Blog Post #2- Katherine Seitel

Thus far my experience with the Uptown Shepherd Center has been unexpectedly engaging and intellectually stimulating. So far I have participated in the Shepherd’s Drama and Poetry classes, both of which are taken seriously by participants, but to different degrees. In the drama class my lack of theater experience was met with disappointment since most in the class do not have theater backgrounds they thought that my being in a Shakespeare class would mean experience in theater. But, they have been welcoming and more than willing to include me in the play. I’ve spent more time in the poetry class and have really enjoyed their approach to poem reading and digesting. They read the poems as one voice for many of the poems, though sometimes individuals will read a poem aloud. The group reading is really interesting and reminded me of our discussion of performance during Shakespeare’s time. The layering of voices, each with unique intonation, emphasis and tone make for a completely new way for me to experience poems. In my other experiences with poetry there is the strict understanding of punctuation dictating breaks, but because there are so many voices reading at once, attempting to read as one, these breaks are not accomplished. And it’s really enjoyable. At last week’s poetry class there was a question of morality and how people of my generation have a difficult, or impossible, time understanding what a moral decision is and how morality functions in society. This was thought provoking for me because I think of as morality seems very subjective, which could perhaps be why they didn’t think people my age understand morality. I was called on to defend all young people and after explaining how I think morality is really complicated and nuanced the leader of the class said that I defended young people well. My favorite part of the poetry class is that each poem comes with a long anecdote from one of the people attending the class about their specific experience with something similar to what happened in the poem. The themes discussed in the poem function as a springboard to tell a story, not to inspire a discussion about the poem itself.

            As far as my initial concerns about my placement I still feel like my presence is more for my benefit than the people that I’m working with. I am contributing to their classes in that I am a fresh perspective and can serve as the voice of a different generation. But, I do get the feeling that I’m not bringing any special skills to the group and often feel kind of like an anthropologist. I’m given access to a space I wouldn’t otherwise have access to and feel a lot like outsider observing, though occasionally participating, a group. This is fun for me and I’m really enjoying my time at the Uptown Shepherd’s, but at the same time I don’t feel like I’m performing a service for anyone but myself. The longer I volunteer the more comfortable I’ve gotten and the more willing I am to speak in classes. But, I’ve still not figured out what to do when classes are not in session. When I’ve asked my supervisors if they need a hand with anything they say no and I’ve had a few occasions where I’ve sat and tried and failed to make conversation with ladies doing puzzles; I’ve noticed that the people who don’t participate in the classes aren’t that interested in chatting with me. I’m still figuring out what my specific role should be, but I do think that the longer I volunteer the more confident I’ll be in helping out and the more comfortable they will be in giving me responsibilities.