Part One: 2 biggest take aways
1.) Imitation is a good thing for students learning to write poetry. I find this to be a very essential point in the book because it helps the student develop new skills and techniques that have proven to be loved and taken to throughout history. By trying to use the style of previous world renowned poets it helps to student realize what is important with their style of writing. But, in a addition to finding what works for the young poets imitating, they can more easily see what does not work for them also and alter things to help them better relate their poems to the reader. This helps shape their own and unique style. Mary Oliver states, "Let them (students) imitate and imitate- and learn and learn"(page 18). We learn from imitating from a young age. We are constantly imitating our parents, friends, athletes, teachers, and anyone else who has an impact on our lives, so imitating influential poets should not be any different.
2.) I think the overall approach Mary Oliver has on the aspect of poetry has changed my view from my early notions. "It reflects from the writer's point of view-his or her perspective- out of all the sum of his or her experience and thought"(122). I love the idea that poetry is more than just poetic words and rhythm, it speaks the persons thoughts and feelings. "Poetry is a life-cherishing force"(122). She is so passionate about the way she approaches poetry that it inspires students to really indulge in their work.
Part Two: Sharon Olds response:
1.) Sharon Olds has won many rewards for her "human voice" that many find "self-indulgent." There are many opinions on her because some people feel like she is too personal with her writings, where as, others enjoy her "power to move and eroticism." I think people have been too harsh on Sharon Olds because how can somebody critique or put down her style of poetry when she is just expressing herself through her writing. I have always been a believer in just being yourself and not worrying about how others view you. I think Sharon is just expressing herself in her writings and critics have taken her work and twisted them into their own opinions on her. I enjoy her humanistic approach to poetry and I like seeing people do something different from others, and for this I respect her style and poetic career.
2.) My favorite poem was The Space Heater because it seemed to have the better flow and had a better story entailed inside it compared to the other poems. Although I am not a huge fan of her style and poem design, I can really appreciate this poem. The poem has a very human and basic interaction between the doctor and the narrator that seems so simple but provided a great significance to the patient. Sharon Olds gives the patient and doctor in the poem a very basic human voice by adding a simple question/response conversation that results in the doctor going through more than the patient expected him to do for her. She realizes that if he would go through all that work just to unplug the heater than she was in good hands. I really enjoy the way the poem seems stream of conciseness.
Jake, I agree completely with you on the stream of consciousness in "Space Heater". So much of that piece was just her thoughts and feelings all at once, which is so cool to me because it's like having a living poem with the way it is set up. I also would like to mention that the end of that poem has so much power and gravity that gets stronger and stronger as it ends, what did you think of that?
ReplyDeleteImitation allows the writer to develop a format in which their voice may lead to a stylized form. Persistent mimicking leads to greater success in learning a skill than trying to figure it out blindly.
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