Workshop

As nerve wracking as Workshop is, I have found it to be incredibly helpful and encouraging. I think it is a great technique how the work is read out loud and then carefully critiqued after by each member of the class without the writer commenting at all until the discussion is over. It is good that the poem is read aloud to everyone since how a work sounds being verbalized is very important and gives further insight into details you probably would not notice when reading silently to yourself.

Second I found how each member shares what they liked about the poem first very efficient, since this avoids everyone from talking over each other. This tactic also gives the writer plenty of time to write down any notes they found useful from everyone’s advice about their work. The workshop then seems to turn into a group discussion about the pros and cons of the work. I like how the discussion is very thorough and everyone gives their interpretation. Going into it I didn’t expect the discussion to analyze just about every detail about my poem along with others, but I found that most helpful and it opened my eyes up to details I never even noticed I had written, as well as areas of the poem I probably would have not thought of critiquing.

The discussion goes from the form of the poem, the title, the grammar, the plot, and the interpretation which is very helpful and useful to both the readers and the writer. Overall I felt workshop to be very rewarding, helpful, fun, yet intimidating in the best way. It is an excellent way to improve your work with both positive and negative feedback which is always necessary in order to improve.