Consortium Response #4: What Have I Learned So Far?

Since we've come to the official end of our poetry unit, I want to give you all this opportunity to reflect upon the work you've done and the material that you've read. Consider this forum response to be a reminiscence of sorts, but also use this space as a mechanism for collecting thoughts and ideas about poetry and poetic strategies for you all to refer back to as you create your major thesis projects.

As a response to this topic, please write a thoughtful reflection about the things that you've learned in the past few weeks of studying poetry and about the ideas and strategies you'll carry with you into the prose-writing portion of the class. Also, please write about the specific goals you have for your fiction and nonfiction prose writing; what is it that you want to accomplish in the next few months? In your responses to others, I encourage you to challenge one another (in a respectful way, of course!) to set specific objectives and to reflect upon the ideas/strategies that others have brought to the table.

DUE DATE: Friday, March 15, 2013 (The Ides of March are come!)

In the last few weeks , I have learned many things. Poetry can be about anything and it can mean many different things, depending on your own way of interpreting it. I also learned new poetry vocabulary such as consonance and tone. Later on in this class, I will definitely keep in mind to participate more in class and remember that writing is your own. My goals for fiction and non-fiction writing involve writing clearly, making room in my brain for imagination, and research for non-fiction writing. I'm upset that poetry is over, but glad that fiction and non-fiction writing are next.

So far in creative writing, I've learned to more carefully analyze poems for deeper meaning, and I've also learned the names for some literary devices. I've also come to dislike happy poetry a little less, but not much. The unhappy ones are usually so much more descriptive. In this class I've realized how much imagery and meter account for, as well as how people's varying interpretations can find things you didn't realize were there yourself, when you were writing.

I'm completely useless when it comes to writing about things in real life, and essays, so i'd prefer to stick to writing poetry, it seems to turn out pretty well. I should probably write some prose in the future, and i will probably have to, but I just dislike it. I'll probably try writing some short stories to start things off.

During the poetry unit, I have learned how to write poetry more successfully. I have also learned to use sound devices to make poems more interesting, and also how to use word choice to clearly portray mood. By reading the poems of others, I know how to edit other people's work and give suggestions on how to improve it. I have been shown interesting poems such as The Lamb and The Tiger that really make me think. My goal for writing fiction and nonfiction is to be creative and to break away from my essay type writing. I want to have a really good short story by the end of this year, so that I know that I can do it!

So far in this class I have learned about new literary devices that I had either never heard of or had forgotten about. I have also learned how to use the literary devices to better help convey my purpose to the reader, and what I want them to see through my writing. I learned through peer edits how helpful other people’s opinions can be when editing your work to help improve it. I have also learned to become more confident with my writing, and one of my goals is to have more class participation in our next unit. Another hope that I have is to see if I can try writing a strong happy piece seeing as I have written two poems that are on the sadder side.

I really liked all the things that you said you learned, and I learned many of them myself. I also liked how you said how you need to branch away from essay style writing. I think that I need to work on that myself. Good job!

I really liked how you discussed that poetry can be interpreted in many different ways depending on who is reading it. I definitely found that out also through this class. I also liked your goal of participating more in class. I think that is something that I struggle with currently and hope to get better at contributing.

I like how you said you'd widen your focus and work on happier topics, i have that problem myself, and should probably do the same. I also enjoyed most of my peer edits, by doing them you can see which lines stick with people the most.

I love your honesty about poetry, and I agree! Reading the poems I have definitely opened up the possibility of actually reading poetry for fun. I have also learned that meter actually effects the poem's mood because I didn't know that before! Nice job!

I think it's awesome that you want to try writing some happy poetry too! I did the same thing and ended up writing a really happy poem for the last major assignment. Also, do participate! We want to hear your ideas! Nice reflection on what you have learned this year, keep up the good work.

This year so far I've learned how to use different techniques when writing my poetry. I tried to produce different ideas and topics for each poem i wrote. I also learned how people can write about very different things. I've heard the same person write very happy poems while they also produce very dark poems. And that is something I really liked about this unit, because i could branch out and write about whatever I wanted to write about. In this upcoming unit, I would like to push myself to write about different topics that I've never written before. I also want to write about things that people wouldn't expect me to write.

I agree with you that poetry can be about many different things depending on the way you interpret it. I also learned many different vocabulary terms in the poetry unit and I'm excited for what is to come when writing fiction and non fiction.

I really relate to you when you said how you rather dark poetry. For me, happy poetry is a bit too descriptive and sometimes harder to write. Darker poetry is an outlet to let your feelings escape and that's what I enjoy about the freedom of poetry.

I like how you want to branch out and try other subjects, personally i started off writing happy poems, but after switching from topic to topic, i found writing about the darker topics was what i was best with and stuck to it. By branching out you're more likely to find the the things you're really good at.

Within the last few weeks I've learned a lot about poetry. At first I did'nt like it because I'm bad at poetry and I can't make symbolic refrences no where nearly as well as others, but overall I learned to open my mind a bit more and be much more creative with my ideas. I've also learned that having other peoples ideas do not just give you another option but open a whole new world.

