As someone who has done a formal degree in creative writing (with equal distribution between prose and poetry), I can honestly say it was a terrible waste of time. (And money, but I like to forget about that).
I know formal poetry classes really work for some people, but IMO there's no substitute for actually writing to your own rhythm, learning to love poetry as both an art and a science, sifting through inspiration and finding your own way. In my experience that's where some of my better poetry comes from. While I was studying poetry, my poems were forced and static and geared towards what my tutor wanted, not what came naturally - which meant that my grades were good but I have never before or since been so unhappy about things I've written.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2014-02-11 06:14 pm (UTC)I know formal poetry classes really work for some people, but IMO there's no substitute for actually writing to your own rhythm, learning to love poetry as both an art and a science, sifting through inspiration and finding your own way. In my experience that's where some of my better poetry comes from. While I was studying poetry, my poems were forced and static and geared towards what my tutor wanted, not what came naturally - which meant that my grades were good but I have never before or since been so unhappy about things I've written.