Exhibition Statements

Introduction

Why is it that poetry can be so complicated and hard to understand? Often times, people have been told that poetry has a single correct, deeply philosophical, and often elitist interpretation that they just can’t seem to find. My workshop wanted to teach exactly the opposite: poetry isn’t complicated or elitist, but deeply intimate, real, and ultimately, ambiguous. Students learned about and wrote personal poetry, a genre comprised of poems written from the perspective and experience of the poet themselves, to tackle their poetry fears and become lovers of poetry. Their final creations included an individual original poem, displayed anonymously in order to allow them to be as honest and vulnerable in their writing as possible, as well as a chapbook containing a collection of their works produced in this workshop compiled around a theme.

History & Distinction

The theoretical background of this workshop revolves around the idea that ambiguity is power in art. In writing especially, the uncertainty of the meaning created allows each reader to find value of their own in a creation. Ambiguity makes poetry fundamentally what it is—both unknowable and instinctively understood (Clark, 2016).

The movements that were most strongly drawn from include realism, naturalism, and imagism, with a strong focus on the modern poetic movement to include slam poetry, social justice poetry, and poets of diverse cultural backgrounds (LaPrade, 2001). Experiencing diverse stories is an integral part of understanding personal poetry and learning to appreciate an individual poet’s voice as a vessel for change and identity. Using these elements in your writing can be deeply personal, and it was my aim that workshop participants would use this inner recognition as a tool for their own self-understanding (Gold & Jordan, 2018).

Methods

The background research for this workshop was primarily conducted through literature searches, as well as the use of my own experience in poetic composition. The literature I reviewed gave a strong theoretical and historical background for me to base the workshop on. I investigated the major movement of poetry from the last few centuries and the uses of poetry as a tool for both teaching and healing. My prior knowledge mainly served to elevate my teaching methods and implementation of technical lessons. Each workshop session covered both a writing technical skill to be practiced and a personal lens (some included childhood, future, fear, and passion). This combined both the research I conducted and my personal advice to form a lesson that was both informative and personally useful to students so they could feel engaged in both a poetic community and their own mastery of skill.

Audience & Impact

The intended audience of this workshop was anyone who may have labeled themselves as a skeptic, unfamiliar, or even hater of poetry before. I too have experienced sub-par poetry education that turned me off to the art form for a long time, so I wanted this workshop to re-inspire participants and readers into appreciating it, in their own way. Reading and writing poems is not about getting something right, it’s about feeing right yourself, producing work that feels relatable and real to you and your reader, and above all, connecting with others.

I formed connections I will be forever grateful for through this workshop, both to my co-leader, my students, and to poetry itself. Even as someone who already loved poetry, I grew even fonder of it as I listened to my students—some of whom had never written a poem before—read their touching and infinitely creative work. This workshop was a transformation of the soul onto paper, and because of it, I hope my participants and those of you reading their work feel even a little bit more known among this writing, if only for a fleeting moment. I know I do.

References

Clark, K. (2016). The wild unsayable: Magic, mystery, and ambiguity in contemporary poetry. The Georgia Review, 70(1), 204–224. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44077715

Gold, R., & Jordan, E. (2018). Grief, poetry, and the sweet unexpected. Death Studies, 42(1), 16–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2017.1370413

LaPrade, C. A. (2001). Assessing African American poetry. Southern Literary Journal, 34(1), 136–139.

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Harold and Heather, The Arts Scholars program directors, and Gabbi, both our Arts Scholars and workshop TA for their invaluable support and guidance in making this workshop happen. I would like to thank Martha, my co-leader, for being not just an asset to our workshop but a great friend. Most of all I would like to thank all my workshop participants for their hard work and incredible final projects that make me proud this workshop.

~Sophia

Introduction

Back in ye olden days of grade school, I remember when it came time for the poetry unit, I would feel an amalgamation of excitement and frustration. I always enjoyed reading poetry and even writing some of my own. The trouble came with the assessments in school. I always felt pushed into thinking there was only one way to interpret a poem and every detail got put under a microscope. Being in an academic environment where there was a "right," and a "wrong," way to read and write poetry pushed the personality right out of the art form. While creating the workshop we wanted to provide an opportunity for our participants to not feel constrained and pressured writing poetry while still being in an academic setting. By the end of the semester all of the participants had written many poems to fill a chapbook as well as an anonymously posted poem that had a length of 12 lines or more.

History & Distinction

Since this workshop had two leaders, most of the time, each one of us focused on different elements of the workshop. I made a specific effort to create a physical and emotional environment that felt comfortable. Research was conducted on classroom and teaching styles that would help benefit our situation.

We learned about the best way to setup the chairs in the room so that everyone could be seen and heard. We utilized our resources that included whiteboards on all of the walls so that we could get out of our chairs and walk around some. Every day we made sure to start with an ice breaker that allowed us to get to know each other’s lives outside of class to be more personable. We also had warmups related to poetry and included a speaking element as to not begin the lesson in silence. Our room did not have windows so we could not utilize the calming effects of a view of the outdoors, so we made sure to have calming white noise or music playing when speaking was over (Rands & Gansemer-Topf, 2017). Our directors and workshop preparation class also gave insight on class management skills.

Methods

The research was conducted through academic sources, studies on students and how they interacted with the room and how that impacted their behavior. 

we learned to periodically check-in with students if they are doing a time restricted activity to find out if they need more or less time. We also learned that a small change from saying “are there any questions,” to “what questions do you have,” felt more open and inviting for asking questions.

Audience & Impact

The target was to appeal to an audience of students who had an interest in poetry but felt like in the past and or currently have not had the opportunity to fully explore it in the way they would like. The workshop participants were composed of college Freshman and Sophomores belonging to the College Park Art Scholars program. The students that chose to participate in our poetry workshop had different levels of experience and skills, but all had an interest in spending the semester dedicating time to poetry.

The intended impact was to create an environment where everyone felt comfortable writing poetry with deep personal meaning and felt like they could trust their peers to give honest and valuable feedback, so that they had the chance to refine and improve their poetry skills.

The impact of the workshop on the participants was seen every week, through interactions and growth in skills of describing and critiquing as well as reading aloud poetry. The workshop also impacted everyone’s writing as each week went by more intricate poems with distinct artistic voices were written.

This workshop has impacted me personally by giving myself the chance to spend more time with poetry in an academic setting without feeling pressure. The opportunity to speak in front of and give direction to a group of people has helped my speaking and presenting skills immensely. 

References

          Rands, Melissa L, and Ann M Gansemer-Topf. The Room Itself Is Active: How Classroom Design Impacts Student ... - EdMelissa.   https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1152568.pdf.

          Saunders, Shari, and Diana Kardia. “Creating Inclusive College Classrooms.” CRLT, crlt.umich.edu/gsis/p3_1. Accessed 2023.

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the art scholars directors Heather, Harold, and Gabi, as well as my friends and family that have supported me these past two years.  I will forever be grateful for the Arts Scholars program, the community it created, and the opportunity to be a part of it. 

~Martha