Journal 4 - Devon

PART 1

There were a lot of things that interested me in this chapter. I thought it was very interesting how the author used his experiences in this chapter. I liked how he added his own experiences in this chapter. It showed me more of how much we really use the things that we know in our own poetry. I like how he is honest in this chapter. He talked about how he wrote a poem miserably.  He even acknowledged the mistakes that he had me. He had said “ I wouldn’t even spell Spinazzola right , and my editor wouldn’t even catch it. “ I think that is very important in this book that he does that. I think that often times we think that we are the best writers out there but in reality we are not. We all make mistakes. I like how he turned to writing to try to do justice for the war.  I liked that. I think it showed one of the many ways that writing can be helpful. I thought he wrote the poem about the war to serve as more of an outlet for his feelings.

In chapter nine I thought a major theme was how senses matter a lot when you are a poet. On page 100 he wrote “The senses are most keen and receptive at such a time. Do the same if possible in the evening, sending your soul from your wrist like a Merlin hawk to fly to the stars, or to ride upon the wind or shiver in the rain above the housetops.” He was talking about taking walks in this line and the importance of them. I feel as a writer that you have to use senses to make a poem good. A lot of people want something that they feel they are a part of. If you describe something in dull details, then you may never have a big audience. If you use your senses really well you can capture so many people. I think that taking walks is something good. You never know what you might see when you go out. You may see a bird, you may see a homeless man , or you may just see the trees but the important thing is that you are seeing something. Sometimes all it takes is something little to spark an idea.  I also like how he had written a poem about the plant eviction and it ended up becoming very popular. I thought that this showed that sometimes things go at a slower pace.

Part 2

I learned a lot during the workshops. I learned that being a critic is not always easy. I learned that sometimes you just accidentally stumble onto things after you read the poem a few times. I would read a poem once but then I would go back and find something new. I learned how confusing a poem could be if you were not clear about who the speak was.

I learned that my own poem will need revision. I learned that if I would use more figurative language the poem would be stronger. I learned that I need to watch the way that I use some of the line breaks. I did good at conveying a tone in my poem.  I need to work on the language that I use and make sure that it is as strong and clear as I possibly can make it. 

578 words.