Obliviously obvious

Hot news! Be prepared for an insight that will knock your socks off: I have just read (and I can hardly believe my good fortune!) that "poetry means different things to different people and it is up to the individual reader to interpret."

Yes! In fact, this insight is so amazing that it appears, in slightly different forms, in roughly half of the poetry papers on my desk this morning! Some papers claim that it's up to the individual reader to "interrupt," but let's not get picky! The astounding thing is that on several occasions in class I have actually used this remarkable insight as an example of a sentence I do not EVER want to see in a student paper!!!!

I'd better settle down and take a deep breath before I use up my quota of exclamation points. Let's just all agree, once and for all, that poetry means different things to different people and it is up to the individual reader to interpret (or interrupt, as the case may be). There: it's down in black and white for everyone to see. No one ever needs to say it again, especially not in an analytical essay, and most especially not in my class.

Likewise, no one ever needs to write that "people should follow their own dreams" or "some feel one way about the issue and some feel another way and it's up to the individual to decide." And while we're at it, my wonderful colleague Janet doesn't want to see any more freshman essays starting with "In today's society" or that thrilling alternative, "In society today." Neither do we want to see a three-page essay that begins with "Since the beginning of time" or "Throughout history." A three-page essay that promises to survey the course of an idea since the beginning ot time is making a promise it cannot possibly keep.

Since the beginning of time, teachers have been complaining about annoyingly obvious statements that pop up repeatedly in student papers, but in today's society, I feel strongly that we should do more than complain. Some feel one way about the issue and some feel another way, and it is up to the reader to decide whether to ignore this rant or send in an example of his or her own most annoying statement from student papers. We could create some found poetry from the collection, which would mean different things to different people, and then we could burn the collection in a ritual bonfire. But everyone should follow their own dreams!