Writing v.s. Writing About Poetry
The more I think about poetry and essays about poetry, the more connections I am drawing between them. When I first set out to write this post, I believed these activities were near polar opposites. The list of differences I had in mind shrank as I bulleted them , because writing them out required giving them a moment more of thought, causing me to logic them out. Poems and essays both, although in different ways, set out to prove something. Whether that something is an observation, theory, claim, or lived experience, the reader should come out on the other side with a new understanding or feeling. I think the only true differences I can stand by are the writing processes and authorial mindset. My process for writing the essay was far more structured — I did my research, created an outline, sorted my evidence in order of relevance, and wrote my paragraphs in order. Not everyone writes this way, I realize. This is just what works for me and my academic writing. Poetry I am much less ex...