Writing About Poetry vs. Writing Poetry

I had a great experience both writing poetry and writing about poetry. These two processes are similar in that they require the writer to have some general knowledge of poetic elements such as form and imagery. To explicate a poem, the writer must be able to choose specific elements, such as form and diction, to inform the analysis of the poem. Writing a poem also requires that the poet be aware of the formal elements of poetry that will be a part of their piece. For example, when writing a poem, a writer should be thinking about how form will affect meaning and vice versa. Writing about poetry helped my poetry writing in two ways. One, it allowed me to be aware of the various aspects that make a poem interesting and lively- playing with form, punctuation, diction, etc. And two, in choosing a poem that I enjoyed to explicate, I was able to study a model of poetry and utilize it in writing my own poetry. In the same respect, writing poetry gives a writer a sense of the time, effort, and thought that goes into a piece. This allows a writer to more carefully break down a poem in an explication. From this experience, I learned that it is possible to use both formal writing and creative writing to use poetry. In the past, I’ve met teachers who view poetry writing or creative writing as a “tacked-on” writing exercise that comes in second to teaching formal writing. However, by doing both, I’ve been able to see that formal and creative writing enhance one another.