Last Thursday I went to the poetry slam at Brewer book store and was surprised to see how many people from our class were waiting to read their poems. I really was excited to see how many people came and enjoyed watching both classmates and others volunteer to read their poetry in front of so many people they did not know. I also liked how many different styles of poetry I had the chance to see. The girl who won the contest was absolutely amazing at reading her chosen poetry. You could tell that she had so much feeling for what she was reading. It was a good example of the power that poetry has to effect people as the words she read were truly moving to her as well as the audience. Although she did not write the poems she read I was glad that the judges decided to award her first prize as she demonstrated what good poetry can do for people.
Aside from this I also really liked hearing poems that had been workshopped in class by my groupmates Kevin and Craig. Before both of them read I knew which poems they were going to present as in class we had discussed which poems of ours were our favorites. I though both of my group mates and Jess did an excellent job reading and I give them a lot of credit for being willing to go up and read their work in front of people. I was also impressed by many of the other contestants and enjoyed one poem by a younger girl which compared music and nature. If there was another poetry slam I would definitely go.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Workshop Comments
First off, I wanted to say thanks for all the feedback I got during workshop. You guys gave me really helpful and really positive comments. I was kind of apprehensive about my assignment 10 poems because I know they have really heavy subject matter, and I wasn’t sure how they’d come across to everyone else. I was really worried about my Beauty and the Beast poem especially cause I didn’t want it to look like I was poking fun at domestic abuse or making light of such a heavy topic.
As I was going through the comments that you guys gave me, I realized I left something out on Tuesday. I forgot to mention that I originally wanted my first poem to be ambigous. I wanted it to be unclear whether or not the person speaking was breathing a sigh of relief at having escaped her abusive relationship and is standing before the sea reflecting on it, or whether she’s on the brink of commiting suicide by throwing herself into the sea. I wanted it to go either way, and I forgot to ask you all Tuesday if you guys think the villanelle accomplishes that. Let me know what you think! Thanks!
--Candice
As I was going through the comments that you guys gave me, I realized I left something out on Tuesday. I forgot to mention that I originally wanted my first poem to be ambigous. I wanted it to be unclear whether or not the person speaking was breathing a sigh of relief at having escaped her abusive relationship and is standing before the sea reflecting on it, or whether she’s on the brink of commiting suicide by throwing herself into the sea. I wanted it to go either way, and I forgot to ask you all Tuesday if you guys think the villanelle accomplishes that. Let me know what you think! Thanks!
--Candice
Last Class
I can't believe today is the last class! This year has flown by so fast. I was really impressed with the tuesday workshop group. I loved Craig's poem with the Beatles references. I thought it was really clever. I also really liked Frank's poem about his grandfather. I thought his imagery was beautiful and the description was amazing. Overall, great job guys I was really impressed with everyone's poems for the tuesday workshop. I feel like as a class we have all improved so much this semester. I have started writing my Ars Poetica, and I am struggling quite a bit with it. I guess I feel like I don't really know yet, what I think should or shouldn't be in a poem. It seems to be coming together a little bit, but I feel like I am writing an essay rather than a poem. I feel like my Ars Poetica is really stiff and awkward sounding and while I try to say what I think should be in a good poem, I am definitely not writing a poem that in any way exemplifies the characteristics that I am describing in it. I don't know if anyone else is struggling with this or not too, but I guess I will just keep trying at it, and hope it comes out okay. See you all in class today for the last day!!
Here I Am Again
So I was hoping other people would be posting so there wouldn't be two posts by me one after another but....no one did. Anyway, I can't believe today is our last class! I also can't believe after next week I'll be half way done with college....what is going on. Frank, Candice, Jess, and any other seniors I can't begin to try to understand how YOU ALL must be feeling right now.
I've been working on my ars poetica...it's going fairly well; slowly, but it's still coming along nonetheless. I've never put my thought into like reasons why I revise my work, or my own methods of writing, I just sort of do. This is the first assignment I've ever had that forces me to write out WHY I am doing what I am doing, and like write out my thought process of what I am doing or what I do when I write. It's interesting and will probably take me a lot longer to finish this work than it usually will take me. I'm glad we read a variety of ars poeticas these past few weeks in class so that I have a better idea about what mine should look like, or at least what it should do.
I'm enjoying ending the class with a full class work shop this week. It's cool to see how people's poems and styles have writing have changed throughout this semester. Some people have made more improvements than others, but I've enjoyed the first half of the class's work so far. I really liked Taylor's poem... Usually when people write about a topic like young college students drinking and using marijuana, people just find it funny and laugh and giggle because it's all that forbidden fruit crap. I think Taylor was trying to accomplish something different with this poem, and I got that! His metaphors and images were cool, he played with words a lot which I liked, and I think we gave him good feedback for him to make the poem even better and longer.
