Reading Response

Chapter 8

At the beginning of this chapter it talks about intention and word usage. Another area i need work on. Like Mrs. Ellison said in class, learing how to write poetry is like arcitecture. I need to learn how to use and portray the images and symbols that i have floating around in my head. I need to learn how to place my words better in my poetry to make it easier for my readers to follow.

reading

Chapter 9 -- Voice

I thought it was interesting that this chapter used a relationship between a teenager and his/her mother as an example for the tone of poetry. I'm finding that it's hard for me to tone it down and i've probaly become more of the rebellious, flippant teen when it comes to poetry. haha We had a discussion in class about writing about charged topics, using charged words, and how that is the wrong approach to poetry. Well, it seems that i've been doing all of that and i need to tone it down a little. The excercise we did in class with the picture of the resturant and the "word skat" i think will end up being really useful for me. Going back through my poetry, expanding, and replacing abstract words and images along with words and imaged that have a little too much charge behind them.

This chapter also talks about learning what NOT to say. I though i may have been off to a pretty good start when it comes to leaving certain things out of my work, but it seems i'm leaving a little too much mystery and i need to find a happy medium between giving too much away and keeping to much to myself. Like the book says, "catch meaning through suggestion". (p148)

Junkyard

"I've never met a tree who tries to force itself to grow and trive"

"mama is tall and brown like the trees"

"Glass bottles dangling from the trees like earrings"

"Don't thank me, that was all you. I just helped chip away some of the struggle"

"I'm watching the clock waiting for escape to meet me"

Impulse

Mother
Tall and brown like the old Oak
Ornamented by antiquated bottles
Opaque with time
Gripping colors of elapsed seasons
Time line of organized chaos
Collecting purified promise
Humming cicadas reside on her limbs
Waiting for winking stars
Lulling us to sleep with night time mantras

Random Impulse

The windows cry for me
Crying for me the windows do
Cold on the outside i appear to be
On the outside i appear to be cold
Heated and tumultuous on the inside i remain to be
I remain to be heated and tumultuous within
Rough on the outside like sand paper i am
I am rough like sand paper
As tensions collide the sand melts
Melting sand and colliding tension
Hard rough eyes fogged over
Fogged over eyes turn glassy-glazed
Hot and cold fight to be seen
The windows cry for me

Reading Response: Russel Edson Poetry

I liked his poetry in our WoM book. It was really interesting and kind of creepy. As i could almost hear the creepy old timey music playing in the background off of an old, scratched vinyl record. lol I also enjoyed the intro where he was talking about his process. He doesn't even consider himself a poet. I like the way he explained his creative process. While writing and creating pieces, it is as if he brings himself into a lucid dreaming state; meditation. I can relate. When i get overtaken by my creative process i do fall into an almost meditative state where i forget about time, i almost forget about my body. Sometimes it's like there are a bunch of different movie clips playing in my head and it is my job to get it down on paper in an order that i (first) can understand. My process is very visual and almost movie like at times. I enjoyed his creepy poetry. :P

Ape (1992) - From A Poem by Russell Edson