Entry 9: I don't Want to Write a Poem and You Can't Make Me! stomp stomp stomp

         A month or so ago, I was talking with Dr. Jones about my genre project and she suggested that I think about writing a poem.
        "Hmmm... naaaaaooooo. I don't think so. I don't really like poems" was my response. Dr. Jones knew that I was trying to write something "fun" and with voice, so she persisted, telling me that I didn't have to write a poem that rhymed and that poems could be very creative.
         "You should consider it" she said.
         "I'll think about" I replied

         I did NOT want to write a poem. That's what I thought about... very loudly in my head. If my thoughts had feet, they would have been stomping. Acutely aware of my internal hissy fit, the adult in me perked up. See, as I've gotten older, I've started to force myself into exploring things that I'm initially adverse to. As much as I hate to admit this, usually I shy away from things that I think will be too hard or too much work. This case was different however, I just plain don't like poetry! I didn't want to write a poem. Now I know I haven't always felt this way. I believe my disdain for poetry came (here's a shocker) from multiple bad experiences in high school. The straw that broke the camels back however was this one: I was trying to write a haiku in history and there were all these stupid rules I had to follow, so of course I didn't (wasn't able) to write the poem "correctly". Not only did I fail at writing the poem, I had just a phenomenally boring time doing it. I don't remember what I was supposed to learn that day, but here is what I did: Poetry was difficult, stupid and pointless. I learned to shun the genre. 


"If you don't try it out you won't know if you like it and you might miss out on something really great" I told the little girl throwing a tantrum inside of me. So, I stopped silently yelling "No, I won't do it!", put on my big girl pants, and started considering how to go about writing a poem. I did this with great effort and dread, and eagerly awaited the expert presentation on the genre, silently hoping (praying and wishing) that I would be inspired. This is where I owe Lexi and Jackie a BIG THANK YOU, because I left that presentation with exactly what I needed. A new outlook on poetry and a desire to give it another chance. Thank you ladies for banishing my high school grievances!

          This is what I learned about poetry: I don't have to write a poem that rhymes and poems can be very creative. Hmm... look at that, Dr. Jones was right! Poetry is a celebration of the unconventional. It allows people the freedom to construct a  message in a unique way, placing more emphasis on the meaning of the text instead of following traditional form. Poems can be structured or free-verse, with a focus on detail or figurative speech. Or (and here's the best part) you can smash up and reconfigure the "rules", types of writing and structure of the text to create something unique. Writing like this forces the author to consider an idea, topic or feeling more deeply and/or from a different point of view; it requires higher-order thinking and can be a difficult but rewarding task.
 
       So where did my high school teachers go wrong? First and foremost, they imposed too many rules which smothered the creative process. The message that should have been stressed was this: "Poets choose words carefully and structure lines and stanzas in creative ways" (Tompkins, 2009, p. 156). Thinking back to the haiku disaster it is important to include this note; the objective of the lesson that day was not to learn how to write a haiku, it was to more fully engage in a historical topic discussed in class (which of course I don't remember what that was now).  Our teacher should have given us options. Tompkins would have suggested the use of formula poems for this would have provided us with enough direction and structure to start, but also enough wiggle room to think out-side-the-box (Tompkins, 2009). Having a variety of poetic devices to pick from would  have allowed the author to choose what type of poem best fit the message trying to be expressed, instead of trying to force meaning into 17 measly syllables. Said in a different way, form should have come later in the drafting process and it should have been flexible. Hm... I've heard this before... maybe Dr. Jone's does know what she's talking about :)

       While I'm going to create a poem for my genre project, I thought that I would try out the process here (since this is the first "real" poem I've written in ten years). I took Tompkins' advice and used the formula poem "I used to be... Now I am..." because according to her, this poem would help me to explore how something (myself) has changed over time (Tompkins, 2009). I thought it was quite appropriate concerning my new found appreciation for the poetry genre.

I use to Hate Poetry, especially Haiku

I use to be a person that hated poems.

Now I am a person that is ready to give them another chance.

I used to be a person that was scared to break the rules

                                                                          of writing.

Now I am a person that is still timid

                                          but willing to try.

I used to be a person that would never willingly write poetry.

Now I am a person that is excited by the possibilities.

I used to be a person that hated haiku.

Now I am a person that sill does! 

              (but I think that's just fine!)

Works Cited

Tompkins, G. E.  (2012).  Teaching writing:  Balancing process and product 
            (6^th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ:  Merrill.