Completion in Honors for English 220 (Note to Class and Professor Talbird)

Hello fellow classmates,

I thought it would be a great idea to share my experience with you all on taking this English 220 course as an honors class, on behalf of Professor Talbird and the English Department.

The reason as to why I’ve decided to take this English course for honors credit is to pursue my love for writing poetry much further, as it is a huge talent of mines that I do not mind sharing with the rest of you.

This experience has been somewhat challenging, yet fun and exciting to do, since it has put my writing abilities and skills to the test. It has also been time consuming but flexible at the same time, since I had more than enough time at home, and also time on campus to compose 10 or more poems on my own in such a short time frame. However, I was able to get everything done beforehand and I can proudly say I am impressed with the work I’ve composed.

The way in which I approached and began this project outside of the additional assignments assigned in class, was to compose a total of 10 or more poems, include an introduction as to how several poets have inspired me to write poems of my own, such as Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, Tracy K.Smith and several others.

I read a collection of poems by a poet named Tracy K. Smith titled “Life on Mars”, which discusses the trials and tribulations that she undergoes, in relations to Christianity. I have noticed that I had a deep connection with this particular author simply because a common theme in most of my poems consists of religion and personifying God. She also shares her experiences to an audience about her family and personal life, which can also relate to me as a young poet who may also find herself within the same struggles as Smith.

I also decided to make an attempt at this honors project so that I could gain confidence on what I write, how I can fix or revise something that doesn’t fit well, and what I can say that I’m proud of or not fond of, but most importantly, to share my love of poetry with the rest of you who had been astonished by what I write. Not only have I been very proud of the work I developed in this contract, but very appreciative towards those who have helped boost my confidence through feedback I had received.

Also, I would like to thank all of you who have read most of my poems during this Spring 2020 semester, and I am very grateful for all of the feedback I have gotten from all of you and Professor Talbird. It is highly appreciated. I had taken every single feedback into account and have used it towards my writing, which has made me progress into becoming a better writer and poet.

Lastly, this experience has been quite tasteful and very intriguing, especially the moments in class, and the attempts of meeting the requirements for the public writing project. I wouldn’t have done this contract to its completion if it wasn’t for all of you who had helped encourage me by giving feedback during the group critiques every Thursday. It definitely encouraged me as a writer to do better each time when I would create a new poem. The poems I’ve written in this honors contract collection is a completely different set of poetry that I would not normally write. I would love to share my introduction and a poem I wrote from this honors collection. The next two posts will include my poetry and Introduction to this contract. Hope you enjoy reading it!

Also, if you have any questions in mind you would like to ask, by all means, go for it :)

Thank you for an amazing experience in English 220, Professor Talbird and Class. ♥

Yours, Shiann Davis