Freedom Through Poetry

*NOTE* I'm writing this with the preface that composing poetry requires more imagination than writing an essay does.*

Earlier this week, I posted a poetry essay assigned to the class. Then, in class, we were given the task of revising two of our classmates' essays, naturally laying out certain guidelines for what each person should look for when reading over each essay. In the same class, the professor asked us who had experience writing poetry. Many hands were not raised, my own included in this bracket. The very thought of having to create my own poetry to be read by a possibly large number of people, regardless whether I know them or not, produces anxiety and dread. I definitely prefer writing essays, I even enjoy it.

After reflecting on this class session I realized how sad it was that the idea of composing poetry made me so nervous; after so many years of writing essays, and being required to follow a certain structure, the freedom that writing in general was meant to grant has been virtually lost. Granted, I do feel structure within an essay is necessary for the sake of an instructor's efficient evaluation of it, but perhaps this well-practiced and enforced structure has stunted creativity. Yes, students are encouraged to produce new ideas and arguments to defend in their essays, but how many students, particularly before college, use the old ideas so they can simply get another essay out of the way? The "equal" essay to poetry might be a creative writing essay. But how many of those can you recall doing? Personally, I remember writing a single, one and a half page, creative writing "essay" in fifth grade. I can even recall what the premise of it was, whereas I couldn't tell you what the basis of an academic essay I wrote in high school, or even my first year of college was.

On this same class day, we were asked to create a series of alliterations, assonance, and metaphors. This being a class full of college level seniors, perhaps even a few juniors, majoring in English, none of these terms are completely unknown to us. Despite this, it took a substantial portion of class time before everyone was prepared to share. So, being a class addressing technology in the classroom, I postulate: Technology has obviously been utilized to accomplish structure, so how can it be effective in education for promoting creativity, perhaps even to create an amalgamation of formality and imagination? Not to eliminate one or the other, but to create a comfort with both; out of the box thinking can bring a great deal to an established structure. Opinions, feedback, input, etc. are very welcome?