Over the semester, I think a lot of the readings that we did helped me in at least one way or another, regardless of genre. As a writer in general, I feel that I've improved a lot over the last few months. I know that the readings we had helped me take a step back and look at my writing style, which helped influence me and change as a writer.
The one area I felt I needed the most improvement is was my poetry. The most experience I'd had before this class writing poetry was writing joke haikus during lunch in high school. Beyond that, I had no idea of what to do. Throughout the years, my English teachers have assigned poetry, and although I always got good grades on my poems, I've never been particularly fond of my poetry. I think it's because I didn't really know how to write a poem effectively, and I've never really read any poetry outside of what was required for school, which wasn't exactly the most interesting poetry. I think that the poetry of Emily Dickinson, which I've never really read before, definitely caught my eye. When I read some of her work, her way of describing me definitely stuck with me. She has such a bizarre way of describing things, which really sits well with me. After that point, I realized that you didn't have to be so straightforward with your writing. You can make obscure connections and it'll still make sense.
Also in that packet was the poem Dream Boogie by Langston Hughes. This also influenced me greatly because it made me think about the rhythm of my poetry. The way the poem flows is almost like a song. It's just so rhythmic, and I had never realized poetry could do that before. Reading Dream Boogie was a huge eye-opener for me. As a musician, it made me realize how related music and songwriting is to poetry. With this added knowledge, I payed more attention to the rhythm of my poems.
Well, I had a blast this semester. I definitely have found a new love of writing that I didn't know I could ever have. Hope everyone else in class had as much fun as I did!
Ben L.
