In chapter 57 and 58 of Poem Crazy Wooldridge says, "I write to catch myself...I exist when I write poems, I learn I'm larger than I thought...Where I end and where I begin, the boundaries of who I see myself to be, disappear when I'm writing poems." She talks about "caterpillar poets" and the concept of changing throughout life. She says she writes poems and they help with the awareness of life shifts from one place to another and sometimes it is like coming out of a cocoon. I hope this semester you ventured out of your cocoon a few times with you poems. For your final blog I would like you to think about the practice from chapter 58 and some of the irreversible changes you have gone through and are currently going through for the Seniors. Using your notes or a poem you created already from practice 58 create your final poem about an irreversible change.
I love the idea of "dreamsense" which Wooldridge brings up in chapter 52 of Poem Crazy. The idea that everything in our dreams appears to represent something part of ourselves is at the same time exhilarating and a bit scary. She continues on in chapter 53 discussing being in "poem-drenched state of mind, where poems start coming to me in even in my sleep" and I love this phrase. The imagery she creates with "poem-drenched state of mind" is one you shared with National Poetry Month and all of our poetry escapades. Both of these chapters have such great word phrases, I hope you jotted a few down in your word pool. I love the place between awake and asleep and think it is where our mind can be free to create. So for this week's blog take one of the poems you created or the idea for a poem you created in either chapter 52 or 53 practice polish it and then post it for your blog poem this week.
"Seek out children. Jot down what they say. We can find poems by listening, being a scribe and catching the words." --Susan Goldsmith Wooldridge
If you do not have many children to listen to or the opportunity to be around small children, listen to some of the people around you and see if you can use some of the words your hear spoken. You would be surprised about what comes out of some people's mouths.
Using your practice from chapter 38 in Poem Crazy create a final draft of your what children say poem and post it on your blog this week.
In chapter 57 and 58 of Poem Crazy Wooldridge says, "I write to catch myself...I exist when I write poems, I learn I'm larger than I thought...Where I end and where I begin, the boundaries of who I see myself to be, disappear when I'm writing poems." She talks about "caterpillar poets" and the concept of changing throughout life. She says she writes poems and they help with the awareness of life shifts from one place to another and sometimes it is like coming out of a cocoon. I hope this semester you ventured out of your cocoon a few times with you poems. For your final blog I would like you to think about the practice from chapter 58 and some of the irreversible changes you have gone through and are currently going through for the Seniors. Using your notes or a poem you created already from practice 58 create your final poem about an irreversible change.
