A Writer's Notebook, Day One-Hundred-And-Ninety-Four

I feel that today was a very productive day for me.  First, I did write some new poetry, and in particular worked on an idea that I have had for a time, but which I didn't feel entirely prepared to take on up to this point.  It is, of course, still just in the draft stage, but it feels like a good beginning, at least a shape for the thing.

There was a poetry workshop today that I attended and the teacher is someone I had met and worked with previously.  It was very energizing, and I felt a real connection with the work and how it was being presented.  I am hoping to keep in touch with Freesia McKee, who taught the class, and maybe to work with her somewhat more directly.  She is young, but I have known her for a few years and feel that she has a real sense in terms of the work she is doing. 

I also spoke to a number of other people at the workshop whom I intend to keep in touch with.  One is an editor at the SoFloPoJo (southfloridapoetryjournal.com).  I have been intending to send them some of my work for a bit, honestly, and it is time to get to work on that.  Anyhow, I have the email address for the fellow, and he has been interested in getting some work for me for a while now.  I gather that they are doing some very good work, and every bit can help.  It is certainly not going to hurt me to submit.

I have to really think about what I want to send them.  I have a few poems that I want to send out to certain places, not because I think they are better or any of that, but because I have a feeling that they might fit in certain higher profile venues.  At the same time, I am not going to send out work that I don't feel strongly about.  I have one poem that I am intending to revise that I think might be perfect for them once I do the work on it.  I suppose I should get to that in the morning.

Anyhow, Ulysses, the cat, is sick today, which is why I am writing this early, and why I am keeping it a bit short, though I am due for a longer entry.  Alas, I need to run for tonight, but I hope to get a bunch of work done tomorrow, as I do feel rather energized.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Writer's Notebook, Day Two-Hundred-And-Fifty

Each of the three pieces I wrote today was a bit of a struggle to get going, if I am honest.  That happens, as I have mentioned, and my answer is generally to just wait it out, and the results vary.  A lot of the time, if I am really stuck, I might try to force something out, often it winds up being a bit meta, with me writing about being stuck without much in terms of inspiration, and it feels a bit like I am working scales in a way.  All the aesthetic decisions are there, they just don't always have a lot of purpose behind them, and that is fine in that context.  Essentially, I am just forcing myself to do the work, and getting it done, and I am showing myself that I can and will do it even if inspiration never strikes.  This can often take pressure off, and that lack of pressure opens up creative thinking and inspiration. Now, that is a fine thing for me to do, and I am likely to use that approach again many times in the future, but today I felt that I want...
Read more

Le Guin, Steering The Craft, Chapter Five: Adjectives and Adverbs (Exercise Five, Chastity)

A note of apology for my lateness with this.  I had expected to have time earlier in the day, but it was not to be, alas.  Anyhow, I am still a bit nervous about this exercise, though it is clearly of significant import to Le Guin, as she points out that it is the only exercise that she has given to all of her workshops.  That, of course, does not alter my feelings about it, excepting that I am aware of it as something valuable and worth doing, so the fact that it is a bit daunting might well be seen, through that light, as a promise of reward, perhaps.  The more difficult the task, the more one has to gain, at least by some logic... Exercise Five: Chastity Mr. Torino was in charge.  He had his way.  It was the way.  Desktops are clean.  Nothing but work.  No pictures: not your kids; not your girl or wife; not (as Allen recounted) your car.   None of that.  No plants.  No cartoons.  That is for home, this is work....
Read more

A Writer's Notebook, Two-Thousand-And-Fifty-Nine

I have been thinking about how I can discuss certain aspects of my poetry and the choices I make as a writer.  In particular, I tend to write without as much reliance on sensory details and descriptions, instead choosing more abstract depictions.  This is something that I know many writers would call an odd choice, as specificity seems inherently to demand the application of detail, but I tend to be a bit hesitant about relying on depictions that utilize the senses, as I find that approach somewhat problematic.  For one thing, sensory description is always going to be less than universal, and not only because of the reality that there are individuals who lack one or more sense.  In many ways, for me, the deeper problem is one related to language itself.  Our use of language creates our experiences in a very real way, though I can't necessarily offer a full explanation of what I mean by that right here, but using a word for an object bestows qualities on it....
Read more