Spending time outdoors and looking at the small wonders around us was a relaxing and motivating way to draw inspiration for writing. Over the break, I went on a First Generation Out-Loud retreat to Ashland, MA. We spent a lot of the time writing about our experiences with belonging and we drew inspiration by read Colonizing Wild Tongues by Camila Arze Torres Goitia and an excerpt from Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner. They fit into out current topic in class and without having taken a deep dive into similar writing in class I dont think I could have appreciated the writing nor expressed myself and my place of belonging as well as I did during the retreat.
I wasn’t able to make class Tuesday, but I had an amazing time on Thursday. Discussing the poems within small groups helped to expand on my own poem of choice for my essay in a very productive, organic way. Being outside and within nature felt very peaceful and made, I feel, conversations more natural and enjoyable.
I really liked class this week for several reasons. First and foremost, having time outside was excellent. I felt like it really helped me get in a writing and analyzing headspace. I also have trouble sitting still, so I was able to better pay attention to the class when we had regular breaks and more flexibility in the schedule. I also liked the warm up writing exercises, I enjoy writing poetry and I find it interesting to see what kind of prompts inspire me. I am glad for the break that fall break provides, I think it will help my writing.
I really appreciated all of the time we spent outside this week, and the poem-writing exercises we were tasked with. I’ve never really written poetry before, so this was honestly a revelation for me. I had so much fun imagining words and phrases and sounds and imagery in order to convey what I was feeling, and I think I learned a lot about myself in the process. Specifically, the self portrait poem we wrote inspired by the garden has really inspired me to get back to ballet, one of my passions that unfortunately stopped during COVID. I didn’t realize how much the absence of dance in my life really affected me until recently, and I’m definitely going to try to enroll in one next semester!
Although this week was important in terms of writing the first draft of our essay, I really liked that class time didn’t feel like an extension of that pressure and stress, but rejuvenating. This week has been the most challenging yet for me; however, this class was a nice break from that. I really appreciated how we took time to embrace the natural beauty of campus and I enjoyed having the opportunity to get my creative juices flowing again. This change in scenery and focus complemented the essay writing well, and I hope that we’ll continue to have more of these nontraditional classes in the future.
It was a really nice change of pace to sit outside during class. On Tuesday, while discussing Charlie Howard’s Descent, I felt so present in class because of the outdoor setting. I feel like it really helped me unpack and do a better close read of the poems in class, which is style that I ended up emulating in my first draft. I feel like this week really challenged me, but I was able to read in between the lies and connect better to the poems we read because of the challenge of the essay. I can already feel my understanding of the poems expand, as well as the depth of my writing.
This isn’t so much a takeaway from the whole week, but there was one poem that really stuck with me. Reading Charlie Howard’s descent, I assumed it was a fictional story used to illustrate the violence of homophobia. After analyzing it in class (where I learned the term enjambment!) I decided to look up the name. I learned that Howard was a real person who was murdered by teenage boys because of his sexuality. It made me viscerally sad and angry but I also questioned the idea for the poem. How would Charlie’s family feel about an author imagining he forgave the boys who killed him? I have no idea, but it’s an interesting question and leads to the problem of who has the right to write about what.
I really loved our outside classes this week! I feel like it was a calming balance with the essay due this week. Even though this has been one of the most academically challenging weeks so far, this class brought a touch of serenity to my week. I also love how we’ve all became so much more engaged with poetry, and how this class has turned a bit into a slam poetry class.
This week I really enjoyed the walk-and-talk we did in small groups on the way to the garden. I think talking about the poems outdoors, in a less “traditional classroom” setting, allowed for more organic conversation, casual but no less insightful, that helped me understand the poems we spoke about more deeply and reminded me to take some time to appreciate both the nature and the poetry beyond how I usually approach each on a day to day busy-academic basis.
Although I generally don’t consider myself an “outdoors person,” I appreciated the change in scenery that came with taking time to be outside – the pleasant (albeit slightly hot) weather helped! I’ve also enjoyed how we’ve integrated creative exercises into classes that would otherwise be purely focused on analysis. Along with being relaxing, reminding myself of the choices that go into writing a poem has helped me with my own analysis of the poem I’ve chosen for my essay.
It was refreshing to be in nature and I enjoyed how our class turned into a poem exercise writing class. Bringing out our creative side on occasion can help our minds focus but also give our minds a rest of academic focused writing. It’s good to have a balance. It also felt helpful to talk in small groups about the poems.
I really enjoyed our focus on nature and the world around us this week. It can be difficult when we’re constantly inside for other classes, and being outside and taking time specifically to recognize the landscape around us was something I enjoyed. I also liked the implementation of our observations into poetry, as it allowed me to understand why authors may choose to organize sentences in certain ways or make specific literary decisions.
I’ve really enjoyed our writing exercises this week. From the 20 things of beauty to the self-portrait poem in the garden and reflecting on how we navigate our bodies occupying new spaces, I found that stepping into the author role proved to be beneficial when stepping back into the reader role. It was a refreshing perspective when I went to revisit the poem I am writing about. I felt more in-tune with the author’s creative choices and more open to interpreting them in different ways. Poetry is getting more digestible as we work through them in small groups and as a class. All in all, it’s been another busy week, but I’m learning a lot in the process of writing this essay. Thank you for allowing us to have class outside!
I really appreciated our time outside this week, it was relaxing and the weather was perfect. I also enjoyed talking in smaller groups today about some of the poems, because I felt like it pushed me to think a little bit harder and more deeply about the work. As we continue to look at poems, I get more comfortable looking at the poem that I’m using to frame my essay.
