Had my first creative writing class today. It was the class I was most looking forward to. It’s held in this great old building with rickety stairs and wood floors and small, terrifyingly intimate classrooms. There are 15 in the class, all of them prodigious and blessed with that easy American confidence. I discovered today that half of the course will involve writing fiction; half will involve writing poetry.
Thing is – I don’t really like poetry. I’ve never really written it, except for those ill-advised teenage scribblings that everyone does – basically rants with the odd rhyming couplet. I think poems are usually a lot more interesting for the writer than for the reader, unless you’re Wilfred Owen or TS Eliot or Derek Mahon – and I’m not.
We have to write five poems and two short stories for the course, and they’re going to be workshopped in the class. In other words, ripped to shreds by all those prodigious people. I don’t mind that happening if I’m proud of what I’ve written and enjoyed writing it. But I don’t think my poems will be anything other than lame. I dunno. Maybe I’ll get over it; maybe I’ll drop the class, do something else.
The last three nights have been fun. It’s hard finding nighttime activities for under-21s. The was a free outdoor film festival in Copley, held on the grass under that tall shiny building I posted below. Tuesday was Raising Arizona, Wednesday The Princess Bride, and last night Napolean Dynamite. I think Knocked Up is showing somewhere on campus tomorrow. Just thirteen more days before they let me into pubs, huzzah!
About the poetry thing, time to get down with your emo side, dude! Dig deep into that angst! But really though, how do you know you’re not Derek Mahon until you’ve given it a go? You say yourself you’ve never really written any poetry, so who knows? You may surprise yourself. And even if it’s totally lame, chances are everyone else’s will be equally as bad so I wouldn’t be intimidated. Either way, the stuff you wrote in your teens is bound to be way different to what you’d come up with now. And it doesn’t have to be deep or personal, if you’re worried about it being scrutinised in class. You can write about, I dunno, flowers and how pretty they are. Everyone likes flowers.
How many classes are you taking, btw? Psychology, Reading Shakespeare, Creative Writing, they all sound so cool…
Hmmmm… gotta remember to read the fine print on the class outline!
Agree with C. And at least your poems will have correct spelling in them so you’re on the high moral ground straight away! Now if I could only have made that rhyme you might be more confident in the genes you have!!!
Andrea: Yes, flowers are nice. Thanks for the encouragement! Though it’s not just fear of failure – it’s lack of interest. I don’t enjoy writing poems the way I do fiction. I find them kind of stifling. I don’t like having to worry about rhyme or breaks in lines or metre. (Meter? Oh, I just don’t know anymore …) And anything ‘poetic’ I can come up with is so pretentious it even makes ME cringe.
I’m also doing Feature Writing, btw. Yeah, I like the wide choice of classes. When are you off? What subjects are you doing?
Sinead: Yeah, I know … silly me! Apparently though all the teachers interpret ‘creative writing’ differently – some focus more on fiction, some do theatre writing etc. So I’ve emailed the other teachers to see if I can get a transfer. If not … I’ll probably be lying on the couch in vacant and in pensive mood a lot.
Just booked the flight, we’re heading over on the 21st! Cardiff baby! Woooooo! Craig has already texted me suggesting we meet up for a serious drinking session, lol! As for subjects, I actually don’t know yet. I may have to enrol when I get over there. Depends. Can’t believe I’ve only got another week and a half before I go! I feel slightly giddy…
Class! Do you know where you’re living? I am so coming over to visit in January. Get astonishingly drunk with Craig.
I shall do my best.
Accommodation isn’t confirmed yet. They have to place all the full-time students first and if there’s anything left over, then we can have it. Probably won’t be told until the 26th though. Which kinda sucks, seeing as induction week starts before then. They can put us up in a hotel though temporarily, depending on availability. Cross your fingers for me, I reeeally want to live on campus!
I totally feel you on the poetry thing. I never quite got it. Although I did write a poem in primary school and the teacher thoght it was so good she did it out in nice writing and stuck it on he wall. I feel guitly even now cos my dad basically wrote it and stole a few lines from a cheesey song…something like “where are all the flowers gone”…I’m going to hell. Mrs. Murphy, please forgive me!!!!!
Anyhoo, glad to hear you’re enjoying yourself. Got back from Aruba today, long meandering blog in the works. There will be much bemoaning of flying though. Really, it’s just not natural!!!
Audrey: LOL! “Where have all the flowers gone …” that’s deep, man.
Thankfully I got transferred to another class and don’t have to do any poetry, just short stories. Yay!
Aruba, eh? Class! God, didn’t know you’d gone! I’m just in my bubble of Bostonness. Are you all tanned?