Personal Poetry. Allowing my voice to take over.
Normally, I write a lot. I handwrite my comments and feedback to my students daily as well as take notes, writing them on a beautiful array of Post-its in all shapes and sizes. However, due to this pandemic, I haven’t been writing much at all. My laptop has become my preferred mode of writing, which I hadn’t really thought about until now. I found this task to be quite challenging in some aspects, such as writing stamina. I had to take a break often to stretch out my fingers and hands and actually had a small indent where my pen rested once I was done. The actual writing of words though was something that came easy to me. Poetry is a love of mine and has been something I’ve practiced for many years.
I actually only made one mistake, in which I opted for my whiteout tape, then pressed too hard when rewriting, so it looks a bit off. To be completely honest, I went slow. Very slow. The 507 words I wrote took me almost 2 hours to complete. I wanted to choose my words wisely and thought about them a lot before I put them down on paper. I think if I had been using a pencil it would have been slightly different in that I may have gone faster, but I’m not quite sure. As a teacher, when I write on the whiteboard or provide feedback to my students I have to make sure that what I’m writing is not only legible, but the words I choose are done carefully so that the point I’m trying to make is clear. I think I tend to do this when I write personally as well.
I think that the most significant difference between writing by hand and using mechanized forms of writing is there is a certain aspect of ownership over pen to paper that you may not feel when it’s computerized. That feeling of receiving a handwritten note or letter is much different than an email and I think the same feeling applies here. I believe it’s speedier to not write by hand, and there can be fewer grammatical errors, but there’s just something about a pen in my hand that feels right. For me, it would depend on the situation for which mode I would prefer. For example, I’m not writing a 20-page paper by hand!
***I also wanted to share my poem in a video format because I truly believe that the impact of what I was writing needed a verbal outlet.
Hi Shasha,
Thank you for sharing this. Your one line says so much about the care you took with this task: “I wanted to choose my words wisely and thought about them a lot before I put them down on paper.” It is more the thought process, the planning and the actual words that take time in manual writing, if it is to matter. Because you have taken sure care, there are few if any mistakes. I wonder if we become complacent when we type because spellcheck or some other program will catch it for us. I see this with my students who don’t understand the convention of capitalization as their phones do it for them and when they don’t have the support of the program they are at a loss.
On another note, your poetry is begs to be spoken. It is so timely and powerful but it is given so much power in the emphasis of your facial expressions and intonation. I cannot imagine it now without hearing your voice and yet, because you have written it, it will be lasting. Beautifully written and spoken! Which do you think has more power? The spoken word or your written word?
Hi Rebecca, thank you for your thoughts! I would have to agree that we become complacent when typing because the program tends to do much of the work for us. However, I also find myself backspacing and retyping the correct spelling of the word as it occurs versus some of my students who just continue to type until they are finished. Then, they go back and make changes. This might have something to do with the fact that I like to do things right the first time but who knows?
I think the power behind the words depends on who is listening or reading it and the experiences they have that relate to the words. I also think it depends on the situation too, for example, if this poem was a pre-reading for a workshop you were attending would it have the same effect if instead, you heard me stand up on a stage and read it aloud? I don’t think I can say which has more power, for me, writing the words made it concrete and forever, whereas saying the words made it come alive and feel real.
I loved your comments on the physical challenges to writing and how they demanded that you take time, slow down, and be more thoughtful about what you said, the word choices you made and the spelling (lol) . . . I think these are legitimate challenges that come up . . . and your observation that a pencil would have the same issues, but less so, because–like computer generated material–it can be erased.
I make my Gr. 9s switch to writing with pens, mostly because of the erasing issue. I think, because of your post, I will have them write about the act of switching–maybe have them write first in pencil and then in pen–and see what they observe . . . huh, thanks for the lesson plan!
Would your poem be the same if the riots were not taking place? Do you feel any compunction to write about the discrimination and racism the Asian population has suffered (mostly invisibly) as a result of Wuhan/CO-19?
Thanks for a lovely poem, and I did not even notice the white out!
Best, Megs K.
Hi Margaret! I think that lesson sounds like an excellent idea I might just have to use next year too – though it would have probably been 6 months since most of my students used a pencil to paper format…good experiment though!
I think my poem would not have been the same if the riots weren’t taking place because I was inspired by that tragic event and all that followed to write what I did. I wouldn’t say I feel compelled to write about the Asian population, but instead that I feel I want to write about it because I too am part Asian. Poetry for me has always been personal and I tend to write about the experiences I have. Thank you for your comments!