My Growth As A Writer

As I reflect on my growth as a writer in knowledge and artistry, I cannot help but notice how writing has become more enjoyable to me through poetry and has given me a newfound appreciation for literature and different writing styles. I have learned that writing starts first with simply being attentive to the world and the people one meets, because all writing starts with the shared ability among people to experience. Following this shared ability to experience the world, I began to understand through writing poetry in this class that literature is truly an art form in all respects, for the writing process is synonymous to creating a painting. A rough idea of what one will create is necessary, then an artist has to trust him or herself and

When beginning this class, I had some knowledge of poetry writing due to the introduction class with Dr. Bilgere, but I did not enjoy writing poetry as much as I do now. I think I enjoy writing poetry more now because this class examined and used many poets unique in style, form, and language that I found not only helpful, but also inspirational for my own writing. Furthermore, the poets covered in this class were not easy to imitate, particularly Lev Rubinstein, Sharon Olds, and Sinead Morrissey. I found these imitations difficult because I had to come to understand the reasoning behind their unique styles and use of poetic language. For Rubinstein, his style is unlike any other, and his poetry contains hidden threads of meaning/plot that made me appreciate the effort he took into writing in a notecard format. My favorite poems of his are “The Hero Emerges” and “Here I Am” in which the speaker is listing miscellaneous phrases of conversations and has a conversation with the reader. These two poems with the notecard format are two favorites because they makes the writer actively be attentive to the world around him or her, and construct a poem with purpose (by ordering the dialogue, selecting dialogue to include/omit, choosing language, etc.). Thus, when I first encountered Rubinstein’s style, I was intrigued by his creativity and was

For example, in my elegy, “Shoes,” I infer that readers should be grateful that they have life and dignity when others are objectified and murdered. Likewise, through my gratitude to my scars in “Scars and Stories,” I infer that readers should not only be careful, but also be grateful for injuries so as to see the resulting good. Furthermore, through my “Confessional Poem” with a subject of relationships, I infer that readers should be thankful for the ones they are close with and treasure the time they have live and still have left to live. Reflecting on why counsel and gratitude have been central to my poems of this semester, I think these are the underlying telos of my poems because I also struggle with taking advice and being grateful (similar to the ‘not being in control’ previously mentioned). In my life, I give my friends and peers advice when needed so as to help them grow, and I think these actions have carried over into my