Writing poetry or writing about poetry? I am going to have to guess most people would say creating poetry is more fun and more interesting than writing about published poetry. I would tend to agree with them.
It is a pretty close race in my mind but I have good reasons for liking to write than to write about, mostly the creativity. When you write about poetry it seems like you are just writing about someone else's ideas. You can make new ideas about what a poem means but you are never really sure it is true or not because really the only true authority of meaning is the author them self and most of the time they aren't talking for one reason or another. At least this is my belief. When you create yourself, on the other hand, you can make it mean whatever you want. Ironic, mean spirited, happy, sad, whatever; it is you and nothing else. Creation is also much more satisfying than regurgitation.
The one advantage to writing about is that it is safe. You write what you think something means and if you are wrong, oh well, I misinterpreted but it isn't a big deal because sometimes it is trial and error. You may not be familiar with some of the experience the poem contains in its ideas and you could hardly be accountable for something like that, at least in the context of being a student in a classroom. But when you create a poem you are putting yourself out there for everyone to see. People are basically getting a flash of your soul and that can be scary. The anxiety of not being good enough or interesting enough creates a lot of pressure as well. You can find meaning in someone else's work if you look long enough and in the right places, but your creativity is all you and only you.
In the end for me the satisfaction outweighs the anxiety just enough for me to put myself out there for all to see.
About Me
- Ryan
- I am currently a senior at CSUN, and a semester away from receiving my Bachelors in English. Its about all I do now a days.
3 comments:
I have to agree with you that writing poetry is a lot better than writing about poetry. I think that we were both very creative writing our own poetry. I really enjoyed hearing your poem on Billy Corgan and the Smashing Pumpkins. But I also have to agree that writing about poetry is safe because you can interpret the poem any way that you see it. But I also think that it is difficult and boring to write about poetry. I would rather write ten poems than one essay about a poem already written. I had the best time writing my poems that I have written a couple more over spring break. You can create your own poetry any way that you want to create it and it is also fun to see how other people interpret the poem that you have written. In the end I have to choose writing poetry over writing about poetry. You can read it and comment on my blog.
You are not alone in your thoughts about poetry. I too wonder if my interpretation of another’s poetry is right on, close, or nowhere near what they intended. Most of the poetry I analyze is by a poet who is no longer alive. After I am done with my analysis, I usually find the interpretations of others, and am usually surprised by the different points of view. When I write my own poetry, the burden of interpretation is gone, and I feel free to write whatever I want. It is true, that this freedom also results in more anxiety about how others would accept your poems. I was glad that we were required to read our poems in class. It helped me to become more confident with sharing my poetry. It’s great that you are already comfortable with sharing your poetry. When I write a paper about another person’s poem, some of that anxiety is gone, because I am writing about someone else’s creation. Your point regarding this was accurate. However, I do sometime’s wonder what the author would say if they read my paper.
I agree. Writing poetry is much more entertaining and interesting than writing about poetry. I think that once you write your own poem that you are pleased with, it is a better feeling than analyzing a poem and being with the essay. For most, I feel the creative process will always outweigh the analytical. I agree with your interpretation that since the analysis of poetry can either be right or way off, it is hard to really put feeling into something that in the end may be wrong. The idea of “writing about someone else’s idea’s” can also turn people off and lead them toward the creative process. I do, however, think that both aspects are equally important. In the classroom, I hope to teach the writing about first, just like we did in this course. The students will spend time analyzing different poems and once they fully grasp it, I’ll then allow them to write their own poems.
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