Encouragement

Hi, folks! No, this blog isn't abandoned, just going through a dry spell. I've been working a lot (I put in eleven hours at the bakery today). Once I get my class finished up next week and slog through my first 40-hour work week at the cafe, I'll surely be on track!

I've had some good news this week: The Raven Chronicles, a literary magazine based in Seattle, Washington, nominated one of my poems for a Pushcart Prize! I'm very, very excited about it, and so proud that they thought my poem worthy of being one of the few they nominated in 2010.

It's given me a big boost of confidence when I've been feeling low about my writing. I've managed to write about one poem a month since I've been out of grad school, and I haven't even revised those. I've been seriously doubting my commitment to poetry, but this nomination has made me feel rejuvenated and ready to gear up for another round of poem submissions. So watch out Post Office--I'm headed your way with a big stack of manilla envelopes!

I recently stumbled across Kate Monahan's blog MFA Confidential. In her most recent post, she writes about the vital importance of encouragement in a writer's life. I completely agree with her: I remember every single time that a professor, workshop member, or friend told me that, yes, I could do this, that I could write something worthwhile. And every time it's happened, it's come at just the right time, just when I felt like giving up.

Monahan quotes Anatole France at the end of her post: “Nine tenths of education is encouragement." I believe that this is absolutely true, especially when teaching writing. I've made the decision to never tell a writer "No" in workshop, and I would never tell a beginning composition writer "No" as they worked on a paper, nor would I tell a beginning reader of literature "No" when they first start trying to interpret a short story. I've seen enough students come into my classroom morose and unwilling, convinced that they "are just no good at writing." They cannot learn if they do not believe themselves to be capable of learning, or capable of writing cogently. As a teacher, I try to tell my students "Yes" as much as I can, to focus on the positive, to show them how they can build on their natural talents and what they already know.

Anyway, that's my pedagogical rant for the day. Now, I'm off to bed: gotta get up and sell them bagels tomorrow!  ;)