Discussion: Writing Exercise #1 – A Place for Poetry in the World of Business?

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Whilst most people can see a potential connection between poetry and advertising, they become skeptical when faced with the notion that reading poems and experiencing the process of getting to grips with their possible meaning can help in business. The suggestion that poetry can help with strategic thinking, with creativity and innovation, in decision-making, in communications, in the way we look at situations, the way we think, the way we interact with others or the way we express our opinions leaves many people struggling. (Pritchett, 2014, p. 54)

In this first discussion on writing, you will learn about genre and medium. In the realm of literary devices, there are so many ways to convey messages and meaning. Each provides an opportunity for “just the right form of expression” when needed. By becoming familiar with the various types of genres and medium in practical ways, you will be able to more finely hone your craft of writing. For example, have you ever given thought to the concept that poetry could help articulate issues in business or aid creative thinking in the workplace? In this first lesson, you will discuss genre and medium as well as craft a freestyle poem.

The habit of compulsive, premature editing doesn’t just make writing hard. It also makes writing dead. Your voice is damped out by all the interruptions, changes, and hesitations between the consciousness and the page. In your natural way of producing words there is a sound, a texture, a rhythm—a voice—which is the main source of power in your writing, I don’t know how it works, but this voice is the force that will make a reader listen to you. Maybe you don’t like your voice; maybe people have made fun of it. But it’s the only voice you’ve got. (Runyan, 2015, p. 15)

The purpose of this assignment is to introduce you to the craft of freestyle poetry writing as a means to delve deeper into business issues and without the inhibiting inclination to prematurely edit. Once you have experienced freestyle poetry writing, you may find the practice highly beneficial and quite practical whenever encountering writer’s block as you compose your ADP consulting report.

Upon successful completion of this discussion, you will be able to:

  • Integrate the Virtuous Business model into their reading, research, writing, and reporting.

Instructions

  1. Review the rubric to make sure you understand the criteria for earning your grade.
  2. Acquire the three textbooks required for the course. Refer to the required resources in the Syllabus.
  3. Link to and read Purdue OWL’s webpage Genre and Medium(new tab).
  4. Link to and read Grammarly’s brief webpage article Learn the Types of Writing: Expository, Descriptive, Persuasive and Narrative(new tab).
  5. Download and review A Quick Guide to Biblical Genres(PDF document).
  6. Link to and read the article Can Poetry be of Value in the World of Business?(new tab)
  7. Read the Foreward and Introduction—Chapter 5 (pp. xvii–26) in the Everybody Writes book by Handley (2014).
    1. Reflect on Handley’s advice to ‘place the most important words (and ideas) at the beginning of each sentence’ when you begin to work on the shape of your freewrite poem. Is it sage advice for poems, too?  You decide.
  8. Simple directions for how to write a free-form poem:
    1. Freewriting Starts:
      1. For this freewrite exercise, focus on the Virtuous Business Model or any one part of it.
      2. Set a timer for ten minutes.
      3. Write or type without stopping.
      4. If you get stuck, keep writing “I don’t know what to write” until more thoughts return.
      5. If the alarm goes off and you’re in deep, keep going.
      6. When finished, make a cup of coffee, read a poem, or go for a walk. Then, sit down and read through what you wrote, without making any changes.
    2. Finding Your Freewrite’s Shape
      1. Underline or highlight words or phrases that strike you from your freewrite.
      2. Type or write the highlighted portions into lines.
      3. Fill in any ‘gaps’ to add continuity.
    3. Color It In: Imagery
    4. Now try these sensory language strategies as you make your own poem more inviting to the senses: specifics, senses, figurative language, personal experience.
      1. Stir the Bees: Sound
      2. Experiment with sound in your draft.
      3. Try combinations of phrases and words, and read aloud, always, until you can’t imagine the poem buzzing any other way.
    5. Lay a Path: Pay Attention to Lines
      1. How would you break the lines to suggest emotion and meaning?
      2. Either rewrite the poem or include slash marks where the lines should break.
      3. Consider removing a line or lines and or reordering them. (Runyan, 2015, pp. 16, 17, 21, 29, 37, 43)
  9. In the discussion forum, complete the following prompts:
    1. New Insights – What new insights did you gain from this lesson to further develop your business writing skills?
    2. Agree or Disagree – Do you agree or disagree? Can poetry be of value in the world of business? Explain.
    3. Freestyle Poetry – Share your freestyle poem.
  10. The first two prompts should each be 75–100 words in length with APA citations and references listed, as applicable.
  11. Use Grammarly to edit the first two paragraphs.
  12. Submit the initial discussion post by the fifth day (Day 5) of the workshop.
  13. Read and respond to at least one of your classmates’ postings and any follow-up instructor questions directed at you by the end of the workshop. When responding, utilize at least one of the following ways to engage in scholarly dialogue: 
    1. Extension: Expand the discussion.
    2. Relevancy: Relate the topic to a current event.
    3. Exploratory: Probe facts and basic knowledge.
    4. Challenge: Interrogate assumptions, conclusions or interpretations.
    5. Relational: Make comparisons or contrasts of themes, ideas, or issues.
    6. Diagnostic: Probe motives or causes.
    7. Action: Identify application or an action in personal or work life.
    8. Cause & Effect: Cite causal relationships between ideas, actions or events.
    9. Hypothetical: Pose a change in the facts or issues.
    10. Priority: Seek to identify the most important issues.
    11. Summary: Elicit synthesis.

References

Research topic ideas. (n.d.). Frances Willson Thompson Library. https://libguides.umflint.edu/topics/business(new tab)

Runyan, T. (2015). How to write a poem. T. S. Poetry Press.

Pritchett, G. (2014, September). Can poetry be of value in the world of business? Central European Business Review, 3(3), 54–57. https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/can-poetry-be-value-world-business/docview/1647733971/se-2?accountid=6363(new tab)

Traffis, C. (n.d.). Learn the Types of writing: Expository, descriptive, persuasive, and narrative. Grammarly. https://www.grammarly.com/blog/types-of-writing/(new tab)