Throughout high school and going into college, whenever I discuss poetry with peers, they share that they either strongly prefer writing poetry over reading it, or the other way around. In my personal experience, when I first discovered poetry, I much preferred writing it over reading it. I used it as a mode of expression and an outlet for my teenage angst. However, in recent years, it seems like this inclination has switched a bit. I now gravitate towards my bookshelf rather than my notebook; I use reading poetry as an escape. So I was wondering: which do you prefer, reading poetry or writing it? Why? Or do you like both equally as much? Why?

—Estelle