poem.
Meaning the students had to pick a famous
Professor Mary Miller of Western Kentucky University
Sharing one’s writing with complete strangers
is a nerve-racking task. However, in Ms. Miller’s cre-
ative writing class at Western Kentucky University,
it has become completely natural. The class gathers
into a big circle, just like preschool, before class even
starts, and they pass out their work to every student.
Then Ms. Miller casually demands that her students
impress her. One by one poems and short stories are
read aloud, and their deepest emotions are poured
out into the circle. They are always graciously accept-
ed and lovingly critiqued.
Our class’s first assignment was a modeling
contemporary poet and model a poem after our
favorite. The poems turned out great. It taught us all
a lot of the basic do’s and don’ts of poetry.
Everyday I am impressed with the work that
is presented. Western has a decent name in writing
competitions. We also have a magazine that publish-
es student’s work called Zephyrus, as well as campus
writing competitions.
To show off some great work from my own
writing class I’ve pulled the class favorites of the
modeling poems. The directions we were given
on these poems were very mild. We simply had to
model something off the professional. That could
have been the form, the rhyme, the rhythm, even
the subject matter could be mimicked. The style was
the most widely used model. Whether it was the
droll sarcasm of Billy Collins, the diva terseness of
Lucielle Clifton, or the tight reporting of E.E. Cum-
mings, the style was mocked.
Writing classes are a very interesting experi-
ence. Not only do they drastically improve your
writing, they also introduce you to an entirely new
world.A class throws you into the rough of being a
writer: Deadlines, writing for an audience, critiques,
and praise.
Here are some examples of what a basic intro to
creative writing class can produce here at Western.