A Student’s Guide On Conquering a Fear of Poetry
As students, we frame our academic career around a core subject that we excelled in during our early years of schooling. For some, it was science or math with an expected future in medicine. For others (like me), it was English, so writing was a surefire career option. However, there was one part that I had long been afraid of before college: poetry.
It was a peculiar experience during tests to fly through questions on literary analysis, but freeze with a glimpse of a poetry section. Poetry contained everything I had been warned against in academia. It followed loose formatting, disobeying the rigid teachings that were drilled into my own writing. Poetry held a freedom I had long practiced to contain.
For those who may want to write or read poetry (students or otherwise), but feel lost at where to begin, listen up:
Understand that you are not too dumb or unsophisticated for poetry.
There is much media out today that centers poetry as an elite art form only fit for the smartest of the smartest to decipher. The sooner you ignore this rhetoric, the better off you will be. Just because you may struggle to understand poems presented in an academic setting (which sometimes offer a convoluted representation of the genre) does not mean you are horrible at analyzing poetry. The fact is, there is so much more poetry out there to be exposed to. Forget the movies where the fancy english guy reads a 100 year old poem and immediately understands its meaning; that is fantasy. Most people who are able to offer a clear analysis of a poem have done extensive research to get to their final conclusions.
Find poems that speak to you and your interests.
Ok, maybe you don't understand Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberwocky” or Shakespeare very well because they were written so long ago. Don’t jump into the deep end if you are just beginning to get comfortable reading poetry! Go slow, look up poetry that surrounds your interests, like sports or your favorite kind of music. A simple Google search will do!
Don't be afraid to try.
In today's era of social media, it is very easy to get caught up in comparing yourself to everyone in your feed. Stop being afraid of “failing” to be like the people that appear to quickly grasp skills you’ve spent years honing. Get used to being confused and making mistakes. If you want to try your hand at poetry, do it with no regrets. Rome was not built in a day and your skills won’t be either. Let yourself have fun learning and being exposed to new ideas. The Poets & Writers Prompts website has great resources for writers and beginning poets if you need inspiration to get going.
I won't lie, there are still times I look at poetry with fear, but it's usually my own (as I have somehow written 3 pages of poetry about Love Island–connect with your interests, am I right). I hope you use these tips to feel more confident about giving poetry a try. If no one else says it to you, just know that I see you bravely going out of your comfort zone. Pushing through self doubt is the most courageous thing I’ve ever seen. I will leave with a poem I wrote in high school because some student experiences truly are universal.
Heavy
I picked up my bunny from under my bed
and cradled it between my arms
I remember the sweaty stench of the air
The swirl of vanilla, lavender, perfume employed to cover the stench
I remember the clacking of my teachers high heels on wood floor
And the snap of pencil lead on thick paper
The drip of sweat falling from my forehead
I remember the cottony feel of my mouth
and the memory of the STARR test being announced weeks before
The squeak of dry erase markers, with the consistent tick of the wall clock
I remember turning pages with quick precision
and then the heaviness of the next page that brought me to a stop
The timer counted down faster and faster
I remember looking around at confused faces, frantic to finish their tests
And I looked back upon that poem which froze me with the certainty I was not alone
I was but one of many scared for what could come after, scared of what might be on the next page
I remember leaving frustrated at my performance but comforted knowing the feeling is not just mine to hold
Written by Jasmine Thomas
Jasmine Thomas is a queer African American writer studying english at Mount Holyoke College. Currently, they have been enjoying journeying into the publishing industry this summer, while getting ready to head back to campus to work on the first BIPOC literary magazine established at her college.
