Another big break through for me and the world of poetry was the realization that as readers the goal shouldn't necessarily be "to figure it out." The idea that poems can have multiple interpretations is intriguing and the fact that we are going to "blow up" poems in the sense that we are going to explore multiple perspectives is exciting. At the same time, I have always been taught to make an attempt at interpretation in terms of author's intent. It is hard to break from that mode of thought. In addition, I struggle with finding meaning in the process of writing it. I sometimes feel that in analyzing/ writing poetry there seems to be a fine line between creativity and b.s. I want to learn to appreciate the process of creating and analyzing without feeling that my attempts are meaningless.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Pedagogy forum post, week 1
During the first day of class, I came to appreciate poetry a little more. The calisthenic exercises were intriguing and I really enjoyed recreating each others poetry. I would've liked to take mine home with me, so that I could have analyzed the changes that others had made. However, it was interesting to have another person's piece become my own.
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The end goal, of course, is to produce meaningful works of art, but our initial explorations will privilege the process over the product. We explode the myth of the essential meaning in order to offer multiple (and always persuasive) readings of it. We enlarge the work by illustrating how uncontainable meaning is.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of producing poetry, Hugo says something similar to what you're voicing here. He speaks of a student that says, "Yes, but won't I end up writing meaningless poems if I don't begin with some idea?" He says, "Sure, if you're a meaningless person." The fact is, we are meaning-making machines. We can't NOT attribute meaning to our output on the page. The extent to which we can DEFER that dynamic, though--at least initially, as you practice various techniques--the better off our writing will be.
Besides, if we count on initial ideas and inspiration to write, we will inevitably run out of them. What happens when you have NO IDEA what to write about? Of course, this dilemma of "writer's block" is constantly restaged for us in film and other popular culture. We come to expect that if we write, we will experience that block; we will run out of ideas. That's only a problem for a writer who functions on the premise that ideas must exist a priori.
The writer who just WRITES each day stands a much greater chance of success. That's the hard reality of it all. I remember a professor of mine telling me early in my writing life, "You want to be a good poet? Write every day for four hours. I promise that in ten years you'll be great." Tough love, isn't it? We'd rather believe that we're just "gifted" or "special."
Don't just take my word for it, either. Ask other writers. Read their notes, their autobiographies.
And let yourself write without thinking too much--at least initially. No, we're not going to write "b.s." Rather, we won't allow our b.s. into the world. We will begin with random language, but we are always pushing for more evocativeness, more energy, more economy, more--in a word--meaning. Meaning is the endgame, but--like Dante at the beginning of the Divine Comedy--you can't get there the easy way.
Keep writing!