Please take some time to journal and reflect on your personal definition of poetry. What is poetry to you? Why does the creative writing we do matter? Whenever I ask myself this question, I always refer back to a letter written by my own poetry teacher, Jack Ridl. He wrote:
"... let's also remind ourselves that while it can be good to do good and good to combat what destroys the good, it is also crucial that we continue to create good. We are creative beings. We arrived with that as a given. And when you create a poem, you have placed good into the world... We artists are questioned over and over again about our "usefulness." We are vitally useful. Our use is to heal, comfort, to lead to realization, to bring laughter, to sing the blues, to celebrate, to be of soul-filling USE. This is a great good thing we do.
The Christmas after 9/11 Sharon Dolin, Billy Collins, and I were asked to read our poems in NYC. Can you imagine how we felt? What could we possibly do to be of any "use"? We told those present that we would do what we could to give them two hours for their hearts, souls. And that's all we could do. After the reading, the audience stayed and stayed and said how much that two hours mattered."
I hope you know how much your poems matter!
We are going to take a look at a poem or two by Billy Collins today.
Some bio information:
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/billy-collins#poet
Video of Collins reading "Names" and reflecting on 9/11
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/features/video/301
You can listen to "Workshop" here:
http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/19755
You can read here:
Workshop
I might as well begin by saying how much I like the title.
It gets me right away because I’m in a workshop now
so immediately the poem has my attention,
like the Ancient Mariner grabbing me by the sleeve.
And I like the first couple of stanzas,
the way they establish this mode of self-pointing
that runs through the whole poem
and tells us that words are food thrown down
on the ground for other words to eat.
I can almost taste the tail of the snake
in its own mouth,
if you know what I mean.
But what I’m not sure about is the voice,
which sounds in places very casual, very blue jeans,
but other times seems standoffish,
professorial in the worst sense of the word
like the poem is blowing pipe smoke in my face.
But maybe that’s just what it wants to do.
What I did find engaging were the middle stanzas,
especially the fourth one.
I like the image of clouds flying like lozenges
which gives me a very clear picture.
And I really like how this drawbridge operator
just appears out of the blue
with his feet up on the iron railing
and his fishing pole jigging—I like jigging—
a hook in the slow industrial canal below.
I love slow industrial canal below. All those l’s.
Maybe it’s just me,
but the next stanza is where I start to have a problem.
I mean how can the evening bump into the stars?
And what’s an obbligato of snow?
Also, I roam the decaffeinated streets.
At that point I’m lost. I need help.
The other thing that throws me off,
and maybe this is just me,
is the way the scene keeps shifting around.
First, we’re in this big aerodrome
and the speaker is inspecting a row of dirigibles,
which makes me think this could be a dream.
Then he takes us into his garden,
the part with the dahlias and the coiling hose,
though that’s nice, the coiling hose,
but then I’m not sure where we’re supposed to be.
The rain and the mint green light,
that makes it feel outdoors, but what about this wallpaper?
Or is it a kind of indoor cemetery?
There’s something about death going on here.
In fact, I start to wonder if what we have here
is really two poems, or three, or four,
or possibly none.
But then there’s that last stanza, my favorite.
This is where the poem wins me back,
especially the lines spoken in the voice of the mouse.
I mean we’ve all seen these images in cartoons before,
but I still love the details he uses
when he’s describing where he lives.
The perfect little arch of an entrance in the baseboard,
the bed made out of a curled-back sardine can,
the spool of thread for a table.
I start thinking about how hard the mouse had to work
night after night collecting all these things
while the people in the house were fast asleep,
and that gives me a very strong feeling,
a very powerful sense of something.
But I don’t know if anyone else was feeling that.
Maybe that was just me.
Maybe that’s just the way I read it.
Billy Collins, “Workshop” from The Art of Drowning. Copyright © 1995 by Billy Collins. All rights are controlled by the University of Pittsburgh Press. Reprinted with the permission of the University of Pittsburgh Press, www.pitt.edu/~press/.
Source: The Art of Drowning (1995)Please post a reaction to the information/poems provided today and/or the value of workshopping our own poems in this class. Develop your thoughts and respond to others in order tio receive full credit!
Please join this blog and comment on this post for credit!
Billy Collins really shows how creative he is by writing a poem about writing/reading a poem. Also the repetitive referral to himself, using I and me, gives an example of how self involved the workshop process can be, and to me the workshop process is very lonely but very fulfilling once complete. I often find myself reading and analyzing my poem similarly to the way Billy Collins does with his own.
ReplyDeletei DISAGREE. I BELIEVE THAT WORKSHOPPING IS SUPPOSED TO BE A SOCIAL THING NOT, AS YOU SAY, LONELY EXPERIENCE. TO CRAFT YOUR WRITING YOU NEED TO LEARN FROM OTHERS. ITS WHY USE CREATIVE WRITING MAJORS READ BOOKS.
DeleteUS*
DeleteBOOOOOOOYYYYYYYYY!!!! Yes workshopping "CAN" be a social process but great literature comes from oneself no one can actually bring the writer out of someone unless said person wants it to come out. Self infliction is the way to true literature mastery.
DeleteCould you sound anymore cliche? oh bro look at me im going to write a sory in my closet without any other resource reference or influence!!!! No that is the worst way to expand your capabilities. The idea is to draw aspects of others writing that you find necessary for your own writing. Nobody ever got better from zero exposure.
