The Electronic Literature Directory is an amazing reference site for not only writer's of poetry but lover's of poetry. I read through many of the poems that this site had to offer and enjoyed some of the very much. One I enjoyed was entitled The Afterglow. I was pleased by the gentle words and images that this poem invoked. It was very calming. Some of the poems I did not understand. I read and re-read them and still was unable to decipher their meaning or even gather images of the words clearly.
I enjoyed this site because it was an easy resource for viewing a variety of poems easily. Even though I do not understand poetry very well, I am slowly learning to appreciate it. I believe that, for me, learning to appreciate poetry is the first step to understanding it. I find that if I cannot develop an appreciation for something that it is difficult for me to form an understanding of it. My goal for this semester is to use these websites and the ones that we later must find to form a better appreciation and understanding of poetry.
I believe this site will be helpful to me in the writing process because of the many different poems I have access to view. The more I can read and expose myself to, the better of a writer I can become. I had a preconceived notion of poetry that it should rhyme and be somewhat short in length. I think I had this notion due to my love of children's poetry which most always is short and rhymes. I am slowly learning that poetry does not always rhyme and it can be substantial in length. There are some really great poems in this site. It will be helpful in opening my eyes and widening my understanding of poetry.