Today my students in Introduction to Creative Writing class brought in one of their favorite pieces of creative writing to share--a poem, a few paragraphs from a short story, a part of a memoir. Some of their choices? Robert Frost's poem "Out, Out--", Ellen Hopkin's novel Impulse, Shel Silverstein's poem "Where the Sidewalk Ends." All strong picks.
But one student surprised me. He chose a poem that had been published by Dannica Dufur, a senior Creative Writing major at Southwest Minnesota State University, in our annual art and literary publication, Perceptions. I wasn't surprised that he chose that particular poem. Dannica is an outstanding writer, and her poem belonged in the company of exceptional writers such as Frost, Hopkins and Silverstein.
What amazed me? That with the vast literary smorgasbord spread in front of him, this student chose Dannica's poem. Why had he chosen it? Her well-crafted, visceral words resonated deeply with his lived experience. As Heather Sellers writes in our textbook, The Practice of Creative Writing: A Guide for Students, "...art is about apprehending a sensory emotional experience." Dannica had created a raw emotional experience by engaging the senses and using vivid images to activate a moving picture in the reader's brain. She had nailed it.
But one student surprised me. He chose a poem that had been published by Dannica Dufur, a senior Creative Writing major at Southwest Minnesota State University, in our annual art and literary publication, Perceptions. I wasn't surprised that he chose that particular poem. Dannica is an outstanding writer, and her poem belonged in the company of exceptional writers such as Frost, Hopkins and Silverstein.
What amazed me? That with the vast literary smorgasbord spread in front of him, this student chose Dannica's poem. Why had he chosen it? Her well-crafted, visceral words resonated deeply with his lived experience. As Heather Sellers writes in our textbook, The Practice of Creative Writing: A Guide for Students, "...art is about apprehending a sensory emotional experience." Dannica had created a raw emotional experience by engaging the senses and using vivid images to activate a moving picture in the reader's brain. She had nailed it.
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