These past couple weeks in ASTU 100, the class has been very busy. From Safe Area Gorazde to The Reluctant Fundamentalist to this connection of everyone with lungs, we have been having a lot of interesting discussions. Thus it was so interesting to read everyone’s blogs.
Kate’s blog really stood out to me. She began with a powerful line “In Poetry One Can Find Freedom” which is one of the things we discussed in class about just how open-ended poetry can be and how versatile it is. She then talked about her love for poems as a young kid and actually recited one of the poems she wrote for her teaching assistant. At the end of the blog, she reflected on how studying poetry in ASTU classes reminded her of her love for poetry.
Much like Kate, Anjali and Esther also talked about poetry in their blogs. They both discussed the power of poetry to evoke thoughts and emotions in the readers. In her blog, Esther opens by talking about her preconceptions of poetry being “basically just words on a page”. Personally, I really resonated with this because that was exactly what I thought. She then went on to describe how ASTU classes discussions and in-class analysis really changed the way she viewed poetry. As Anjali said in her blog, poetry is “a great way to mention and bring up sensitive subjects that could be censored if talked about openly” and I could not disagree. From my point of view, Esther and Anjali’s blogs summed up how I feel about poetry before and now.
Similarly, it was interesting to read Benny and Daniela’s blogs as they both talked about their dislike for poetry before this ASTU class. One of the things Benny brought up on his blog that I could not agree more was the fact that high schools tend to teach poems about love or sadness or war and it is difficult for children to relate to these topics. Thus, it was surprising yet interesting to be analysing and actually resonate with these poems about 9/11 we’re studying in class. Likewise, Daniela was not a huge fan of poetry but through ASTU classes, she began to recognize the power of poetry which allows people to express themselves to the world. She stated on her blog: “No two people have the same lens through which they perceive the world, and this translates, subsequently, into their poetic voices.” She now recognizes the value of poetry in society.
Other students also consider on their views about poetry in their blogs but in a slightly different way. For example, Anthony reflected on Juliana Spahr’s “this connection of everyone with lungs”. He links how the poem talks about air quality to the current air pollution situation in the world and recognizes Iran, Mongolia, India, Pakistan and Botswana as countries with the worst air quality at the moment. To end his blog, Anthony acknowledges that Spahr’s poems not only get people to reflect on the 9/11 events but also on the current environmental situation in the world.
On the other hand, Brenna and Julian did not focus their blogs on poetry but instead on Moshin Hamid’s “The Reluctant Fundamentalist”. In his blog, Julian reflected on his experience growing up in downtown New York close by the Twin Towers where 9/11 took place. He recognizes the culture of fear in the US following the event and understands “where the culture of fear stems from in the United States”. Furthermore, Brenna reflected on her experience with Hamid’s novel. She said: “Even though I do like to consider myself as cultured, I am guilty of mainly having contact with predominantly Western literature.” Thus reading The Reluctant Fundamentalist really changed the way she sees the world.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading everyone’s blogs this week and see what each person has to say about what we are doing in class. As stated above, I really resonated with Anjali, Esther, Benny and Daniela blogs in the sense that I had fairly negative preconceptions of poetry before this ASTU class. Nevertheless, much like them, I now actually enjoy reading and analysing the poems we are studying. Also, I can now see how poetry can trigger one’s thoughts and emotions about a particular topic. Thus, I now understand why poetry is such an important genre to study in literature.
Blogs cited:
Kate – https://blogs.ubc.ca/katepasula/
Esther – https://blogs.ubc.ca/astuhomework/
Anjali – https://blogs.ubc.ca/abentley/
Benny – https://blogs.ubc.ca/bennyastu/
Daniela – https://blogs.ubc.ca/danielaastu/
Anthony – https://blogs.ubc.ca/anthonym/
Brenna – https://blogs.ubc.ca/brennasblog/
Julian – https://blogs.ubc.ca/julianyau/