City Eclogue

"She know the form, her tongue's just sharp and short of"
That's the opening quote from Stand in Invocation, the fist poem in the book "City Eclogue".  (Note, I'm not sure if the book or the poem is supposed to be italicized when referencing it.  I'm just guessing so you can correct me if I'm wrong.)  Anyway, this poem hits some interesting points with it's details.  It's not so much visual imagery, but it's really more the way the words add a tone to the poem.  The quote from the top of the page makes it seem really angry and bitter, yet right above that line the two "ould've"'s in a row give it almost a tone more of lament and self-loathing.  By bringing to mind phrases like "should've" or "could've" or "would've", Ed Roberson can bring to mind a feeling of regret and lament.  Details like that don't bring to mind a particular physical space, but they do associate with intense feelings.  Also, the fact that the two "ould've"'s are off in their own section of poem in the layout, adds excellent effect and detail.  That layout of the poem adds a feeling of loneliness along with all the other sad, angry and bitter feelings.

Idyll is the next poem that really stuck with me, particularly because of the way the poem made me think of specific places.  My sister was lucky enough to go to college in Chicago.  I'm still kinda bitter about that.  But anyway, I used to go visit her semi-frequently.  It was really cool because the dorms and apartments that her college used were usually high rises.  That's the image I had in my head after reading Idyll.  "Out on silence, a ledge" reminds me of one of her apartments in particular because out of her window was  a little courtyard that didn't have railings around it.  It was basically just a really big ledge.  Also the line "the more people, the more lidded certain sound" reminds me of looking out of one of her windows and seeing so many people walking below, but then not really hearing anything from them.

The poem Untitled uses good visual imagery to create a scene in your mind.  In mine I was picturing an old dynasty from back in the early days.  Something like the time around the French Revolution.  Living in luxury, "a vacation of blue gown ocean".  The first part of the poem is rather peaceful.  Then in the italicized part, it all turns to chaos, as castles and cities are burned.  "As smoke dust empties the sky of its blue"  makes me think of what it must of looked like to watch protesters burn their cities down back in the old days.  Its very vivid imagery, at least to me.

I enjoyed reading Goldberg’s Intro to Obsession.  I thought it was an interesting way to present ideas that seem to be more common sense in nature.  The quote on page three, “Learning to write is not a linear process.  There is no logical A-to-B-to-C way to become a good writer”, was a really well written thought, and it can be helpful when thinking about writing.  Too many people want there to be a process to writing, and they want it to be a difficult one.  But the fact that writing isn’t logical and doesn’t always make sense can be part of the problem for some people.  If your mind works better in a more linear A-to-B-to-C way, then writing will be extremely difficult.  But if the A-to-B-to-C way isn’t how your mind usually works, then writing will be more natural and easier to do.

The tips on page eight of Intro to Obsession are also good, and can come in handy when writing.  Keep your hand moving and don’t cross out, or self-edit as Goldberg called it, were the two that I thought were most important, and the two that I know I usually struggle with.  I’m constantly worried about whether or not I spelled a word right, if I capitalized, or if I used correct punctuation  (even over the course of typing this sentence I corrected myself at least five or six times).  And I know that that isn’t conducive to being able to get down as many ideas as possible. 

  I also have a problem with constantly keeping my hand moving.  I’ll get stuck in a sentence and spend five minutes worried about what one word I should use, instead of making sure to get something down and keep going.  It really is a problem because while I'm fretting about every little word, I'm missing what I'm thinking about in the moment and losing the opportunity to write that down, especially since my memory isn't the greatest (and to prove my point for the last paragraph, I just spent more time self-editing this paragraph than actually typing it).

Hello there.  My name is Randy Pilon.  Should be fairly obvious by the title of the blog.  This blog is for the Creative Writing 201 class at Eastern Michigan University, which I'm currently taking as a way to help enhance my writing skills.  I'll be graduating in December (about time!), and I'm really excited about it.  But anyway, on to the reading that was assigned for this week.

I have a bit of a bone to pick with Anne Lamott.  The first part of "Bird by Bird" that we were assigned to read was one of the more difficult selections I've ever had to read for a class.  Not because I had trouble understanding it.  I get it, but what made it difficult to read was the fact that she kept repeating, for twelve pages, one simple idea.  Sit down, ignore distractions, and write about your life.  I understand that concept.  I also understand her point that writing can make you crazy.  I understand those concepts on page four.  By page fifteen I'd like to see a little more substance coming into play.  Reading doesn't usually cause me to go through the sort of mental breakdown that Lamott says writing causes, but while I was reading this excerpt from her, I started wanting to pull my hair out.

The Short Assignment part of the Lamott reading is a little bit more interesting that the first part, and it introduces us to why the book is called "Bird by Bird" (I'm assuming this is a book excerpt, I could very easily be wrong though).  The whole point is made significantly quicker than it was in the first part.  I have to say that I agree with Lamott on her points here.  You should try to keep focused on just a smaller part of the writing as you have to and then continue on.  By focusing on just a paragraph, or as Lamott says, a one inch picture frame at a time, you can avoid the majority of the mental issues that the first section says you should be worried about.

Back to the first section of the Lamott reading.  I enjoyed the poem that she reads to her students, and found it to be a rare humorous break from what was otherwise a rather tedious read.  The little anecdote about her son and his swearing when trying to get into the house using his plastic keys also kept the excerpt a little interesting and humorous.