Month Of The Poet

Ill-tempered season

pained and walleyed,

drenched and dry,

frozen, fierce-to-mild and back again—

this is spring.

 

A birthing.

 

An ending.

 

Put pen in hand:

let the death

and the life of April

rage on, my dearest poet.

 

 

Surely, I will one day know all the answers.

Creative Nonfiction

Response to Reading, Week 6:

• Tell It Slant—Chapter 7, “Writing The Larger World”; Chapter 8, “Using Research To Expand Your Perspective”
• “The Hazing Of Swans”, by Brenda Miller

---

These chapters bring into full-frontal focus an issue that I have wrestled with for at least two years. I want to research, I want to write profusely on issues that I have studied, regrettably, only in brief.

 

Even now I cannot pinpoint the exact timeframe in which the inspiration to study Darwin first struck, particularly his motivation for the statement in The Origin of Species that a branching pattern of evolution from a [presumed] common descent required no Creator. Likewise, I cannot now cite the source in which I read a bit of background on Mr. Darwin which claimed that he was disgruntled with his father, a fundamentalist Christian of his time who expected his son to be both a student of medicine and of the seminary.

 

What I do remember about that moment of inspiration was the WOW! that surged through my brain and body. A vivid golden, extraordinarily loud WOW! In the simplest of terms, it seemed, that a man with daddy issues went so far as to make an unfounded, controversial statement that would put scientists and theologians at odds for centuries.

 

Wow.

 

Well, is that true? Imagine the papers that I could write! Imagine what fun it would be to delve into this topic, and all the inevitable branching out of subtopics, thoroughly digging through Darwin’s papers, his personal correspondence to reveal that… wow.

 

Alas, more relevant obligations demanded my time and I have not yet been able to write what would surely be an astonishing, insightful volume that would surely set the argument over Darwin’s theory on its proverbial ear.

 

Then there was the dreaded Biology course, the required course that dumped a doozy of trivia in my lap: transfat comes into existence by the reheating, and reuse, of cooking oils or animal fats. Really? Is that all? Those cheerful labels on food products that announce Zero Transfat! are just stating the obvious in order to attract buyers uncertain of where transfat actually originates? Tricky tricky.

 

The origin of transfat fascinates me because, one, the dire consequences hinted at on the labels of products that don’t actually contain the stuff—as if you’re doomed otherwise—and, two, I’m a southern woman, born of southern women who traditionally put bacon grease in everything. Reheated bacon grease.

 

Cook bacon for breakfast? Great! Reheat the oil later and mix it in the cornbread batter! Reheat it later and pour it over lettuce! What’s better than wilted lettuce, green onions and cornbread for lunch? Bacon grease biscuits, maybe.

 

Is this true? Is reheated bacon grease the dirty heart stopping culprit? Why do consumers let food distributors get away with such falsified advertising? I really need to research both aspects of this. What a magnificent paper I could write.

 

Time, school, life, blah-blah-blah. No magnificent paper on the social/consumer/cultural impact of the dangerous molecular changes created by the reheating of bacon grease was ever written. Not by me, at least.

 

Forgive me for ranting about my own failings, and let’s get back to the purpose of this post. Miller & Paola insist that the writer must step away from self, to consider the world around them, history and arts, science and sports, or else their writing might suffer staleness.

 

Widen the scope, look outside the writer’s life and poke around the crooks and crannies of the global neighborhood, they suggest, explore nature, the great unknown. Such exploration will reveal new levels of thought, new depths of the creative process, and most likely, a deeper appreciation for every possible influence on the writer as a member of an incredibly large world.

 

A noble quest, a necessary task.

 

Miller manages a gorgeous laundry list of key components in her essay “The Hazing of Swans”, in my opinion. Environment, state and national landscapes, human interest, travel, family, community and cultural confusion even. What could have been a dull, or perhaps, sweet, essay about a mother and son appreciating birds became an in-depth piece that probably unsettles the most diehard environmentally aware American.

 

 

People need maps to your dreams ~ Allen Gurganus

Creative Nonfiction

Response to Reading, Week 5:

• Tell It Slant—Chapter 3, “Taking Place; Writing The Physical World”; Chapter 13, “The Basics Of Good Writing In Any Form”
• A Fiction Writer Takes Off Her Shoes”, by Caitlin Horrocks

---

I miss reading.

 

This semester I have been teased by brief snippets of creative nonfiction, inundated with scads of online articles, thus far. As enjoyable as Tell It Slant is—now snugly placed among my favorite five books on writing—I miss the type of reading in which I once indulged: novels, memoirs, biographies. Thick, delicious volumes, weighty enough to use as a doorstop yet far too precious for such a function.

 

I want to read the sort of things Chapters 3 & 13 hint at—image-rich stories that reveal the most private, painful details of a life. Such detail, such luscious tone that I am drawn right in, sitting at a scuffed dining room table, or on the sandy edge of a pond, bare feet skimming cool waters, dragonflies skimming my bare feet. I want to hear, I want to see, I want to feel those stories sink down into my own memories.

