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The Value of Teaching Creative Writing
By Richard Harris, CLS English faculty member and Scholastic competition advisor
Billy Collins, a United States Poet Laureate and a National Scholastics Judge, believes “what truly inspires writers is the writing of others” and reminds us that “an original writer has really just learned how to absorb a variety of influences, combining them in a new way.” Many of our student writers experience such a variety of influences and begin the creative writing process in the classroom, but many soon discover that it is outside of class where they must find the time to write and share in order to develop their original voice and vision as creative writers.
In the classroom, our students read and write with a curiosity fostered by our teachers, who require them to pay close attention to detail and analyze the artistry of the various works we read. I have seen some new poets find their inspiration first taking shape on the page in a stream-of-consciousness exercise focused on a key word or phrase in one of Baldwin’s lyrical passages about jazz improvisation. When we studied a Hemingway story about an existential struggle, some new storytellers were moved to use his minimalist dialogue and internal monologue techniques to share with me their own stories of hardship. I also remember the student who discovered that his scientific knowledge of the Costa Rican lowland jungle’s flora and fauna was not unlike the specificity found in W. S. Merwin’s ecological poems. He soon realized that his appreciation for the refuescent tiger-heron and the nightingale-thrush near the Rio Sarapiqui was not unlike Wordsworth’s “Lines Written in Early Spring,” too. On his first day of class, I read Wordsworth’s poem just to him, and that reading, he once told me, inspired him to write and publish “La Selva” and discover a new self or identity as a creative writer. John Gardner, a famous teacher of creative writing, values this analytical foundation when he says that “no one can hope to write really well if he has not learned how to analyze.” When the mind opens to consider new possibilities through diverse readings of literature and life and the eye learns to see artistry through a disciplined focus of analysis and imitation, the result is a testament to the personal guidance of our teachers and the artistic literacy of our students. READ MORE
A Student's Perspective
By Caroline Chiaroni '12
2010 Scholastic Gold Key Winner and National American Voices Medalist
Listen to Caroline read her poetry collection, "Newfound Magic"
At the start of my freshman year of high school, I envisioned writing as merely a description or analysis of a work by a famous author. I never dreamed of composing my own stories or poetry until Mr. Harris, my ninth grade English teacher, explained to me the different genres and the many ways of interpreting poetry. For the past two years, creative writing has become a new outlet for my imagination and has inspired me to lose myself in another world without restrictions.
I love writing creatively because there are no rules or prior knowledge required, and I only have to show expertise in a topic of interest to me or a past experience. I am open to translate even the most surreal feelings or images on my mind into words so others can experience my emotions as well. Creative writing is not only another outlet for my imagination, but it is another language or another way to describe my inner most feelings to my audience. While creative writing can be personal, it can take the form of a humorous text or a frightening tale. My works always take the shape of my mood. For example, if I get into a fight with a friend and am frustrated, I may use angry verbs or images to describe my feelings such as God Zeus hurling flames from the tips of his fingers, and if I’m happy, I may imagine children exploding with laughter at a carnival as a clown dances a jig upside-down on its hands.
Usually when I write, I jot down whatever first comes to mind such as emotions, people, or images. My works are usually based on personal experience or current events such as my poem “Faded with Age” about an old Trinidadian house, an important cultural aspect that was about to be torn down. First I write freely, and a few days later, I revisit the text for misused words that confuse the meaning or careless typos. I share my work with friends and family and utilize their constructive criticism to my advantage, but also keep my intentions in mind and never turn my work into someone else’s.
My poetry collection “Newfound Magic” has led me to discover my full potential in writing. What started out as a tiny hobby on the side, became a part of my life that I am interested in pursuing later on in university studies and even as a profession. When I am not as inspired to write, I re-read my poems to generate ideas or to remind myself what I am capable of. These poems, each a different genre, let me express my opinions or sentiments in a metaphorical way. I intended them to trigger not only depth of emotion within the readers, but thought and imagination so that people may discover the message and sincere care behind the words.
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Click here to read works by our 2010 Scholastic writing national medalists.