Hello readers,

Lately in ASTU we have been studying the works of Juliana Spahr, as well as the general medium of poetry in connection to other fields of study. I myself, am a big fan of poetry, so I was very interested in the content of the blogs this week. Most bloggers decided to focus on poetry related topics that ranged from the effects that poetry has on a large scale, such as war efforts, or on a small scale, such as a tool for self expression or discovery.

Poetry has gained the negative reputation in many high schools as being restrictive and pedantic, resulting in many students aversion to the genre as a whole. This opinion is seen in both Codi’s and Evan’s blogs as they were not the biggest fans of poetry before a recent change in opinion. Codi described her previous experiences with poetry “mundane” while Evan disliked how “systematic” the genre was until they both were able to look past the structures and understand how poetry can take various forms and hold great meaning. On the opposite end of the spectrum however, Jordan expressed in her blog her appreciation of poetry and the wonders and complexities that it holds.

Kaspar, Eun Ho, and Julia made the connection between the poetry that we have been introduced to in class and the poetry found in various cultures around the world. Eun Ho relates the poems that we have studied to the works of Shakespeare and notices how the poems have “immortalized” pieces of the past and as long as they are read, the past is alive. Julia takes a similar stance while regarding the “universality” of the work of the Persian poet Omar Khayyam, and how it remains “relevant” after centuries across cultural and lingual barriers. Kaspar writes about his experiences with Chinese poetry and discusses how poetry is used across cultures as a form of expression and is “a key to personal understanding”.

Some bloggers took a more zoomed out view on poetry and explored its political effects, in connection to the works that we have studied in class. Oliver examined the history behind two polarizing poems depicting war, and the effects that they would each have on moral and war efforts. He noted that poetry can “evoke feelings of hope or helplessness” and can be used to form a certain mentality or opinion on a war. Irene looked at how poetry can be used to help spread knowledge and understanding of a particular event cross-culturally. Lisa looked at the political conversation surrounding the publication of poetry from Guantanamo Bay and how it can be “detrimental” to the institution.

The blogs this week were mostly about poetry with the exception of Devons and Berils blogs which focused on broader topics. Beril mentioned poetry, but was more focused on her personal experience with precarity. I was intrigued by her comparison of sports teams and armies and supported her questioning of the idea of nationality and other socially constructed groups of belonging. Devon explored a charity video starring Ed Sheeran that has gained a lot of criticism for creating a demeaning narrative of poor countries. He noted that this genre can be associated with “poverty porn” and contributes to an overall negative view of the places portrayed.

This weeks blog posts were filled with insightful commentaries on topics and issues that we have discussed in class. They explored the various uses and opinions of poetry, precarity as well as the impacts of certain genres.

Wamaitha