 

I miss writing, too. Uncovering breathless poems that were just waiting to see the light of day gave me purpose.  Speaking directly to fictional characters desperate to tell me their secrets made me a better human being. More than writing, I miss the process of discovering a story, of delving in and barely coming up for air for days.

 

Last week, I went through Chapters 3 & 13 twice. Yes. Yes! This is what I want. This is what I’ve always wanted—to make a place an active character. Can I do that? I can do that. Not because I’m a fantastic writer, no, but because place was my initial inspiration to write.

 

Sure, people are great and all. Really. Nonetheless, it was home, it was the scent of Tennessee soil on springtime mornings, trees eight stories high wearing countless shades of green, and the sound of whippoorwills at dusk that pleaded: remember this! Record this!

 

And it was my presence there, the understanding that I was part of all of it that demanded my signature, my self right on the page. Of course, I understand that not everyone identifies so completely with the places that might appear in their stories, fictional or otherwise. And such identification, such… personal definition… is not demanded of every writer.

 

In my case, however, there is no denying the fact.

 

Chapter 13 expounds upon the ideals that all writers, I would assume, strive for—to find the form that suits their story. More so, to be true to the story with form. This is a section of the book, particularly the discussion on image and metaphor, that I will revisit over and over.

 

Image and metaphor. Image and metaphor. The basic “thought rhythms” that create the best literature. Yes.

 

The piece in Brevity, noted above and written by Caitlin Horrocks, dabbles in sensory association, first in respect to the girl she intends to write about. This entire experience stems from the writer’s need to capture images to be referenced in the story.

 

One may get the impression that the “reluctant” girl Horrocks intends to write about is herself as a child. Nevertheless, this midwestern countryside has definitely left an imprint on her memory, one that she wants to enhance with color photos to take home. In the hunt for those modern images, she captures more memories colored by humor, and, the author admits, her overreaction to a sudden understanding that she did not belong to that particular landscape.

 

She is an intruder, and outsider that takes away more than she bargained for; and, oddly enough, leaves behind something that may create a story for someone else to tell. This brief, funny, creative nonfiction nabbed from the life of a fiction writer makes me hope that I will one day read one of her novels.

 

I miss reading.

 

 

Be Inclusive

Writing for Multimedia

Response to Reading, Week 4

• The Yahoo! Style Guide—Chapter 2, “Identify Your Audience”; Chapter 5, “Be Inclusive, Write for the World”; Chapter 9, “Streamline Text for Mobile Devices”
• Major Project One: Feature Story (considering the potential audience/venue)

---

 

Is it evident at this point that I am terribly behind in Writing for Multimedia assignments?

 

Truth is, I’ve kept up with the reading, just not the responses. And then, there’s that whole “Major Project One” thing. Yeah.

 

For once, procrastination is not the primary issue. I am a recovering procrastinator, for those of you who didn’t know. Putting tasks off until a better, more inspired day chock full of free time was my downfall for many years.

 

As I said, though, I am in recovery. Now, I am preoccupied with thinking about assigned readings. Thinking, thinking, thinking. Writing gets in the way of all the thinking.

 

Week 4 readings (ending 2/2) first broached the subject of identifying an audience for a writer’s website.

 

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Yahoo! Style Guide is geared toward professional websites, not informal writing sites. Therefore, the steps suggested to follow for identifying an audience are structured for pinpointing demographics, like a marketing analysis.

 

That system may be a bit too structured for the purpose of my feature story. My target audience is anyone interested in what average Americans are saying about the latest gun control discussions on a local and national level.

 

It is my hope that this audience might discover thought-provoking questions not yet posed in the media frenzy, or local bar room tirades, or lunch room gossip.

 

Is it possible to “target” such an ambiguous demographic? While I could launch myself into the task of online surveys to label each follower of Darlinblog, then the readers of specific news sites, and attempt to write for each and every label, I don’t think that would serve the purpose at hand.

 

In this case, I need to consider a target audience for a specific task—the feature story. For now, luckily, I can put off the idea of analyzing the demographics of Darlinblog followers and focus on researching the audiences of news organizations for which my feature might be well-suited.

 

And that work has been done for me. Still not procrastinating!

 

A relatively local organization would be best, I think. Rather than ABC or the New York Times, perhaps a large publication based in Memphis or Nashville.

 

With that in mind, would “Write for the World” be relevant? Absolutely. Though locally based, these publications reach a multitude of demographics.

 

As for “Streamline Text for Mobile Devices”, perhaps as I progress through this course I will become web-savvy enough to know why this topic should matter in my immediate future.

 

Notice that I am not procrastinating, merely proceeding thoughtfully.

 

Major Project One:Feature Story: Eeeek!

