Journal #10: "What is Poetry?"

Reflect upon your past experience with poetry, as well as your idea of what poetry is. How useful, in your opinion, is the study of poetry? How open-minded are you about our study of poetry?



I love poetry. When I was younger, I used to write a lot of poems. If I was upset I would wrote poems because I seemed to have so much that I wanted to say. I would write poems upon poems and I would keep a journal underneath my pillow, just in case I had a sudden urge to write something. There were times when I would wake up at night and start writing down things. I didn’t want to forget what I was thinking because I thought that they might make a really good poem. I used to write about many different things. What I would write, depended on how I was feeling when I was writing. I read my old poems now and I can still imagine what had happened or what I was feeling when I originally wrote my poems. I believe that with some editing and re-wording of some of the poetry, they have good potential. I still write poems but not as much as I used to. I find that now instead of writing poems I tend to just keep a journal. I like writing down my thoughts and opinions in a journal because is it helpful for me, in order to clear my head. Every night before I go to bed I write down how I am feeling and any significant things that may have happened in the day. Sometimes I find writing in my journal is better than talking to someone like my mom or my friends. I find that there are times when I can write a poem from feelings or events that I have written in my journal. I enjoy both reading and writing poetry. Although, there is some poetry that confuses me, I like to read them and try to figure out what their meaning is.
I think that poetry is feelings, thoughts and opinions on certain topics that are written in creative ways such as rhyming patterns. Poetry has a sort of magic to it, the way words can be used to express feelings and make you feel a certain way. I believe that the best poetry is probably written when someone has a lot of emotions that they just let loose in the form of writing. I believe that when someone just starts writing without a lot of planning, it can be beneficial because you don’t think too much. When you just write from the heart, you could produce some really meaningful pieces. I believe that once the person has written everything down, then they could go back and add in the rhyming schemes and words that may work better.
In school, I think that the study of poetry can be a little tedious for teachers. There are students that enjoy poetry and then there are students who do not like poetry at all. I believe that people either like poetry or they do not. So the study of poetry in school can become pointless for some groups of kids, if they really don’t care in the first place. I know from past experiences in school that some kids do not appreciate the value of poetry and make it hard for other kids who actually want to learn. I believe that in our writers craft class that, we as students are interested in writing may have more of an open mind to learning about poetry. But, some people may like writing poetry and some may not.
I always get excited when teachers say we will be doing a poetry unit. So I am looking forward to what we will learn in this class about poetry. I hope that I will learn more about effective poetry writing. I believe that I will enjoy this poetry unit.