Week 2 Blog

I thought last class was really interesting. I never really considered tension to be such a big aspect to writing poetry before. It definitely makes sense why it is, but I guess I just never really considered it before. I thought the graphs we drew in class were really helpful in establishing what exactly Professor Hummer was getting at as well. I think I'll definitely be using that technique in the future to be able to visualize what I'm doing with tension in my own poems. Speaking of writing our own poems, this weeks assignment (2) was a lot of fun, but more difficult than last weeks. I thought that I definitely was struggling to find topics I felt passionate enough to write about. I struggle a lot with knowing what I should/shouldn't write about even when I know there isn't really a right or wrong answer to that. I guess for me I'm finding I'm still somewhat self-conscious about my poetry. When I compare my poems to the one's we're reading in class I just feel they're poetry is so much farther advanced than mine. The formats they use and the language they play with are just a few examples of how complex I consider they're work to be in comparison to mine. I also think I could use tension to make my previous pieces much stronger if I were to re-write and edit them a little bit. It's definitely something I'll be really interested to get feedback on in workshop and them ultimately improve my pieces for the better. Well... That's all for now. See you all in class tomorrow!

Kailey's First Blog

Hi Everyone,

Sorry this is so late... I had a heck of a time figuring this blog thing out...

My name is Kailey Pestka and I’m a junior here at SLU. I’m a Psychology major/Exercise Science minor and I’ve always loved poetry. I was born and raised most of my life on the island of Kauai, the smallest of the Hawaiian Islands. Living in Hawaii was a dream come true – Beautiful beaches, tall palms trees, paradise. That all changed though the day my parents told us we would be moving to Oregon because of my father’s job. I spent my four years of high school living in Forest Grove, Oregon and when graduation rolled around I was ready to once again pack up and move somewhere new. My parents would have never guessed I would have chosen a place so far… Or so cold for that matter. Canton, New York definitely took me by surprise. Canton is possibly the coldest place I’ve ever been – A snow day where I’m from is a centimeter or less of white slush on the roads and no school. Since coming to SLU I’ve definitely learned to appreciate what one does have. I never really saw Oregon as my home and I used to be very resentful after our move from Hawaii, but I’ve realized that wherever my family is, home is as well.

St. Lawrence has also given me a sense of independence I’ve never had before. I’ve done more growing up in the last two and a half years than I have in all my other years of life. This is another reason why taking this creative writing poetry course is so exciting because these are the years I’ve been most inspired by.

Aside from writing, I’ve always enjoyed playing sports. Athletics have always been a big part of my life. Since I could walk I’ve played softball and soccer. I even play softball here at SLU. Besides that I’m an active member of S.O.U.L. on campus and I am currently undergoing the process of becoming a founding mother of a multicultural sorority, known as Delta Xi Phi, coming to SLU’s campus next year.

I’ve always had fairly positive feedback on my writing, but I really don’t have much experience in the field of poetry. I used to play around with it in grade school, but whose actually going to tell a 3^rd grader their haiku could use some work? This is one of the reason’s why I’m taking this course. I would really love to gain some kind of foundation in writing poetry because I’ve always enjoyed reading it.

One of my all time favorite poets would definitely have to be Shel Silverstein!!! I used to be very sick as a young child and I can still remember when my mother gave me his book of poems while I was in the hospital. I love how he is able to captivate his reader and take them into a different world. His work makes me feel free and happy. He has this amazing ability to make all that read his poems young again. I want to be able to make my poetry not only a pretty series of words strung together, but also an experience, like Silverstein does.

I think the kinds of poets who can make you not only hear their words, but also feel them as well are the greatest kind. This is what I would really love to learn how to do through taking this course. I want to inspire people with my own inspiration. I want to reach people on an emotional level through my writing. I want my poems to be an experience and by taking this class I hope to be able to gain some foundation in being able to do just that.