Reflection on the Course

Let me start by saying this past course was very fun and taught me many new things about English literature. Even during a busy summer schedule, this class was still very fun to take and I was never bored throughout the course. I learned many skills during this class, but one that I really took into consideration was taking deeper thoughts and different perspectives about writings. I looked more into detail through symbols and hidden messages I thought the author was trying to get across. I can use this skill and apply them in any upcoming writing assignment I may have, to not just look at the obvious but to also look from a totally new perspective.
All I can say about the readings that were posted throughout this course is...wow! They were very intense and at times I thought were impossible to comprehend with. After reading through them a couple times, I finally got the jest of it and it started to all come together. The readings have affected me by making me an all over stronger reader and writer. My vocabulary grew and my imagination also went out it's box.
I believe I met all the learning outcomes for the class. Although I may not have perfected some, I learned how to work and get better at them. One that I need to work on a little more is selecting and applying voice.
I would say my writing process has changed quite a bit. Before, I would just be quick and get straight to the fact and my writing was left without any supporting details. Now that has changed and I like to elaborate my statements in more detail and before it was harder to write three pages and now my writing has become easier to get across.
The challenges for me was adapting to the type of learning and writing. We were ask to give more of our opinions on writings and I was used to just giving specific facts and trying to elaborate on that. Now that I have taken this course it has made me overcome these challenges and now I am ready for any writing to be read or to be given an analysis on! :)

http://2009dcpwianta.blogspot.com/2011/04/english-checkpoint-what-do-you-think.html

Sam Hamill and Carolyn Forch

Sam Hamill and Carolyn Forch were very interesting to read and both had unique views on poetry of witness. They shared some similarities as well as differences.After reading these two authors' ideas on poetry, it opened my eyes even more to the poetry that was read in last week's assignments. Hamill's idea of poetry is "Writing is a form of human communication expressing ideas regarding the human condition". (546) What this meant to me was, using words as a tool to express oneself through writing. One thing i agreed with Hamill, is the way he expressed poetry as teaching others life lessons that one may go through. He made it very interesting to read because he put himself in the situation where people were in the wrong and helps them.
On the other hand, Forch's view was a totally different direction. She used poetry towards political problems and social classes. Discussing political issues is very important to get out different opinions and to show the younger generation how crucial it can be to one's life. One thing it definitely shows is the history in poetry and how it became. It's not that I didn't agree with Forch's view on poetry, it just didn't catch my eye on the first glance. 
Reading these two views really opened my eyes to new ways of viewing poetry and to stay open minded reading towards anything. Although, many people may not agree with these views, they bring new styles of interpreting poetry to the plate and shows the audience there are various ways of writing.

picture link: http://www.thedrunkenboat.com/hamillview.htm

picture link: http://poetrydispatch.wordpress.com/2009/09/27/carolyn-forche-the-colonel/