DeleteResource reference and influence is obviously apart of what I was getting at, when you learn from others that knowledge becomes apart of you, everything you see, read, watch, hear, learn is no apart of you and you need to take those observations and put them on paper. Self infliction bro.
Deletenot self infliction and you should stop using that phrase. It makes you sound like a hipster poser. Its not even appropriate for what you're trying to say.
DeleteThis is a very important poem in my opinion. I feel like it is the type of poem that people who are starting poetry for the first time or returning to poetry NEED to read. It is not only a good poem with some very good imagery and syntax, it speaks volumes for the practice of workshopping. Many people nowadays believe that workshopping is pointless and embarrassing. It is embarrassing however it is certainly not pointless. Workshopping is one of the best ways to improve your skills in my opinion. Writing is just words in order nut creative writing is words in order with style. Every writer has their own unique style so i believe it is important to expose yourself to that sort of thing as often as possible.
ReplyDeleteI like the self-referential nature of Billy Collins's poem, as he dissects the poem from beginning to end, wanting to explore his work. The use of imagery is as impressionable as it is intrinsic in the poem, giving a sense of life to the words. From the first stanza, the title catches the author's attention, and pressures him to continue reading until the end. Once he finishes it, he realizes the strong emotional connection that he felt with his writing, but leaves doubt that anyone else felt it, simply because he read it in his own way, almost challenging the reader to find the same emotion that he did. Likewise, I found myself going back and analyzing his writing to find the purpose behind it, but found that I was either over-analyzing it or under-analyzing it. I really like the moral it teaches of nothing being black-and-white, and the pursuit of one's own view on the matter. Its a wonderful work that has managed to say so much with so little.
ReplyDeleteI agree Jacob. Well said
Deletethx bb
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DeleteMitchell Duncan
ReplyDeleteBilly Collins' "Workshop" was an interesting poem, since it develops a plot by talking about how the poem is structured. I think that that is an original way to tell a story, and it makes you think harder then if it was just the run of the mill poem. I liked the lines "In fact, I start to wonder if what we have here is really two poems, or three, or four, or possibly none." because it sends off the vibe that poetry is different for every reader, and workshopping is just one way to improve the experience. Workshopping helps to enhance the poem being written. When you get other people's opinions about your work, it can help you see your work unbiased and with a neutral attitude, which in turn helps you create a better piece of writing.
Being that is it the first day back and I'm writing this before noon, I'm not sure how well I'll be able to word this. I'm not sure I'm able to truly capture the essence or the importance. I like to think that poetry is a whisper into the realm of all things alluring and real. It is the thread that neatly stitches together the ordinary and the profound. I admire Billy Collin's work greatly for his wit and ease as he seemingly effortlessly describes the ordinary in such an extraordinary way.
ReplyDeleteBilly Collins' poem "Workshop" is really important because it dispels the notion that poetry always has to be a deep, philosophical art form. Sometimes I freeze up when it is time for me to write a poem because I feel like it has to have some abstract truth that is somehow the secret to the meaning of life. But this poem changed that for me. It isn't necessary for it to always be a beautiful, emotional catharsis. Billy Collins is proof that you can write a poem about anything, as well as proof as just how moving poetry can be.
ReplyDeleteThe poem "Workshop" by Billy Collins is very unique to me. It's a poem about overthinking what we've written and the constant self nitpicking we do of our work. As writers we can all almost connect with this because we go through it all the time. I think what makes this different though is that it definitely has a prose tone and Billy Collins voice is heard within every line through the use of the "maybe it's just me" and the poem being in first person. The poem to me is also so special because it seems to follow Billy Collins stream of consciousness and his thought process. As a writer and poet I look up to Billy Collins and reading a piece of his literature that is insightful to the way he writes and thinks is very treasurable. I feel like this poem exemplified the saying of "you're your biggest critic" and that workshopping is very important to us writers because we all strive for a close to perfect piece of literature in the end.
ReplyDeleteI found Workshop by Billy Collins very fascinating because he took all the aspects of writing and broke it down piece by piece but he did it in such a way that it didn't diminish the art of writing itself. Collins more so explained it to those who could not understand the impact that poetry or novels can have on people which is why this piece of work by Collins is very meaningful and insightful to the reader and gave them a look inside the process of creating a good piece of work when it comes to creative writing in general.
ReplyDeleteThe Billy Collin's workshop was very different from poems that I have read, but I really liked how unique it was. I really liked how he work shopped each part of the poem and broke it down to the different aspects of it. The way he tells the story helps me picture myself work shopping a poem which was really creative. Overall, I really like how creative he was when discussing work shopping. It reminded me of his other poem Introduction to Poetry where he describes how it feels when you are told to analyze a poem.
ReplyDeleteI think the way Billy Collins work shopped somebody's poem is exemplary and just a perfect way to show people who are new to work shopping how to work shop in a way where you balance constructive criticism, give thoughtful feedback and also point out the positive things about a poem or just a work piece in general. In work shopping, I learned that no matter what level you are on in writing, its always good to put your pride aside and honestly say when you got confused, what didn't you understand. However, also what you took out of the writing piece that might just benefit you as well, for work shopping is all about improving and benefiting and building off of each other
ReplyDeleteThe Billy Collins poem “Workshop” was very diverse in so many aspects. The fact that Collins was able to grasp every aspect of poetry while relating the process of writing a poem, is amazing. Although people solely interpreted the poem as a workshop poem, I reached a different interpretation. The poem seemed to have taught me how to write a poem. I was able to in-vision how I’d write a poem and how the words would pop off of the page. The poem overall was amazing.
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