applause, applause, life is our cause

I think the absolute most valuable thing I got out of my poetry class last semester was the realization that feedback from my peers is as important as feedback from my teacher, especially those peers whose technique and voice I admire so much. I feel lucky to have a handful of those people in my workshop this semester. I got two check-plus poems back today, and I feel good about it, but not triumphant like I did in the fall. And that might be a good thing. Because it means I’m not letting just one person dictate how successful I think my writing is, and that feels like the triumph.