Spending time outdoors and looking at the small wonders around us was a relaxing and motivating way to draw inspiration for writing. Over the break, I went on a First Generation Out-Loud retreat to Ashland, MA. We spent a lot of the time writing about our experiences with belonging and we drew inspiration by read Colonizing Wild Tongues by Camila Arze Torres Goitia and an excerpt from Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner. They fit into out current topic in class and without having taken a deep dive into similar writing in class I dont think I could have appreciated the writing nor expressed myself and my place of belonging as well as I did during the retreat.
I wasn’t able to make class Tuesday, but I had an amazing time on Thursday. Discussing the poems within small groups helped to expand on my own poem of choice for my essay in a very productive, organic way. Being outside and within nature felt very peaceful and made, I feel, conversations more natural and enjoyable.
I really liked class this week for several reasons. First and foremost, having time outside was excellent. I felt like it really helped me get in a writing and analyzing headspace. I also have trouble sitting still, so I was able to better pay attention to the class when we had regular breaks and more flexibility in the schedule. I also liked the warm up writing exercises, I enjoy writing poetry and I find it interesting to see what kind of prompts inspire me. I am glad for the break that fall break provides, I think it will help my writing.
I really appreciated all of the time we spent outside this week, and the poem-writing exercises we were tasked with. I’ve never really written poetry before, so this was honestly a revelation for me. I had so much fun imagining words and phrases and sounds and imagery in order to convey what I was feeling, and I think I learned a lot about myself in the process. Specifically, the self portrait poem we wrote inspired by the garden has really inspired me to get back to ballet, one of my passions that unfortunately stopped during COVID. I didn’t realize how much the absence of dance in my life really affected me until recently, and I’m definitely going to try to enroll in one next semester!
Although this week was important in terms of writing the first draft of our essay, I really liked that class time didn’t feel like an extension of that pressure and stress, but rejuvenating. This week has been the most challenging yet for me; however, this class was a nice break from that. I really appreciated how we took time to embrace the natural beauty of campus and I enjoyed having the opportunity to get my creative juices flowing again. This change in scenery and focus complemented the essay writing well, and I hope that we’ll continue to have more of these nontraditional classes in the future.
It was a really nice change of pace to sit outside during class. On Tuesday, while discussing Charlie Howard’s Descent, I felt so present in class because of the outdoor setting. I feel like it really helped me unpack and do a better close read of the poems in class, which is style that I ended up emulating in my first draft. I feel like this week really challenged me, but I was able to read in between the lies and connect better to the poems we read because of the challenge of the essay. I can already feel my understanding of the poems expand, as well as the depth of my writing.
I’ve loved reading all of these takeaways.
Ingrid: such an important question. Let’s circle back to it together.
This isn’t so much a takeaway from the whole week, but there was one poem that really stuck with me. Reading Charlie Howard’s descent, I assumed it was a fictional story used to illustrate the violence of homophobia. After analyzing it in class (where I learned the term enjambment!) I decided to look up the name. I learned that Howard was a real person who was murdered by teenage boys because of his sexuality. It made me viscerally sad and angry but I also questioned the idea for the poem. How would Charlie’s family feel about an author imagining he forgave the boys who killed him? I have no idea, but it’s an interesting question and leads to the problem of who has the right to write about what.
I really loved our outside classes this week! I feel like it was a calming balance with the essay due this week. Even though this has been one of the most academically challenging weeks so far, this class brought a touch of serenity to my week. I also love how we’ve all became so much more engaged with poetry, and how this class has turned a bit into a slam poetry class.
This week I really enjoyed the walk-and-talk we did in small groups on the way to the garden. I think talking about the poems outdoors, in a less “traditional classroom” setting, allowed for more organic conversation, casual but no less insightful, that helped me understand the poems we spoke about more deeply and reminded me to take some time to appreciate both the nature and the poetry beyond how I usually approach each on a day to day busy-academic basis.
Although I generally don’t consider myself an “outdoors person,” I appreciated the change in scenery that came with taking time to be outside – the pleasant (albeit slightly hot) weather helped! I’ve also enjoyed how we’ve integrated creative exercises into classes that would otherwise be purely focused on analysis. Along with being relaxing, reminding myself of the choices that go into writing a poem has helped me with my own analysis of the poem I’ve chosen for my essay.
It was refreshing to be in nature and I enjoyed how our class turned into a poem exercise writing class. Bringing out our creative side on occasion can help our minds focus but also give our minds a rest of academic focused writing. It’s good to have a balance. It also felt helpful to talk in small groups about the poems.
I really enjoyed our focus on nature and the world around us this week. It can be difficult when we’re constantly inside for other classes, and being outside and taking time specifically to recognize the landscape around us was something I enjoyed. I also liked the implementation of our observations into poetry, as it allowed me to understand why authors may choose to organize sentences in certain ways or make specific literary decisions.
I’ve really enjoyed our writing exercises this week. From the 20 things of beauty to the self-portrait poem in the garden and reflecting on how we navigate our bodies occupying new spaces, I found that stepping into the author role proved to be beneficial when stepping back into the reader role. It was a refreshing perspective when I went to revisit the poem I am writing about. I felt more in-tune with the author’s creative choices and more open to interpreting them in different ways. Poetry is getting more digestible as we work through them in small groups and as a class. All in all, it’s been another busy week, but I’m learning a lot in the process of writing this essay. Thank you for allowing us to have class outside!
I really appreciated our time outside this week, it was relaxing and the weather was perfect. I also enjoyed talking in smaller groups today about some of the poems, because I felt like it pushed me to think a little bit harder and more deeply about the work. As we continue to look at poems, I get more comfortable looking at the poem that I’m using to frame my essay.