I liked Frank's poem too about the little boy visiting his sick grandfather after pretending he himself was sick and therefore couldn't go to school. It makes me wonder if his mom knew he was faking and so wanted to teach him a lesson and brought him to his grandfathers house, so that even if he didn't understand it then, he'd understand it later in life. I'm not sure if a child of the age of nine or ten would be able to embody that guilt or understand that lesson, but still, the poem was very powerful and I loved all the images!
So yeah, I think that's it, and I'm also pretty sure this is my last blog so...it's been great! Everyone have a great summer, and to the seniors, have a great senior week and graduation and good luck in life I guess!! Maybe our class should keep this blog going to keep in touch haha!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Poetry Slam
I also forgot to post this after the slam last Thursday...so now I will be posting two blogs...
Props to our class for placing 3/4 places at the Poetry Slam!!! I honestly wasn't expecting to see any of our class participating but I was pleasantly surprised when Craig Kevin and Jess all had the guts to show up there and read their work. I really loved all three of Jess' poems about the bathroom. When I read them in class I thought they were witty and fun and very well written and apparently so did the audience and judges. Kevin got a laugh out of the audience just like he did out of our workshop group when he read the poem about his sweetheart. Another really fun poem. And finally, Craig... Well, I've always been impressed with the way he writes his poems, and for someone in an intro level class I think he writes poems very well. It was my first time hearing the poem about the Beatles and I really enjoyed that one, and I also enjoyed it in the full class work shop. Poems like that where I have to think and don't really get it at first usually frustrate me, but this time I just liked hearing how he read his own work, it made me think about the poem in the way he wanted people to think about it, so I understood it a lot better.
Besides our class, I was impressed with some of the work from the other students. I'm not sure if they were all in a class together where they were assigned to write poems, or just did it as a hobby, but I found that they were all somewhat similar. I was really impressed with Chelsea. She was the one that wrote the poem about Stainglass Eyes. I know Chelsea because she is on the volleyball team here with my roommate. Everyone describes her as quiet and I've always known her to keep to herself, so you can imagine my surprise as she got up there and read her poem with such intensity. She also had a lot of attitude when reading, kind of like, "you don't know me, fuck off" and it was a side of her I never saw. I guess the saying, "Never judge a book by it's cover" is true here, because I would have never expected that out of her. I also really enjoyed that one guy who's poem was kind of like a rap. I really felt like that poem came from the heart, that he was writing from personal experience, about something that really hurts and bothers him. I was SO impressed that he was able to recite the whole thing by memory. The poem sounded more like a song, but I think that's what songs are; poetry with a beat. I heard him say after that he has put a beat to it so I think that's really cool that on his free time he likes to write and make poetry and music. I'd be really interested to hear the full version of the song. I was surprised that both people did not place, because I thought their work was very original and thought provoking.
And as for the winner, Mwelwa...she has always impressed me as a student. She's a very involved young woman and is also very kind and outgoing. Her performance was very impressive although it was unclear to me whether or not she was reading her own work, or reading work BY someone who inspires her. If she wasn't reading her own work it's a little frustrating that she got first place because I thought the contestants were supposed to be reading work they've produced. But still, her performance was impressive and moving and gave me chills at many times. I thought it was brave of her to read a piece of work on race, something that still is uncomfortable for some people. I am taking a class on the Civil Rights Movement right now as I've mentioned before so I feel so much more empowered after taking that class when I hear of people overcoming the struggles of race so I really enjoyed listening to her read.
Now I kind of wish that I had the guts to perform. I still am uncomfortable with a lot of my work, even in class work shops so I got really nervous at the opportunity to perform in front of people I didn't know. But the whole atmosphere was very warm and inviting so I am considering doing it next year!!
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Poetry Slam
I totally forgot to post this after the Poetry Slam. I apologize, I am a poor excuse for a poet. My forgetfulness aside, I thought that the Poetry Slam was a pretty good time. Eight contestants, sweet ass rhymes, could a better time be had? I think not. The atmosphere was pretty laid back and I was pretty surprised with how many people showed up to support their respective slammers. The crowd was pretty silent, not deathly quiet though, but everyone seemed to be enjoying the poetry to be had. They were certainly not eager to flee from the scene, which was a nice gesture, considering I was convinced to participate in the slam only moments before it began.
Everyone's poetry was pretty good. I wish that kid, the one who did the rap thing without any music, had brought a boom-box or something with him, if only for the pure aesthetic bliss that I would have experienced as he inserted a mix tape and struck a pose. Regrettably, this did not happen. He did however, employ slant rhymes quite effectively throughout the course of his poem (the content of which I, unfortunately, cannot remember beyond the fact he swore a few times about his "baby"). The first person to read whose name, like most of the others, has escaped me, seemed to be very into that dark, menacing type poetry that speaks a lot about loneliness and starlight. He was a bit timid, so I wish he had felt more confident in his poems, but I give him kudos for just going up there and reading stuff he had written himself. Original work is, in my opinion, much preferred to reading someone else's. Reading someone else's poetry in a competition feels dishonest to me, as if you are hiding behind someone else's emotion. There is no real feeling there, only the simulation. My Techniques peeps and I cleaned up spots 4 through 2 in the judging, so that was pretty exciting. Jess and Kevin gave some pretty ballin' performances, and I was happy to come in alongside them as representatives of the Poetical Juggernaut that is, Techinques of Poetry 242.
