Presentation Type
Presentation
Faculty Mentor’s Full Name
Lauren Collins
Faculty Mentor’s Department
Davidson Honors College
Abstract / Artist's Statement
I started this project as a study tool for my upper division literature courses. For every story I read, I would write a poem, sometimes based on my general reaction or a specific line, or just a word that resonated. I would use these free form poetry sessions to help clarify what each text meant to me and the facets I was most interested in exploring through longer essays. Over time, the poems became a goal in themselves. I find that Poetry has a great power of synthesis, that as a practice it can distill meaning into its purest forms. I am fascinated as an aspiring educator by the possibilities of using creative pursuits such as music, theatre, and creative writing as tools of study for all disciplines. I hope to use these poems and this kind of exercise to help students actively interact with difficult texts. We are not only creators or only appreciators; as readers, artists, and people we must be both. Below, you will find my poems Galileo Went Blind, written in reaction to Galileo Galilei’s classic text, The Sidereal Messenger, my poem Desert Specimen written in response to Mary Austin's "Land of Little Rain" and Ellen Meloy's "The Anthropology of Turquoise", and an original song written in response to Tennyson's poem The Lady of Shalott.
Category
Visual and Performing Arts (including Creative Writing)
Something Old, Something New; Where Classic Literature Meets Creative Writing
I started this project as a study tool for my upper division literature courses. For every story I read, I would write a poem, sometimes based on my general reaction or a specific line, or just a word that resonated. I would use these free form poetry sessions to help clarify what each text meant to me and the facets I was most interested in exploring through longer essays. Over time, the poems became a goal in themselves. I find that Poetry has a great power of synthesis, that as a practice it can distill meaning into its purest forms. I am fascinated as an aspiring educator by the possibilities of using creative pursuits such as music, theatre, and creative writing as tools of study for all disciplines. I hope to use these poems and this kind of exercise to help students actively interact with difficult texts. We are not only creators or only appreciators; as readers, artists, and people we must be both. Below, you will find my poems Galileo Went Blind, written in reaction to Galileo Galilei’s classic text, The Sidereal Messenger, my poem Desert Specimen written in response to Mary Austin's "Land of Little Rain" and Ellen Meloy's "The Anthropology of Turquoise", and an original song written in response to Tennyson's poem The Lady of Shalott.