I Am a Writer (and Poet)

This weekend, I did something that I have never done before: I bought a book to help me develop my own skills as a writer – a poet, to be more exact. While the ease of Amazon makes purchasing books an almost mindless task, this particular purchase felt more important, more powerful. This purchase marked a milestone in my journey toward accepting and embracing my newfound identity as a writer and poet.

I’ve always been fascinated by poetry. As a student, I have often found myself captivated by the discussions sprouted from a great work of poetry. In a recent graduate course, my classmates and I read and discussed Keats’ “Ode on a Grecian Urn” for over an hour. While some might find this cringe worthy, I was completely spellbound, not only by the poem itself, but even more so by the thoughtful interpretations shared by my professor and classmates. There seemed to be an infinite amount of metaphor and meaning etched between the words of the poem that I was itching to discover for myself.

As a teacher, I incorporate poetry into my practice whenever possible. I have found it to be a powerful tool for inciting growth both intellectually and emotionally in my middle school students. Discussing poetry has provoked conversations and considerations beyond what I thought middle schoolers to be capable of. It provides endless opportunities for discussion in terms of author’s craft and often stimulates similar creativity in my students’ own writing. There seems to be something powerful lurking in this genre that stirs my students from within.

It is perhaps because of this fascination that I am also terrified of poetry. I have such great admiration for poets that I feel it is a genre I am unworthy of participating in. This, of course, completely contradicts what I tell my students: that everyone can - and should - write poetry. While I honestly believe this to be true, my insecurities as a writer lead me to believe that I am incapable of writing something worthwhile. Yes, I can write an overly simplified poem to share with middle school students, but I could never write “real” poetry. I will never be a Keats. Or at least that’s what I have been telling myself for a long time.

Participating in the ISI has shown me that this may not be true after all. Taking time to write for myself, sharing my writing with peers, and simply identifying myself as a writer has reignited my desire to write poetry, and this time, I feel determined to do so. Instead of running away from my fears and insecurities as I have in the past, I did what I felt to be the most logical next step: I bought a book. And while that may seem inconsequential, I truly feel that this tangible acknowledgement of my identity as a writer signals a turning point for me. I am a writer and sometimes writers need help. So I bought a book. And I’m going to write poetry. Somehow this daunting mission no longer feels impossible.