This semester, I am taking forms of poetry, a poetry workshop, and a literature class on Arthurian narratives. I think it's pretty easy to believe that things have been a bit different than last year. Poetry classes have a little different feel to them than fiction classes. Poetry workshop seems a different environment from fiction workshop -- less sometimes passionate arguing and more shared interpretations and building on each other to try and understand a poem. It's been interesting for me also to notice my self-confidence as a poet compared to my self-confidence as a fiction writer. I have written stories far longer and feel far more developed as a fiction writer than I do as a poet, but I often still feel drawn to write poetry, and, being intensely serious about any writing I do, I feel the urgency to try and write highly successful poems. This rarely actually happens, but it's a humbling experience, and I'm learning.
I am again teaching Introduction to Academic Writing, doing things mostly the same though with a little tweaking. I recently submitted a proposal to teach a section of English 211: Writing about Literature, and it was accepted, so I've been often thinking about that class and even more particularly what I want to do with it. It also looks likely that I will be getting in on a chance to help teach an Introduction to Creative Writing: Poetry course. Yes, that's right -- poetry. I'll be working with my forms teacher, and she thinks I'll do a great job, so let's hope she's right. I feel underqualified, but excited for the opportunity nonetheless.
One day just recently I decided I'd been writing too much poetry and was feeling the need to get back to some prose writing. So I decided it was time to stop only writing notes for the novel I intend to be my thesis and actually start writing it. The process is going to be a bit jolted, as I still have a lot of research I want to do for it, but there are parts I can work on now, so I'm starting with those and doing more research as I go. Hopefully soon I will be visiting one of the middle schools here to job shadow the band director! I have been in touch with her, and she's very excited about my project. I'm also just enjoying starting to engross myself in the world of music again.
