Feminism, Poetry and Myself

Yesterday I went to my first ever class about feminism. It turns out "Interdiscplinary Studies in Literature" is actually "Women's Literature and Feminist Theory" here at BG. Who knew?? Well, apparently everyone but me. I stayed for the hour and fifteen minutes of the first class and then decided, Hey, I'm pro-women's rights, but I don't think I'm a feminist. I'm not sure how to feel about this--as a woman, should I be a feminist? Or is it a label I can do without but still hold many of the same ideals? I think I will do more research on feminism to find out more about it--meanwhile, I have dropped that class.

Today I went to my second round of BG's 4000-level poetry workshop class. It is being taught by visiting poet James Ragan who already seems like a wonderful potential mentor, or at least really cool guy with neat ideas and an interesting background. The more I am exposed to poetry the more I realize that I actually really like it, and listening to James Ragan speak made me realize, again, that I want to do something about it. Up until recently my poetry hasn't had much of anything to say because I was afraid to say much of anything, but after taking classes with Theresa Williams (a wonderful mentor and friend and one of the greatest sources of inspiration in my life) and now James Ragan, as well as being inspired by my peers, I am thirsty to write things of meaning. I have statements to make and beliefs and my own mythos, and I want to speak to the public instead of to myself or the few people who read my stuff in workshops. I want to be more active with my writing, both poetry and fiction. I want to put myself out there and take more risks and make more mistakes. I think words are a powerful form of activism, and this is something I want to explore more within myself.

Learning lots,
Monica