First, it is important to say that the experience of being critiqued was not nearly as horrible as I thought it would be. I was surprised, and pleased, at how many good things people had to say about my poem. That being said, the criticisms that I received made total sense and have helped me understand not only how to make revision to make my poem better, but I think will help when I write in the future to be aware of what I am saying and how I am saying it.
Working with others in the way that the workshop dictates was also quite enjoyable. One is allowed to give their honest opinion on the work of discussion and have the floor, as it were, to do so in a manner that is without disruption and allows for further discussion. The author of the work at hand is able, thanks to the lovely bubble of silence, to not only hear all of these critiques but also have (if even a small) learning experience of taking criticism in such a way as to just take it in a positive way and for what it is (which I know for me is sometimes hard).
At times I feel like we as a class got off track with regard to whatever piece we were working on. This was sometimes frustrating, but at the same time I think maybe it lightened the tone of the class and allowed everyone not to take themselves TOO seriously. I really enjoyed reading everyone's poems. You realize how much talent everyone else has, even if one does not consider themselves a poet or a writer. Some of the poems we've read made me go "WOW," or think quite deeply about the subject matter. Others made me laugh; either way I think everyone's work is worth something (maybe it is not all journal or publisher-worthy, but there is real meaning in everyone's work).
No comments:
Post a Comment