Are you a writer? What situations tell you that you are or are not a writer? Describe your experiences with writing that have shaped your self-perceptions as a writer.
The answer to this question, as of late, is rather bittersweet.
Most of my writing - lately (for the last year) - has been all about, regarding, for or in school. That wouldn't be such a bad thing if it didn't leave a type of gaping hole in my heart. You see, I love to write songs and poetry. I love to write stories and letters and reviews and ramblings. Some of the more open ended writing I have done throughout this program has likely been 2AM blathering on the internet to someone I disagreed with (or agreed with).
It seemed to be so much easier early on. I usually get to the 2 or 3 page mark and begin wondering if what I am writing is any good or worth my time. This is a horrible thing to do and I really must stop. It is always a good thing to write. I think that the more you practice, the more you flex your muscle, the better.
I love this quote: "We not only learn to write, but we write to learn" (Dornan, et al. p.7).
This makes me think of times when I was so furious with someone I would write a long letter to them - detailing the minutiae that bothered me and often flying off the handle - really letting them have it. The act of writing that letter (as we all likely understand) was therapeutic in itself. Writing through your emotions can help you develop a better understanding of where you or someone else is coming from. Sometimes you crumple up that bitter sheet and feel like your problems have alleviated. Other times you don't get through it and realize that you do, in fact, need to talk to the other person to work out your issue. Either way, the writing took you to the new level.
We write to learn.
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I love the features on your blog, Joe! And responding to one of the prompts from Dornan et al. is a great idea. Do you have a resource link for us, though? I don't see it here.
ReplyDeleteYour experiences with therapeutic writing will serve you well when you're coming up with writing prompts or relating to students' writing. Although, I'm having a hard time picturing you "furious"! Maybe someone was disrespecting your political viewpoint.
ReplyDeleteIt reminded me of all the other ways writing can be therapeutic: writing social commentary from a perspective outside of the "culture of power," composing an elegy, writing a goodbye letter, and a host of others. One of your assets as a teacher, I think, is your personable nature, the way you make others feel comfortable sharing their ideas with you and not having them judged for it. I hope this carries over to your students' comfort levels sharing writing with you that's personal or emotional.
Joe Adams, I, too, was also going to respond to this prompt. I think that it is necessary for all of us in the cohort to respond to this prompt This is a class about teaching writing; how can we "teach" writing if we don't know where we fall as a writer? I have not responded to this yet, but I plan on doing so before I teach creative writing.
ReplyDeleteI see what you mean about writing being a form of therapy. Did you discover this before or after you were given complex written assignments as homework? I remember being in second grade and absolutely LOVING to write. However, when the process of writing / papers became more intense, I began writing less and less. Now, I have no idea what kind of a writer I am.
I think it's good that you, as an "english expert," take time to create other forms of writing: lyrics and poetry. I think that deep down all of us have a fervent desire to write, but our desire lays outside the academic field. We have been so consumed by schooling and other priorities for so long, that it's hard to set aside time for this activity we refer to as "therapy." Maybe writing on our own would have been a good thing after class this past Tuesday? I hope that we are able to transfer this form of therapy to some of our future students whom have yet to discover it.