Creative Writing Talk
I went back to my highschool this week and gave a little creative writing talk to a class of tenth-grade kids.
I think they thought I was going to be boring and were mildly surprised when they were laughing. I told them about my experiences at Spalding, getting things published, and how to deal with getting rejected.
They asked a lot of questions and it was kind of fun. I ended by reading a few poems, one of which prompted a boy to run out of the class after I left into the parkinglot to ask me a question about the poem and if he had figured out what it meant.
What does any poem mean? I didn't have the heart to tell him that poems don't have meanings, not always. I told him each poet creates his/her own lexicon and bends language to their own end.
He seemed satisfied with that. And I walked to the car and left.
posted by Jae Newman @ 10:13 AM
2 Comments:
Good for you! How did you end up doing that? Were you roped into it or did you volunteer?
What does any poem "mean"? Good question, but probably also a good idea not to hit the kid with existentialism right there in the parking lot. :)
from Gwen--Tell the student that instead of asking "what does it mean?" he can ask "what do I remember about the poem? why do I remember that?" These questions generate reflection and discussion instead of generating an "answer" about what the poem means.
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