Teacher discouraging me to do poetry!?

[alex.leon]

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My current Advanced teacher, who will be taking me for Extension 2 next year told me that poetry is 'too subjectively marked'.
So, i asked him if he thought i was incapable, and he said that extension 2 was the perfect subject for me etc etc...
But he said that poetry is 'just too subjective'.
He also said that only about 50 people do it in the state..(and he insinuated that that was a bad thing..?)


So..i don't understand how poetry would be any more subjectively marked than a short story..?
And i'm worried that i'll need all the support i can get from my teacher, and if he's not encouraging me then what's the point?

I would change mediums to a short story, but i love poetry, and without being arrogant i think i'm good..i'm not some emo poet who writes poems about depression and angst..i really take poetry seriously! and i've already started!!



..HELP!

[Allan vB]

I've completed the Ext2 and I'd say that if you really have a passion for poetry then go for it! Though, perhaps get your current work checked over by a professional poet before you decide on medium. That should give you an idea of how you're going.

I chose to write two speeches. For our first Ext2 lesson, our teacher pretty much said that we could do "anything but peotry." A few years ago a girl who was sooo committed chose to do poetry and she was pretty much slaughtered by the markers... failing to break the 35 barrier. I feel so sorry for her. I guess the message here is to proceed carefully!

[sonyaleeisapixi]

I did poetry, and the other girl in my class did a short story.

My teacher has watched me write poetry since ninth grade, so, it was a given that would be my medium.

Poetry was hard. Really hard. I love it, but it got to the point where I almost threw my hands up in the air and said "I give up. I hate writing."
Really think hard about whether you have to commitment ro write in poetic form for ten months.

Also, you have to justify every god damned line break and rhyme and allusion, just every single fucking thing, and the girl who did the short story told me she felt like she had it easy in her MW comparitively.

Really think hard about it. Its totally rewarding but you need to have the stamina.

[alcalder]

Do what you have a passion for. To get feedback, join a poets' group (contact NSW Writer's Centre) .

You will find it more fulfilling and it's not about the marks, it's about what YOU want to do.

I was discouraged to do a certain level of English in High School, I thumbed my nose at the establishment and proved them wrong. You can too.

[Empyrean444]

Of course you may do it.
How to avoid subjective marking? I have no authoritative or definitive answers, but i have an inkling. Study contemporary and classic poetry that is popular for either its literary prowess or because it it just well liked. Study it. Try to figure out what it is that has made it popular today, and why it has endured. WHAT is it that has may it so good? eg: Rime of the Ancient Mariner, The Aeneid, the Iliad, Charge of the Light Brigade, Ulysses (by Tennyson), Paradise lost, etc. (note these are all quite lengthy - most are epics).

Once you figure this out, emulate what was liked about it. Emulate what it does well. I'm sure if you do this it may ReDuce the elements of subjectivity.
Justify it too in your reflection. It is amazing how many marks you can get in general if you successfully and skilfully argue why you did it.
Also: this may contradict the whole "do as u please" syndrome, but write for your audience to get the best marks. Write things that are likely to appeal to HSC markers (ie aging school teachers). This tenant, in greater or lesser degrees, is a necessity of poetry ( I believe).

I plan on trying my hands at a poem(extended piece). Not too well practised though...

[Rebekkie]

you shouldn't get caught up in the fact that you've already started. a LOT of people change concepts/medium etc in the first few months.

just be sure you're doing it for the right reasons

[alex.leon]

Originally Posted by Rebekkie

you shouldn't get caught up in the fact that you've already started. a LOT of people change concepts/medium etc in the first few months.

just be sure you're doing it for the right reasons

me already starting wasn't what i was most worried about as i completley understand the whole changing of topic things and i'm not overly paranoid about that or anything its more that..well..my teacher is completely discouraging me from something i LOVE doing!! its more of a question whether it's worth doing the topic if i have a teacher whose heart isnt in it with me...!

[frezbo]

hey alex!
yeah, my two teachers did a similar thing, but they never outright said not to do poetry. They were a little uncomfortable with it, but in the end, I knew that was the best medium for me. It probably is safer to do a short story, and poems are very challenging, but I think it was worth it in the end for me.

Poems are probably more subjectively marked because they are typically more difficult to interpret than other mediums, and therefore the marker has to participate within the poem to a higher degree. If they don't like your subject or style, chances are they will dislike this participation very much! But that is just the nature of poetry. Don't let it put you off.

I can see why you are concerned though, as you only have the 10 units.
Maybe make a list of why you should and shouldnt do poetry, and then have a think about what would be best for you?

Hope this rambling has helped somehow :P