The reading and discussion of Rachel Richardson’s “Learning Image and Description” was one of the best Take the Lead exercises we have done in Advanced Poetry Writing. This article provided great examples and exercises that teach a variety of ways to incorporate imagery into poetry. In addition, our class discussion on this article gave us a chance to discuss the imagery in our everyday lives and how to we can tie it into our poetry. After this assignment, I feel better equipped for our remaining assignments. When I read any article meant to assist or help me I look for two things: examples and exercises. Whether it is College Algebra or Advanced Poetry I can only get better by practicing. However, in order to practice, I must have examples of what I am supposed to do. Richardson’s article equips me with the proper tools I need to improve my work. One of the exercises instructs writers to “describe a person using only non-human metaphors” (Richardson). As someone who struggles with creating metaphors, completing this task without any context would have been a challenge. However, prior to this exercise, Richardson provide an example with Sylvia Path’s “You’re.” This poem demonstrates non-human metaphors through lines such as “Trawling your dark as owls do/Mute as a turnip from …show more content…
Throughout the semester, the same comment has been left on my poems: “more showing, less telling.” Even when I thought I had accomplished just that, my images were still not strong. This assignment however provided me with two exercises that I intend to utilize in my work. Based on Jamaal May’s poem “There Are Birds Here,” the use of a a refrain kept a consistent image that was developed though out the poem. In addition, Sylvia Path’s poem demonstrates the power of non-human metaphors. By following the approaches taken by these poets, I hope to have poems with vivid imagery that show more than they