DC Poetry - Collin

I’ve really enjoyed being exposed to DC poetry and what it has to offer. The style of DC poetry is a unique one that I have not seen before. My perception of poetry has changed a lot since reading the works of DC poets, especially after reading the D.C. Poets Against the War anthology and Joseph Ross’s Darfur poems. I’ve noticed poetry in DC is influenced a great deal by politics and social events today. Being in the nation’s capital, one would expect politics to play a large role in writing. I have also noticed many DC poets are extremely passionate about their work. Poets are passionate to provoke their readers to respond in a deep and emotional manner. My DC community engagement project was to interview local DC poets. So far, I have spoken to Joseph Ross in an email interview. Joseph Ross believes his goal of poetry is “to help the reader feel something or see something—perhaps in a new way” and “that can ‘change the world’ simply because when we feel something, or think of something in a new way, we tend to act on what we now feel.” DC poetry tends to force its reader to move to respond to what they are reading and actually contemplate about how they feel. Other poetry I have read has not made me feel that sense of emotional meditation.

As a young writer it is my responsibility to give credit to those who are established writers. Establishing credibility for myself requires me to do thorough research and correct citations and references. Even though I have to give credit to other scholars, I myself must not lose my own voice or opinion in my writing. I am fully capable of forming and creating my own ideas and opinions about poetry and writing, and I have to share my own thoughts in my work. By doing this, it makes me credible and gives me a sense of ownership of my writing. Throughout this year in University Writing I have been challenged to expand my ideas and thoughts as a writer. This is an interesting topic to me, especially since my final paper is about who is credible to write about disaster poetry. While researching and writing, I have asked myself am I even credible to write about this subject as an amateur writer? Young writers do not have the same authority or credibility as experienced and established scholars, but young writers must push themselves to establish credibility in their own mind to become a confident writer. When I have confidence in my argument and the way I present it, I feel my credibility as a young writer at the best it can be. My goal in writing is to present a clear, well structured, and convincing argument by using multiple scholars and thorough research. That is the best I can do as an amateur writer.