Poetry In Arrest

Let's lay aside, for now, the value of getting a class of A-level English literature to write their own rough facsimille of First World War poetry. For all I know, it may have been shown to be of definite value and to allow us to better the techniques and works of the poets we're studying, though I can't say I'm too confident of it. Anyway, whether or not we actually gained anything from today's hour, I have one little question that I'm hoping someone can answer for me. Well, I say that, in truth I just want to moan and an exasperated question seemed the best way.

What on Earth put the idea in my normally very good literature teacher's head that the best way to write poetry in a small group?

Now, anyone who has ever tried to produce a piece of writing in a group knows how much of a trial it is. Every sentence, if not every word, must be passed individually, everyone is loath to put something forward lest it get shot down in flames, and nobody is every wholly satisfied with the end result. The whole thing just ends up taking longer and producing a poorer result than if it's written by an individual - and that's just with any old knockabout cereal-competition tie-breaker. Try something as complex and niggly as poetry and you've got a recipe for half an hour of awkward silence until a couple of people desperately hammer out a few rubbish lines and roughly stitch them together just so the group has something to show for their time.

In the end, we spent half an hour in awkward silence, at which point a couple of us desperately hammered out a few rubbish lines and roughly stitched them together just so the group had something to show for our time.