and the feelings a mother can give and leave off with. “while repetition is not boring” but yet this is their mother and mothers will leave an impact on one’s life. This piece is very short but the words are like wow so short but have so much memory behind it.
-arianna tabares
Poetry is something that I don’t see myself doing very much, rhymes can be easy I mean there is so many words in the English language along with other languages that can be used to construct a poem. This reading gives great examples as well as ways on how to make the poem clearer and say what “does not have to be said”, that’s the beauty of it that it leaves your mind floating thinking of what is the answer to what this author is trying to say. The only things that I did not enjoy and that I really don’t look forward to be all the rules this reading stated about poetry the different types of ways and requirements to write a poem. It makes it seem a little more difficult then the play writing, but it is something that I do look forward to doing and learning more about, more then what I was able to read about in these pages.
ReplyDeleteThe samples that were given in this reading made me very confused, I guess its because I am use to hearing simple things such as “roses are red” and all that kind of cheesy stuff, which I think I have written before. But by reading these poems I was able to see that it is much more then that. It is a form of expressing something that is not there and is not given to you off the bat instead it makes you think and it gets your imagination flowing far more into what is not there, what is not being said by the author. I look forward to learning how to do this, and reading more poetry later on with our required readings that way I am able to process them and participate in class to see if my fellow classmates were able to get the same understanding as myself or if I fell short somewhere through out the reading and didn’t see something someone else was able to see.
-Alicia Lucio
Creating a poem seems easy until you actually start trying to write it. In Starkey’s writing its mentioned that “errors give a new start”, and that writers may be able to find that getting lost in the wildness of writing poetry can lead to some wonderful outcomes and revelations. This to me shows that although poetry has many requirements like how to format your lines and stanzas or how to properly meter and rhythm, a poem should come nature to someone. I believe that before a writer begins to write a poem, some type of Idea has to be present. Similar to writing a story or even a research paper. Ideas and information have to be present in order to begin, same thing with writing a poem. I would think poems are a bit more lenient to write in the sense that not many people will understand them, poems are more likely to leave people clueless on what an author might be saying. I think that the hardest part for us new poem writers will be trying not to be so “cliché” Starkey mentions in his writing that “nothing kills a poem faster than a cliché, whether its an overused phrase or a formulaic structure with a predictable conclusion Although that isn’t what should be the intention, I’m sure its likely to happen, which then comes the hard part in actually writing a poem, you still want your reader to get the central message because if not then they’ll probably not like it. It is mentioned in the reading that “Ironically, poets frequently spend much m ore time working on a bad poem than on a good one, and in large measure that’s because the stronger work tends to emerge more fully formed right from the start.” Creating a bad poem isn’t such a bad thing, creating a bad poem might possibly be a good poem. I think it just comes from inspiration, and a good teacher whose willing to teach it correctly. Furthermore, I think learning and creating a poem will be fun, tough but fun. I’m looking forward to it.
ReplyDelete-Natasha Villarreal
Poetry is a medium used to express thoughts, feelings, and emotions in writing and takes much needed practice to master. Poetry is unique form of writing due to a valid point made by Starkey. He mentions that the writer may surprise him/herself because the writer may write something he doesn’t know or say something the writer thought couldn’t be said. Starkey states a quote from the great Robert Frost in which he says that “Writing a Poem is discovering” which is very true. You can discover new meanings and different ways to express your views. Personally, I have struggled on this subject of poetry but after this reading a lot important aspects of poetry that were explained. One thing that you must do while processing what your poetry will be about is to stay away from clichés. Do not use overused phrases or familiar structure that has been frequently used. There are also key elements that make up poetry. One of these elements is line and stanzas; lines are your common line while stanzas are a group of lines together. This is the common structure of poetry writing. Meter is important because it is the pattern of accented and unaccented syllables. Usage of symbols is also very important in poetry as sounds or objects that have significance can enhance the poetry itself. Also word choice that is diction and sentence structure, syntax, can contribute to the tone of the poetry. “If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire can ever warm me, I know its poetry.”- Emily Dickinson this shows how powerful poetry can be and how it can be meaningful towards people by reaching out to their emotions and feelings.
ReplyDelete-Brandon Garcia
I have lost count on the many times I have re-wrote my poems. I came across poetry through emotional instability at a young age. I've always seen poetry as therapeutic and based on what I have read I do agree that poems should be started on the spot because I have tried to write with a thought and plan in mind and it always fails me. I do have to say I disagree when Starkey wrote that "not anything goes" in poetry...which he could say that because he has dug deeper, perhaps, but I see poetry through a therapeutic and expressional aspect that anything does and can go because once we write you can go back and revise to then create the poem that "does go."
ReplyDeleteI felt it was a spoonful with all the information but I do appreciate what I did not know in poetry and accept I need improvement.
