The Scrapper Poet

I have a small box (nothing fancy) where I keep copies of journals that have published my poems.  I have, of course, stored all my recent publications, but I also have journals dating back to when I was an undergraduate.  One of my first publications was in Seton Hill’s literary journal, Eye Contact.  (I just took a look at their blog — it looks like they are heading towards online editions.  Suddenly, I feel old. )  Another early publication was in Sigma Tau Delta’s The Rectangle.    When I was compiling my first chapbook manuscript, I didn’t even look at such early publications, and now I am wondering why.  Yes, they were written by a beginner creative writer.  Yes, some of the language is a bit forced, and I could’ve used some more help with line breaks.  But when I recently read over both works, I didn’t run screaming from the room, or want to change my name so I wouldn’t be associated with “such works.”  In fact, I was a bit surprised that I’m still writing about such themes (15+ ahem years later) as class issues and working class women.  (One poem was titled “All the Girls on 3rd Shift” — no doubt inspired by Working Classics, and my own brief stint in a factory).

So now I am wondering, dear readers, what I should do with these poems.   Yes, I know they are mine, so I can really do with them what I want.  I could slide them into a chapbook manuscript or a collection. But do you ever take a look at your early work?  Work that showed promise, but could use some refining?  Are you tempted to go tweak this work (like I am)?  Or should I let the long past, be past?