Study Poetry? Me? Why? I’m Not a Poet!
Dear Writer — Monday, February 22, 2021
Every year when I began a unit in poetry, I would hear at least one student whine, “I hate poetry. Why do we have to study poetry?”
After a few years, I started the unit with a different frame of mind. I would go around the room and ask them to tell me their favorite song. I would follow that with the statement, “So, you like poetry.”
“No, way, Mrs. Kojetin. I hate poetry.”
“But you like music, and the lyrics to the songs you like are a type of poetry. So, you see, you like poetry. And studying poetry can impact all of the other writing you do.”
Always be a poet, even in prose. -Charles Baudelaire
I can always spot a writer who has an interest in poetry and has studied poetry in some way. It comes across in the way they string their words together and in their word choices.
Poetry should be something ALL writers study.
Here are five ways studying poetry can impact anything you write.
#1. Poetry teaches a writer to be concise.
Far too many writers compose an article and ramble on and on when a specific word or two…
