Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Billy Collins/Poetry Cycles

AGENDA:

READING: Billy Collins poetry

https://www.ted.com/talks/billy_collins_two_poems_about_what_dogs_think_probably?language=en 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/on-leadership/wp/2014/10/03/billy-collins-on-life-death-and-poetry/ 

http://www.npr.org/2011/04/06/135181560/collins-values-accessible-poetry-not-pretension 

Please post  a comment n response to these readings as your "morning reflection."  Do you agree or disagree with what Collins has to say about the role of poetry and poets?



WRITING: Work on poetry cycles--DUE FRIDAY

13 comments:

  1. I very much enjoy Billy Collin's poetry, I like how he writes simply and creatively about normal, everyday things, than anyone can identify. In terms of his interviews, however, I have to disagree with him on a few things. I don't think leadership is wrong for poetry, there are many examples in which it is very right. Slam poetry is a good reference, appealing to the emotion of the listeners, leading them to second guess their previous thoughts and choices. Aleah's poem at our coffee house was a great leadership poem, I believe it was called cornrows, I loved it. Leadership poems make a statement.
    I also disagreed with his sentiment on ambiguous poems. While poetry like that written by Billy Collins is wonderful, if all poems were like that, even less people would read them, because there is no diversity. There is a necessity for poems to be difficult to decipher, tor poems that take work to read. Otherwise, who would read Shakespeare? It is the melting pot that makes poetry great, and will in the end attract a wider number of readers.

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  2. I agree in a lot of ways with what Collins says about making poetry "accessible" at least to some degree so that anyone and everyone can find a way to enjoy and understand it and I also think that his comments about wishing to be constantly exposed to life and being always surprised by it was very true to the way that I want to live and the way that I want to right about things. Finally I thought that his comments about making sure or at least attempting to remove art in general from any blatant outside agendas or themes as it, at least in some way takes away the meaning and affect of the art form. I think that if you have something to say you should communicate that through your art but I don't believe that you should come into it looking to convince people.

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  3. Yes people should be able to be creative and write about what ever makes you feel good about writing. Billy Collins basically said that a creative mind a free mind can help your poetry become better.

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  4. I think I do agree with what he says about the role of poetry. I feel that be a writer shouldn't be done because for a social responsibility as he stated if your just writing a poem for social reasons your art can suffer. It mostly matter that being true to who you are and being true to the way your creative mind works. Everyone cant be a poet just like everyone cant be a basketball player or a baseball player you just have to know the type of person you are and know if being a poet would fit you. For the ideal that poets probably cant be leaders because he feels poetry takes place in a quieter place I agree but I disagree at the same time because when you write a poem you can write for a certain reason which can be to express yourself or to lead your readers or listeners on a journey through your imagination. This could be a harder task than leading a group of people in a street line or leading people to stand up for what's right. Your leading them to an imaginative place which they could have a harder time gripping and developing a sense of understanding because its your imagination not theirs.
    In a way I agree with his ideas behind what a poet is and what roles that they have. I just think that a poet in a sense is one of the best leaders that anyone can hope to be. The feel and understanding of how words work and the effect that they can have on people can help be a great leader.

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  5. Billy Collins has very good and also relatable point of views and statements. Being able to have a gift of great art is also a responsibility as to not only using it for persuasion but to actually express it. agree with some of his claim he made with poems that are perfectly clear are a little flat. Poetry is all about exploring and going beyond the point even if you have ti exaggerate it to grab attention. It should be mind blowing something that can explain a scenario and still be understood but not so simply.

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  6. After reading the articles about Billy Collins I definitely gained some insight as to who he is as a person and poet. I found him relatable and intuitive, yet really humble. I enjoyed when he described poetry as the most pure form of capturing human emotion because I never really thought about poetry in that way. The way he described poetry, he made it seem less intimidating and more so something that should come naturally. Collins also said that poetry is “Being true to your own artistic vision” and that really resonated with me. Being a young student and poet, it is easy to get caught up and lose yourself and your own personal vision, however it is important that you do what you want as an artist. It sets you apart as well as allows for personal growth and fulfillment. When Collins described his poetry as a journey that starts from a realistic point that moves to a point of imagination, I truly felt inspired. I will be sure to use this technique in my own poetry. Overall, I felt Billy Collins was very interesting to interview and he had a lot to say, it was evident. I could also tell that he was genuinely passionate about poetry which was admirable.

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  7. I agree with Billy Collins’ view on poetry especially about when he says “Poetry is actually the home of ambiguity, ambivalence and uncertainty.” I think poetry is meant to be unpredictable and flexible so that you can do absolutely anything that you want with it. It’s okay to feed off of other people’s ideas and style but there is no such thing as leadership like he said. I also agree with what he thinks about the role of poets. Your responsibility is to stay true your vision because there is no point in writing about things you’re not passionate about. The way I write my poems the way I do is because of exactly what he said about thinking that poems that are perfectly clear are a little flat. I like the articles and they gave me good advice.

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  8. I agree with Billy Collins when he talks on the subject of leadership. He says that poets can't be expected to be effective leaders because poetry is supposed to be private. Leadership, on the other hand, requires for the person to be very opinionated and public. This is why Collins probably doesn't like to be called the leader of the poetic revolution, which he has been in recent years. I also agree with him when he talks about the importance of poetry. "With poetry, you don’t have to go through a windshield to realize that life is precious." Overall, I agree with Billy Collins and his views about poetry and poets.

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  9. I agree with Billy Collins when he talks on the subject of leadership. He says that poets can't be expected to be effective leaders because poetry is supposed to be private. Leadership, on the other hand, requires for the person to be very opinionated and public. This is why Collins probably doesn't like to be called the leader of the poetic revolution, which he has been in recent years. I also agree with him when he talks about the importance of poetry. "With poetry, you don’t have to go through a windshield to realize that life is precious." Overall, I agree with Billy Collins and his views about poetry and poets.

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  10. Billy Collin's poetry is something I enjoy I guess. I liked how he described poetry as a form of capturing the human emotion because I don't really have an opinion on poetry. Since I read how he described it I guess I like poetry a little bit more than I did before. A little bit. I agree with him on everything he said. I personally think that poetry is writing about something you are passionate about instead of just doing it. I like how he gives good advice in the Articles

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  11. Collins spoke in the interview how poetry can bring a lot of things to people and how it may bring verbal pleasure to someone in which I agree. But I don't agree in how he says that the radio helps someone to write poetry since there won't be no visual distraction for them when writing but then at the same time I agree with him because there would be only voice and the writer will only focus in the voice of the speaker. I believe that many writers use visual to get ideas, to feel calm and especially to describe what they're viewing to have the audience to visualize it. Collins explains how poetry is all about exploring your own imagination and beyond that and how it is your responsibility to write about things that you love because if you're not using your imagination and not putting the effort to it then you're most likely wasting your time.

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  12. I agree with Collins about the role of poetry that one should do anything they want with their creation. He states that poets are less purpose driven and poetry should freely express any topic they want. A poets responsibility is to stay true to one's visions and purpose of writing the poem. This article gives a lot of good advice for me for writing.

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  13. I agree with Billy Collins about how someone can do what they want with what they actually believe in. in some of the ways that a poet should just get in what they and what they truly want for themselves. The articles give a lot of good advise that a poet can take in and also get something good from what he is trying to say and set out for everyone that's trying to do poetry and some of the things.

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