Would That I Might

I went to a reading s evening with Sy Hoahwah, who is a  Yappituka  Comanche and Southern Arapaho poet, and I found his work quite interesting on a number of different levels.  For one, his blending of imagery that is rooted in contemporary poetry with systems of thought from native cultures was really striking.  In many ways, his work is building connections between ways of thinking and different mythological landscapes.  The poems are able to pull from each of these different cultural contexts in a way that is very natural and unobtrusive, even mentioning it, in some way, feels to be pointing out something that should not be discussed, as it is such a natural feature of the work.  Beyond that, the work was also filled with exciting imagery and the unique fascinations that mark any poetic voice.  I am very glad to have gone and look forwards to reading that work more closely. I also did write a new poem.  It feels that it might have a bit ...

I feel rather good about the writing I've been doing of late.  Today I put another poem on the page, and feel it is a good start at the least.  Yet again I am quite struck by the fact that I am finding the work of producing these pieces easier each day.  I may start pushing myself to do more of them, but I think first I might want to try work on writing the play that has been in my mind of late.  The general notion involves a character in some sort of post-apocalyptic world who is attempting a sort of quest, which has led them to attempt to enter a door that another character is behind and guarding.  That is essentially the entire setup of the piece, but I think I have a real understanding of it on deeper levels now that will let me actually write it. In my initial conception of the play, I hadn't really considered the piece fully, but thinking about it and considering other plays that I've read and seen, I have a much clearer sense of how it would work as a...

I received a rejection today, and that is not fun.  It is not unexpected, of course, but it is not a whole lot easier when that does occur.  Perhaps, it would be less difficult if I felt I was achieving more, but at the present getting the book agented is my major push.  I need to start trying to publish other work.  That will help on several levels, I would think. There are a number of opportunities that I have and intend to pursue.  I should get some stuff prepped to send out. These are not major places, but that is not the biggest deal, really, and I need to start someplace.  I am sure that part of my reaction is still from not smoking.  I wish that got better on a steeper incline, but I am making, I think.  I'm very tempted to buy a pack almost daily, but have abstained so far.  It's a victory, of a sort, though I do fear that I could cave any time... Anyhow, that's really about all.  I wrote another poem tonight, though I am no...

It is funny, but sometimes on the days when I don't know what I want to write about, and really feel a desire to not do the work, it turns out that something happens suddenly and without any previous thought.  I wrote a poem tonight that does not really seem to be an idea I had in mind at any time before.  The images connect to other pieces I've written, in a way, but not fully, and it is clearly a different type of poem in a number of different ways. The thing is not so much the poem itself, but the acknowledgement that I need to do the work each day, and that I can never truly know what work I will accomplish at any given time.  I mean, if I had listened to myself, a few minutes before getting to work, I would have walked away and gone straight to bed.  Instead, I forced myself to sit down and do the work, and what resulted feels to be something more valuable than what I had expected.  It is impossible to predict such things. I also am still developing tha...

I did not start work on that play idea yet, at least not in any direct sense, but I do think that the work for it is going on in my mind already.  I've got a number of ideas that have been coming together around it and I think it may be ready for me to really work on soon.  Anyhow, I feel good about it as an idea, even if I still need to give it a real sense of shape. In addition to that, I did write a new poem, and I feel again that I am getting to a good place in writing daily, where I can squeeze an image in order to find why it first fascinated me.  I'm not saying that is the only poetry I am writing, or that it is superior, but it is important to be able to write from most anything that sticks in my mind and feel comfortable that it will lead to an idea worth exploring.   Tomorrow will be an early morning, as I have that meeting in the morning with the learning specialist I spoke of.  I am a bit on edge about it, but I know it will be a good thi...

I have an idea for a play that I am hoping to begin work on tomorrow.  The general set up was something that had been in my mind already, but today it came into focus in a new way that I didn't really expect.  I think it has the potential to be something quite interesting, though I'm still uncertain about it in the entirety of the piece.  It would be somewhat in the spirit of Beckett, to be honest, but I think that it could work quite well. As well, I did write a new poem, and I think it is one with a real potential.  Honestly, I am a bit exhausted feeling right at this moment, and still feeling under as a result of nicotine withdrawal, so I think I didn't put in quite the level of effort I might have.  I did find the idea, though, and I got enough of it on the page to know the shape and reasoning of it, even if it is not working fully at this point. As said, I am still feeling rather down and a bit out of it, but I am still getting the work done.  I...

I don't really have a lot to talk about tonight,so I will be keeping this short once more.  That is not to say that things are going in a negative direction.  It feels that I am dialed in on the poems, to an extent, and I feel that I'm getting a sharper sense of the kind of work I am aiming at right now.  Some days, I really don't know what I want to communicate, but that is itself something that I feel is worth exploring, and it certainly has led me in some interesting directions.   It seems to me that I need a bit more stimulation in order to feel the level of engagement that I want with the work, and I am seeking ways to supply myself with that part of what I think would be optimal.  Obviously, there are aspects of what I am interested in for myself that would be better if I did have resources beyond myself, and I am attempting to cultivate some of that as well. What matters most for me, though, is doing that work.  I am also, of course, wantin...