Writing Reflection #8

Web Photo of
Newspaper Blackout Poetry

This week in my Creative Writing class, we created Newspaper Blackout Poetry. I really enjoyed the Newspaper Poetry part where we created poems from the words printed on a newspaper. I disliked the Blackout part, because of the permanent marker fumes! Any who, I found it was easy to create poems with the theme "after a tragedy," because most stories you read in newspapers are tragic. I will admit some of my poems are gruesome and a little bit disturbing, but death and survival is a real life obstacle after a tragedy. I found it challenging to narrow down hundreds of words into a few that make a poem. Also, it was difficult to have three poems that make sense to one common theme. I found I was successful in creating a poem that makes a reader feel something. A reader should feel a mutual feeling of sadness that is reflected through each poem. This style of writing is unique, because you are not writing a full sentence with proper grammar or retelling events but creating something new from already printed words. It is a very difficult process, even though it looks so easy! It is a weird coincidence that I so easily could create three poems involving around tragedies! Does this secretly mean something? Most of my friend's poems reflect their personalities. For example, Ryan a humorous guy created poems that were funny punch lines and then Hugh a nice, lovable guy created poems with his theme being love. I don’t see myself as tragic, but who knows!