Hi Everyone!

I can't wait to dig into the upcoming assignments! Don't they sound fun? I think so. But, anyways...I registered for this class because I have already taken techniques of poetry and I am an English major. In several other English classes that I have taken the professor had us read poetry. When I enrolled in Bruce Danner's Pre 1700 British Literature class it was the first time poetry sparked my interest. We read all types of poetry such as Beowolf, an epic poem, and John Milton's, Paradise Lost. Having that been said, my interest in poetry is fairly new but will always continue to be a passion of mine.
In high school, I never had a chance to appreciate poetry. Even though I was in AP English, my classes always seemed to stick to reading novels and writing. Therefore, I never had a problem with my High school English curriculum until I came to St. Lawrence. It was in my sophomore year of college when I learned about famous poets such as Ben Johnson and John Milton. I didn't realise how influential poetry was until I studied readings from 15th, 16th, and 17th century.
I wish my high school could have introduced the history of poetry and important poems like Beowolf. When I first learned about poetry, starting with poems like Sir Gawian and The Green Night, I began to enjoy literature over writing. If my high school emphasized the importance of poetry I think their students might find literature a bit less boring.
Since poetry has made me appreciate and love classic literature, I hope to follow though with making a change in my high school. At St. Lawrence, I am also studying to become a teacher at the secondary levels. My overall goal is to teach twelfth grade English in my home town of Garden City. I would introduce my students to the inspiring poets and writers of earlier centuries in a way that would show them the importance of literature.
Since I have showed an interest in poetry, I really have only been inspired by poetry that is now centuries old. So, this semester I would like to learn more about contemporary poetry. I really don't know much about current poets or current styles of poetry. I hope to see and understand the drastic changes made in poetry over the past centuries. Being that poetry is a new passion of mine and that it aloud me to appreciate literature, I want to pass on the same opportunity I was given to my future students. I would like to learn about the countless styles that are in poetry today, so that I can show my students that their is no such thing as bad poetry.
This doesn't mean there is never room for improvement on a piece of work. I am always trying to improve my writing, so I will always appreciate constructive criticism. I love when a class holds workshops because it gives the students a wide range of opinions and suggestions on how to improve their work. I have always enjoyed the process of putting a piece of writing together and working on it to the point when you know you have done your best. But, if a student doesn't receive encouragement from the students or the professor, the whole process of writing becomes painful; this has only happen to me once where a professor didn't encourage his students and gave the harshest feed back.
At times during that semester, the professor's feedback made for a miserable learning experience and made some of us feel as if he had given up on his students. While that class was painful, my other professor's encouraged me to fight though the bad experience. So, when I kept trying my hardest and when I refused to give up on myself, I felt proud of the work I was handing in. When the class was over, I was surprised to feel as if there is still no such thing as bad poetry or bad writing because there is always room for improvement.