Why do you write?

Perhaps this is just me but i do feel as though i can convey my exact thoughts and sentiments when i'm allowed time to write it out. I feel as though somehow i've surpassed or more likely relinquished the need for conversation well because i too often trip up over my own tongue and end up sounding like an inbred. I am able to through poetry illuminate, edify and even wow. While with English and my two cent input to most conversations i simply exist as a tree in the background on the stage which the play of life is being held on. So i assert would anyone prefer to speak poetry with me instead of... well this stuff.

Critiquing

As I've said in previous posts, I'm primarily a fiction writer. I wrote short stories, flash fictions, unfinished novels, etc. I help run a writing club, too, and many of our members are poets. Because of my heavier background in fiction, I often found myself lacking in terms of on-the-spot critiques for the poetry that finds its way into our meetings.

This class has fostered my growth as a poet, and by extension my strength in critiquing other poetry. I definitely feel I can more adequately respond to the poetry I come across, as well as scrutinize on a deeper level. For this, I am grateful.

Introspection

I'm not sure if I can attribute this to this class, but I've been more conscious of my own experiences in terms of what I write, this semester. Most of my writing in the last few months concerns thematic correlations to my personal stories, which I haven't really done before. I suppose there's a sort of vanity in that, but it seems to work well if you make a point. I've started doing this a lot with poetry, and I really like what's come of it. At the very least, I like where I'm going with this.

This will sound obvious, and in many ways it is, but putting my personal experiences into poetry is pretty cathartic. I would have expected it to be, but I'm just putting that out there.

One thing I will attribute to this class is how I've handled these personal experiences in poetry form. I don't think I would have been able to convey them as well otherwise.

F o r m

Ever since taking this class, I've been paying particular attention to how I format my poetry. To this end, I've also been scrutinizing how other poets structure their work. Prior to Intro, I believe a wealth of my poetry conveyed itself through bland and uninspired stanzas. I never played with line breaks or end-stops, or even thought to structure stanzas in a provocative way.

As a fiction writer, I'd say I thought with a mindset anchored by prose, though "anchored" may be heavy a term. My fiction work definitely brings a lot to the table in terms of my poetry, but not all of it is germane. Poetry definitely allows for different methods of creative finesse.

What do all of you think?

Overall

I took a lot away from this course, more than I expected but at the same time what I was hoping to find.It was nice to see the class get close and for everyone to be open with their material, it made class real. It was nice to see the many different poets and styles. We went through a good amount of poets and covered a wide range of styles, I felt it built up a good base to start at. Thanks everyone, good luck with finals!

"Which is a better pet? A turtle, table, or steak?

Some turtles are really fucking evil. They want to take over the world and keep all the water to themselves. I recently saw this documentary called Rango, with some nigga named Johnny Depp narrating it, explaining how corrupt land turtles are. Sea turtles are usually cool (example: Finding Nemo), but those land muthafuckas are shit. Look at Super Mario—they tried to kill the princess! And Bowser is a big-ass stank nigga. So, no, overall turtles don’t make good pets. They will try to kill you in your sleep and doo-doo in your sneakers.

Tables are really nice. They listen to your worries, hold things for you, and you can boo-boo on them and they will not complain. The first table I had was named Hemphrey. He couldn’t speak English too well, but Hemphrey was the nicest table I’d ever met. He died from a heroin overdose. So, yes, tables make great pets, just keep cool shit like heroin away from them.

Steak. So good. Well-done steaks are well mannered. Raw steaks are just like the people who eat them. Musty. So, steaks can be good or musty pets. Choose one and choose wisely.

Overall, tables are the coolest pets.

Golf Wang, bitch!"

This is a post on an online music website called hype beast. It was submitted by a nineteen year old boy named "Tyler the Creator" He's a rapper from the Los Angeles area. He is vulgar, immature, violent and a ridiculously huge tool. But he is very F****** strange, making him, for me worth being interested in. Here is his music video, again, this is something I am fascinated by only because he is soooo amazingly off of his rocker. I like insanity.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSbZidsgMfw

Sylvia Plath

"I am too pure for you or anyone."

This is a quote by Sylvia Plath.. I hate to admit it, because its a slightly egotistical way of feeling, but in my quietest state I relate to this quote in a deep way. I am in no way shy or virginal or elitist but I truly feel that most people these days don't spend enough time trying to get to know themselves. I feel like the path to salvation has a lot to do with knowing your insides well enough to create a life course true to your being. Too many people allow the bustle and noise of the world to distract them from what is most important, self revelation. Then again, I feel Sylvia knew herself to an astounding degree. And she wound up committing suicide.