Writing and Reading

Writing

Prompts are fun--I like being stretched, especially if I can still retain my "voice" (whatever that means). I think I am writing "riskier" work this semester, which I feel is a good sign. Sometimes, I get "stuck" writing, and all poems I produce start feeling/sounding the same; at least knowing different ways to begin a poem, I'll have more tools at my disposal when I recognize I'm taking the "easy way" out besides setting my moleskine on fire.

Reading

I enjoyed E L-S and Kiki's reading. In regards to the whole "tone" question, seeing E L-S in person really does a lot in terms of tone. In the book itself, the references/awareness/postmodern ennui may make him look, well...dickish, but in person, you see this is just natural E L-S--his concerns only heightened/made more real by the sheer amount he has read and how "complicated" the texts he has read/engaged with are. Reading his book seems more akin to having a chat with him, and while Avatar seems to be filled with more conceit/less humor than From Old Notebooks, I admire the fact that he "risks" so much in his work. The premise of Avatar reminds me a bit of The Fountain but seems to have less plodding and more in depth engagement with concepts we, as sapiens tend to take for granted, e.g., the stability of words and the idea of consciousness.

Although the endings, still, bother me on the page some, Kiki's reading did have a certain life to it, and I could see why others in the class were so enamored with her work. She's a good reader; her tone seems to spring naturally from the work, especially with poems like "Secret Ninja" and her Valentine's poems.

Again, both cats seem down to earth, and throughout my first year here, I've been consistently impressed by the talent of the writers we bring to campus, both in terms of their books and how they read. Nice work, CCC, lol.


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I've been into djent music lately. Anyway, I've been semi-addicted to this song; maybe I'll buy the cd soon.