Poetry Updates

My tutor has just posted an activity about theme on the tutorial group site. It involves thinking about theme. This is fine, but I've already written my poem so I don't really feel like tackling it. But then again I keep hearing those funereal threatening voices in my head, 'don't forget the EMA,' But this is the problem I have, I don't know what I'm going to do for my EMA. I certainly don't believe I'll do poetry at this stage as I have absolutely no idea whether I'm any good at it. I've scored high 80s for both of my shorts, so a short would have to be favourite, but then again I'd never really written a short story before this course, so maybe I should stop while I'm ahead on that one in case one more story and I get found out.

If I score well in this poetry element of the course I may embrace it, call myself a would be poet, and write nothing but for the rest of the course - pausing of course for a bit of life writing (whatever that's all about). If I score badly in poetry and this is a distinct possibility, I pack up my poetry tools and put them away and refuse to show them the light again. Quite exciting really isn't it?

Do you know what I'm looking forward to, I mean really looking forward to? Seeing other people's poetry a matter of days after the cut date for the 03 submission. Over at Facebook people are really generous with letting others know of their marks and showing their work. It's going to be very revealing if a couple of clumsy non iambic pentameter sonnets and a couple of dodgy haikus can score a 90, then we'll know what's going on. You cannot make a poet in a few weeks. It simply cannot be done. Fancy becoming an airline pilot? - here read this chapter on the basics of flying and test yourself to see how well you've understood the material. Then when you're sure you know what you're doing get yourself down to London as there's a passenger flight to Crete timed at 1730hrs from Heathrow, and you're flying it. What's that, you want to be a lawyer. No problem, read this case law book, test yourself a couple of times and when you think you've got the hang of this law malarkey, there's a chap standing trial at the Old Bailey for conspiracy to defraud the state, he knows all the angles and has a team of international lawyers to defend him Your job is to secure a conviction, you have read the book haven't you?

I reckon if the scoring is high, that's fair enough, because the work is going to be basic, hard working and earnest and full of effort, but it's not going to be poetry. That's not to say that some on the course may have talent and promise, but in a few weeks? No. when you read the published poets you see the difference immediately. It takes years to get it it right. Just like our airline pilot and lawyer friends, their training took years and years. If you doubt this just sit down and read Derek Mahon's Disused Shed in Co. Wexford. Does yours look like that? Didn't think so. Nor mine. It's too soon. That poem probably took him the length of this whole course to write - and he's a proper poet!

I think I will have a go at this weeks theme after all, which is 'theme'. I think I'd like to get good at this poetry lark as I'm desperately short of hobbies. And of course the EMA is standing in the background with a baleful smirk on its face.