"Everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt. " said Sylvia Plath, a legendary poet, and I totally agree. We read, we listen, we watch and we are impressed with the feat the creaters show there, which makes most of us think creating something is someone else's job. Quite naturally, artists think they're privileged because they have means to express what they see, hear and feel in this world. True, it takes an exceptional talent and luck for one to be an artist who lives on creating things, but it takes only training and practice for us to be an amateur creater, I believe.
As a teacher of English and Japanese (I teach social studies,too, but never mind), I'd like my students to become able to express their feelings and opinions in their own writing,using whichever form they feel comfortable to write with; poem or prose. So,now I'm teaching how to write a poem in my Japanese classes, and will probably be teaching how to write essays sometime later, which you might think is derailed from the purpose of studying at a juku, but not quite. By writing a poem and an essay, it is safe to say that students will be more able to understand what the writers really want to express and appreciate their expertise when reading. In other words, writing activities enhance their reading comprehension and provide them with means to express themselves at the same time. So, I just hope my students will enjoy the process of writing poems, that is, creating their own work of art.
By the way, this morning I conversed with 4 students , who came to Wing in order to study by themselves in a classroom. At the end of the conversation, I was somehow touched, the reason of which I'm not going to tell; instead, I'll write this, unashamedly.
From nowhere come four little souls
Soot over my eyes, awkward kindness erases
Disappointment in humanity, hearty words evaporate
My shuddering heart, innocent smiles make calm
Alas, coming to me is the resurrection of long-lost emotion