Everyone's poetry was pretty good. I wish that kid, the one who did the rap thing without any music, had brought a boom-box or something with him, if only for the pure aesthetic bliss that I would have experienced as he inserted a mix tape and struck a pose. Regrettably, this did not happen. He did however, employ slant rhymes quite effectively throughout the course of his poem (the content of which I, unfortunately, cannot remember beyond the fact he swore a few times about his "baby"). The first person to read whose name, like most of the others, has escaped me, seemed to be very into that dark, menacing type poetry that speaks a lot about loneliness and starlight. He was a bit timid, so I wish he had felt more confident in his poems, but I give him kudos for just going up there and reading stuff he had written himself. Original work is, in my opinion, much preferred to reading someone else's. Reading someone else's poetry in a competition feels dishonest to me, as if you are hiding behind someone else's emotion. There is no real feeling there, only the simulation. My Techniques peeps and I cleaned up spots 4 through 2 in the judging, so that was pretty exciting. Jess and Kevin gave some pretty ballin' performances, and I was happy to come in alongside them as representatives of the Poetical Juggernaut that is, Techinques of Poetry 242.
Poetry Slam
I would like to talk about the poetry slam last Thursday. First my hats off to everyone who performed, I couldn't muster up the courage to get up there and read one of my own pieces and have that much more respect for everyone who did.
The first poem I would like to talk about is Jess and her toilet poems. I was already familiar with them, however I don't know if I ever heard you read them in class. I enjoyed listening to your obvious sense of humor that went into them and loved seeing the reactions of the crowd members. You had people laughing with your lines starting with " It is not..." than finishing it with "but it..." This technique gave the audience time to think about what you were saying and you could see how people would think about it than understand what part of the bathroom you were talking about and laugh. Great Job.
The next poets I would like to talk about are Craig, and Kevin. Hearing your poems made me regret not being in your groups for workshop. You guys both had incredible sense of humor and a talent for playing around with your words. Craig I enjoyed your poem that referenced the Beatles. I was a huge fan and you were very clever in the way you made the listener think about what Beatles line you were referring to. Kevin, you read your poem perfectly for the message it was portraying. While your girlfriend seemed so evil in her ways, you still did a great job at making the audience laugh and convincing them nothing really is ever her fault.
Lastly I would like to talk about two of the poets who were more intense. I forget the guys name but the poet who had memorized his work also really impressed me. I did not agree with the amount of swear words in his poem, some seemed unnecessary to me, however he read with great passion and it sucked the listener in. It wasn't all about the words of his poem but more about the way he said it. It had an incredible flow almost like a rap and alot of time was obviously spent on it. And, to Welwha I thought she did an amazing job. I had never heard the Tupac poems she read however I did no he was a poet. While she read I almost felt that it could have been Tupac himself up there. She read his work like it was her own and it was very powerful. She had a talent at making specific lines stand out with the tones of her voice. She used different volumes to do this and did not hold back from expressing her self. The poems she picked seemed to be about issues she felt and it was incredible to see her perform at that level.
Thanks, TAd
The first poem I would like to talk about is Jess and her toilet poems. I was already familiar with them, however I don't know if I ever heard you read them in class. I enjoyed listening to your obvious sense of humor that went into them and loved seeing the reactions of the crowd members. You had people laughing with your lines starting with " It is not..." than finishing it with "but it..." This technique gave the audience time to think about what you were saying and you could see how people would think about it than understand what part of the bathroom you were talking about and laugh. Great Job.
The next poets I would like to talk about are Craig, and Kevin. Hearing your poems made me regret not being in your groups for workshop. You guys both had incredible sense of humor and a talent for playing around with your words. Craig I enjoyed your poem that referenced the Beatles. I was a huge fan and you were very clever in the way you made the listener think about what Beatles line you were referring to. Kevin, you read your poem perfectly for the message it was portraying. While your girlfriend seemed so evil in her ways, you still did a great job at making the audience laugh and convincing them nothing really is ever her fault.
Lastly I would like to talk about two of the poets who were more intense. I forget the guys name but the poet who had memorized his work also really impressed me. I did not agree with the amount of swear words in his poem, some seemed unnecessary to me, however he read with great passion and it sucked the listener in. It wasn't all about the words of his poem but more about the way he said it. It had an incredible flow almost like a rap and alot of time was obviously spent on it. And, to Welwha I thought she did an amazing job. I had never heard the Tupac poems she read however I did no he was a poet. While she read I almost felt that it could have been Tupac himself up there. She read his work like it was her own and it was very powerful. She had a talent at making specific lines stand out with the tones of her voice. She used different volumes to do this and did not hold back from expressing her self. The poems she picked seemed to be about issues she felt and it was incredible to see her perform at that level.
Thanks, TAd
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