Three Student Reactions

"Creativity" - not only is it very difficult to define this often used yet extremely abstract term, but also it seems to be a great challenge for people to be creative and to make use of their imagination. Especially today, in times of TV and Internet, even fewer people are able to work with their phantasy. "What for?" they ask themselves, being confronted with the imaginative products of others every day in the media. Thus, what should a "creative writing workshop" be good for?
The "Intermediate Writing Practice" course at the University of Siegen had the chance to find an answer to this question when the Canadian-American poet George Ellenbogen visited the approximately 20 students in order to present the new German edition of his poems Winterfischer and give them an insight into the life and work of a poet.
After having read and discussed some of his most famous poems like "Nighttrain to Zagreb," Ellenbogen wanted everybody to write a text continuing the sentence "I'll never forget the fellow student who..." At the beginning the students had some problems in motivating themselves to invent stories or to write about something they had experienced, but after the quarter of an hour for the exercise was over, everybody had written a text which could be read out afterwards. Mr. Ellenbogen heard funny stories, strange stories, true stories, and even some sad stories. All in all he seems to be quite satisfied. In the end he gave everybody useful advice for his or her further writing.
Although some students had been quite sceptical, or even afraid, before the workshop, everyone was amazed and pleased with him/herself afterwards. Obviously there is still a great deal of creativity in every person - in spite of TV and the Internet!

Poetry is a special and sometimes quite difficult field of literature. I became aware of this while reading the poems we had to prepare for the Contemporary Writers' Forum. George Ellenbogen's poems seemed rather strange to me and I felt a bit lost, because I could not find the "key" that would give me access to the world described in the poems.
Ellenbogen's visit to our course really changed my attitude towards his poetry. The way he read it and the background information about the experiences which had prompted him to write these verses were very helpful for discerning the messages hidden behind the images. It was as if the poems were suddenly filled with life.
This positive experience made me appreciate the Contemporary Writers' Forum. I had a new insight into poetry and became sensitized to the creative potential of language which allow us to play with it.

I was surprised when I met Mr. George Ellenbogen. He was not exactly the person I had imagined before I entered the classroom. He had a powerful aura. When he talked, you just had to listen to him. When he looked at you, you had a feeling of being singled out and scrutinized. But of course he was a nice person, not to mention very intelligent. He could detect not only your failure, but, more important, your hidden potential. He encouraged you to search deep within yourself to awaken your ability to use or even play with English. He brought fresh concepts into the classroom and made you just want to write more than usual. The more he explained about his work, the better the idea you had in your mind grew. We became productive and creative. It was really a lifetime experience to receive such a great guest with humble appearance, Mr. George Ellenbogen. Muller Manalu