I like in your response and how you said poetry can be interpreted in different ways, thats the main reason why I like it. Id also like to speak more in class, I wish I did this unit to get my ideas out but Ill try next year.

I agree. Dark poetry is better to write because its way more descriptive, though I don't like it, it's easier to write. I want to try working on happy poetry...overall I like your response

From the poetry unit I have learned how to properly use sound devices in order to convey a meaning or to just add to the poem in general rather than just rhyming for no real purpose. Also I have learned how to use different literary elements to help create and and to a meaning of a poem. I wish to work on fully establishing an idea before writing instead of writing as I go, also i want to work on writing in different moods.

I agree with this completely, I honestly did not think I would enjoy poetry but now, even though I'm not too great at it I really like it, I also agree with the idea that the more feedback you get from different people the better your work will become.

I really like how you mentioned the peer edits, through the peer edits you really are able to see your work through another's eyes which really helps when trying to improve upon a first draft, I too really want to try harder at writing a happy piece that still has a lot of substance.

Throughout the poetry unit I learned that writing poetry is actually something I enjoy, since I usually only write prose. I really enjoyed reading different poems and seeing different people's interpretations of them. I learned how to use sound devices to get across the tone of a poem and how to revolve a poem around a particular emotion.

In the next unit my goal is to write realistic fiction that has more meaning and is different than the fluffy stuff that I tend to write.

I as well would like to participate more in class and volunteer to read my work to the class even if I'm unsure whether it is written well.

This unit taught me how to read with insight between the lines of poetry, and understand true meanings behind the author's words. I also learned how best to convey my meaning without directly saying it, and ways to use word choice, meter, and writing techniques in order to set a mood or tone or send a message to the reader, either consciously or subconsciously.
I will use these lessons in both my fiction and my nonfiction prose by using these same literary tools in order to hint at meanings and making people think deeper about what it is that I am saying.

I'm really happy that you learned to like poetry,and I am excited to see your new less fluffy style of prose. I would like to say, however, that a little fluff is good and it could add to the entirety of the prose. So perhaps keep a tad bit of the fluff and add some deeper themes as well.

I hope that you will also use what you have learned this unit in your future writing endeavors, and I can't wait to read them. Also, I agree that fully establishing an idea is important, as I often have that same problem where as you write the story changes and the sentences get out of control. But, as long as you go back and edit the story to fit the plot that you liked best, writing by the seat of your pants isn't necessarily a bad thing.

In the past few weeks I have learned so many things about poetry. I've learned that rhyme is useless unless used right. I've also learned how much a simple period or comma can change a poem. Also, that your word choices and the words you chose to rhyme are significantly important when you are trying to write about a certain mood. I must remember to keep my meter throughout the poem so that if I chose to break it, it will be so much more effective. I love how we could do anything we wanted with our poetry, it was a great stress reliever!

I agree with you in that poetry can mean many different things depending on what the author uses for word choices and how much he/she leaves up for the reader to interpret. i would also like to branch put this unit and write about things that I haven't before.

I agree with your point completely, I have learned to analyze poems more deeply and pick out the larger meaning. I also agree with your point in that sad poems have so much more meaning then happy ones. I believe they do because there is so much more emotion present in the unhappy poems. I also want to branch out and write about new things in the upcoming unit.

I think this unit expanded my perspective of different situations. It also actually helped me write rather good poetry, if I do say so myself. I have also learned how to analyze poems and that a lot of phrases have double meaning. overall, this unit was a positive experience.

I've learned many valuable thing about poetry in the past weeks. My favorite part was reading poems by well-known authors like Frost, Angelou, etc. because I don't take AP English and still want to analyze those types of work in a classroom. I learned the knitty-gritty breakdown of details like structure, word choice, and the answer to the question, "why can't the tiger just be a tiger!". I liked how as a class we went very in-depth not just with published works but with each other's works as well. For fiction and nonfiction, I hope to read well-known concrete examples of each and analyze them in class (since to me speaking my thoughts is the best way I learn).

@llamasarecool I agree with wanting to research non-fiction work. I also want to think more out-of-the-box -- I like the journaling assignments that tell us new techniques and strategies to try to make our writing flow.

@sadie24 I agree with wanting to learn to break away from essay-style writing in the fiction and nonfiction portion. I learned a lot about sound devices in the poetry unit that will also help my fiction and nonfiction writing.

Ive learned a lot of things about poetry on the last few weeks, I never really liked poetry until I started this class. Now poetry is on my mind and i cant really write anything but it. I leanered many poetic devices that have now helped me because now my english class os doing poetry and I have some prior knowledge of the subject.

In response to King of Lizard:
I totally agree with your whole response and thats basically how i felt about poetry before as said above. Quote "At first I did'nt like it because I'm bad at poetry and I can't make symbolic refrences no where nearly as well as others".

In response to Dark Woods: "I've also come to dislike happy poetry a little less, but not much. The unhappy ones are usually so much more descriptive." I disagree happy poems can be much more descriptive if written well, but more people choose to write unhappy poems because they are easier to write and its probably why people like them more.

Throughout the poetry unit, I had learned a lot. I had learned to appreciate differing types of poems. I had also learned the difference between consonance and assonance. Along with that, I had learned other literary elements to help me write my poetry.