Lisa MArie Serna
I used to think growing up and being taught in a lousy school poetry is just rhymes and well other unhelpful understandings of what it actually is. It's nice to see though that there really isn't exactly any limits to what it can be but there is on what it can't have, i guess I how i am seeing all this. For a second it just reminds me of making music, as a musician you have a your measures, time signature, and everything makes up the piece, how fast it'll go, how loud of soft the measure has to be, it is essentially like creating a piece of music. And what you hear or read is the result of the construction you made. Well that's how I am trying to make sense of it. I guess I am pretty excited to try any method of poetry but It won't be so simple. There is at least some guides and useful elements that can be included in the writing. The only problem I legitmately still am trying to understand is Meter and Rhythm, I understand it but i have a feeling trying to use it will probably confuse the hell out of me.
ReplyDelete-Victoria Benavidez
A couple things I can appreciate about poetry after reading Starkey's guide to writing poetry is the flexibility and spontaneity of the process. One thing that stuck out to me was when Starkey discusses how writing poetry offers surprises. It made me view poetry a little differently especially the way he quotes Robert Frost describing the method as a "constant adventure." Another thing that stuck out to me was how there are different ways you can write a poem. I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I had no clue how much went into the process and the seemingly endless ways you can express yourself through poetry. What's also interesting is how important every single detail is. If something is meant to be read out or silently, the number of lines, the length, the style and so on. Every single part of a poem is significant and means something that the creator is trying to convey to the reader/audience. I was starting to feel a little nervous about writing a poem for this class but after reading through this section, I am now looking forward to writing something that I hope can come naturally.
ReplyDelete-Brittany Garcia
Starkey’s many pages on poetry is super insightful. It gave me a brand new perspective on poetry and how much our society has contributed to such an art form. The way that Starkey explains the different elements of poetry that includes the lines and the stanzas, the rhythm and meter of poetry, the music of poetry, the way that poetry provokes images and symbols in order for a poet to get their point across to their audience, as well as the many different forms or poetry in which all of them are special and unique in their own way. I really like that Starkey even provides examples of poems like Gail white, Ruth Stone, Rae Armantrout, which really illiterate what starkey is trying to teach us about poems and how the format should be while also being thought provoking and can connect with the readers. -Lowen Sauceda
ReplyDeletePoetry has always been a very difficult subject for me, usually when I write it it’s a hit or miss. A lot of the rules that surrounded poetry always intimidated me and I never approached it because of that. However, the way in which Starkey describes poetry, as a way in which the author can express himself through so many means, that stretch from the way in which the stanzas are formed to the rhythm a poem is written. A helpful hint is the fact that Starkey warns against being cliché. Often times, and I don’t know why it happens but I feel like only cliché ideas come into my head whenever I decide to write poetry. The fact that poetry is about writing about human emotion makes sense and learning to relay those emotions in a way that will not sound corny will be a challenge but like with every other subject that we have been covering, practice will help. I’m looking forward to discovering something new about myself when I begin to write. That in itself makes the subject exciting.
ReplyDelete-Alvaro Pulido
In reading Starkey’s section on poetry, the guidelines that he points out were eye opening. I have always found poetry to hold a certain amount of loftiness and I never really slow down enough to enjoy it. I like how he broke down the explanation of line/stanza. I never knew that lines indented were a continuation. I read poetry differently from one day to the next now. Don’t get me wrong, I have poems that I like, although I could not go into much depth about how or why it affects me so deeply. Poetry is to be felt with each line and word loaded with meaning. I like how he gives us pointers to steer clear of cliché and from being too general. I am still confused about the meter and rhythm section. This area makes me nervous because not only do I not get the musicality, but I failed the rhythm test in high school when I tried out for drums. I had my heart set on playing drums but I could not hold a rhythm. I am not sure if this is quite the same thing, but the “da de dum de dum” thing throws me off. I hope I can get through writing a decent poem without having to understand this in depth.
ReplyDelete~Brenda Gomez
Reading poetry to me is fun, something that I attest to on my leisure time. Attempting to write poetry, on the other hand, is super freaking hard. Oftentimes it feels like you can slap a few words and phrases here and there and call it a "poem." The reality is that there guidelines that fall under the necessities in writing a poem, in which Starkey explains in this section. Out of all creative types of writing, poetry is definitely my favorite, and also the most challenging in analyzing the content and writing as well. On a deeper personal level, there has been poem I have read that make me ball my eyes out. I have been to see my favorite poet perform her spoken word art live and I was too shocked to cry, but I cry to all of her poems pretty much frequently when I'm by myself in my apartment cuddled like a ball in my blankets and mountains of pillows. The writing workload in poetry is a lot less, but each line of your poetry must be telling a story in itself, should leave you gasping for air sort-of-feeling. Poetry gives the impression that it must be heartfelt or emotional, which is partially true but not necessarily applicable to all situations. In the poems for my portfolio, one of them is seemingly deep as it resonates sexuality and coming out. Another of the poems is a little less demonizing and more lighthearted about my life's experiences. The last poem of the series was totally fun for me to fix up; I knew I wanted to write sort of like a love poem about a girl I've been crushing on. I went back to all three poems for days in a row to feel content with the final product.
ReplyDelete- Cecilia Ramirez