Maybe this isn't wise for me to write somewhere that I know my teacher will read it, but I have a confession:
I dislike writing poetry.
It feels like an article of clothing that doesn't ever fit me right. The fit always changes: one day it might be a skirt that has too much static cling, another day it's pants where the hems are way too short. Metaphor aside, there's always something that feels uncomfortable.
I write it when people ask it of me, but it never really feels like it belongs to me. I feel like I'm faking it. It's a sensation I've never been able to shake.
Where do the line breaks go?
Search me.
When do you start a new stanza?
Hell if I know.
It's such an ambiguous art, I think it's safe to say it's the one that scares me the most. I enjoy it. I like to read it. I can write about it, analyze it, but I just CANNOT write it. If you told me to either replicate Starry Night brushstroke for brushstroke or write a poem about it, I'd probably opt for the former.
This is kind of embarrassing to admit as a writing major.
Don't be embarrassed! I think most people feel at sea with poetry, and it's not because you're untalented or illiterate, but simply because it's taught so badly--as a kind of puzzle or torture device designed to make high school students feel stupid. The best way to get more comfortable with poetry is to read a variety of it--I'd be happy to make some recommendations if you're interested. I also think that encountering Evelyn Reilly's book Styrofoam might help you to see poetry's possibilities a little differently.
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