Writing for Multimedia

Response to Reading, Week 3:

• The Yahoo! Style Guide—Chapter 3, “Define Your Voice”; Chapter 4, “Construct Clear, Compelling Copy”
• “How to Write a Feature Story”

---

 

What Are Feature Stories?

• Feature stories are human-interest articles that focus on particular people, places and events.
• Feature stories are journalistic, researched, descriptive, colorful, thoughtful, reflective, thorough writing about original ideas.
• Feature stories cover topics in-depth, going further than mere hard news coverage by amplifying and explaining the most interesting and important elements of a situation or occurrence.
• Feature stories are popular content elements of newspapers, magazines, blogs, websites, newsletters, television broadcasts and other mass media.

 

Very good bullet points, yes?

 

I am enamored with the many forms of nonfiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, etc. Journalism, for me, is as equally  enticing as memoir; narrative poetry is as attractive as the lyric essay.

 

With that said, shifting gears between each is… taxing. As much as I love the challenge, there are times when I become paralyzed with fears over committing one faux pas or another.

 

Is faux pas used correctly there?

 

Am I being too informal in this assignment post?

 

Is anyone reading this?

 

I remain adamant in my initial purpose for Darlinblog—that my personal style and voice  be reflected on every page, neither of which could be deemed “professional”.

 

Nevertheless, I feel it is important, even when making the earliest attempts at establishing a writer’s platform,  that the voice in my blog posts is the same that shouts or laughs from my poetry and personal essays.

 

The assigned readings in Yahoo! Style Guide, thus far, are geared toward the writers of professional websites. The majority of the information I am gleaning will be of great help if I embark on writing for a professional site in the future. Meanwhile, I am pondering the shiny nuggets of web-savvy as I go.

 

It’s quite shocking how very un-web-savvy I am. Is it really necessary that I write short sentences beneath bold headlines? And will I soon achieve the ability to make those brief subject-verb-object sentences vibrant and engaging enough to attract thousands of web-savvy followers to my site?

 

What if I don’t wanna.

 

What if paring down my complicated, breathy, not-always-grammatical sentences will not effectively convey my voice?

 

Feel free to offer a solution to this dilemma in the comment section.

 

Yet Another Discussion On Gun Control

Writing for Multimedia

 

Major Project One: Feature Story (discussion/brain storming)

• Assignment: Compose a text-based news article as if it would be accepted and posted to the website or blog of a national news organization. This feature story should involve a current human interest topic and be appropriate for the audience chosen.
• Include three credible sources, either interviews or publications, and write 750-1500 “lean and mean” words that will convey my story clearly and concisely.

---

 

Leading up to the assigned date of completion for this project were several brain storming exercises, but only one topic was on my mind the moment I learned that a feature story was due for this course—gun control.

 

More accurately, the way public attention seems to fluctuate over the subject of gun control decade-to-decade here in the U.S., and, the enormous confusion that bureaucrats manage to create when the topic is once again deemed “of public importance”.

 

Fluctuating public focus has become of special interest to me in recent months, because I keep noticing a common factor—a majority of everyday folks don’t know what the heck they’re talking about.

 

Far too many people absorb gossip, speculation, and utterly negative, inaccurate “reports” on potential legislation, only to verbally regurgitate it all as FACT. This is worrisome.

 

While uninformed citizens are working themselves into belligerent frenzies, legislators aren’t behaving much better.

 

How many average, voting, tax paying, working Americans know their rights as explained by the Second Amendment? As explained by state and local statutes?

 

Likewise, how many legislators truly grasp the concept that gun violence is not, in any great numbers, exacted by law-abiding, registered gun owners?

 

Do congress members actually expect gangsters and psychopaths to suddenly sprout civil consciousness and rush to the nearest precinct to turn over their illegally acquired weapons because a new bill has been signed into law?

 

Misconceptions, in my opinion, are rampant. Where is the real solution?

 

In the case of recent tragedies, wouldn’t on-location security have been the solution? Is it possible that certain safeguards could be in place within the judicial system that would ensure gun violators do not repeat their offenses?

 

Further restricting the average citizen’s access to gun ownership just does not make sense to me. Personally, I would like to see funds poured into securing entrances and exits to schools (with trained security guards and hi-tech equipment), rather than hear about new state laws (and the billions it took to enact such laws) that limit the average citizen’s right to own a hunting rifle, or handgun.

 

In the past few weeks, I’ve listened in on a few conversations at grocery stores and the local utility department, and I’ve asked a few acquaintances their opinion on the subject of gun control. These acquaintances have a good grasp of their rights, one is a gun owner, two are not.

 

Unlike the gossip mongers in the grocery store, my three acquaintances were not at all concerned that The Government intends to abolish their Second Amendment rights. They do, however, shake their heads in exasperation over the idea that lawmakers seem to be missing the point.

 

While I am spending the day wrestling with putting my own opinion aside, as well as shifting gears out of Creative Nonfiction Mode, I would appreciate the opportunity to know your opinions.

 

What do you think? Please feel free to leave links to news articles you’ve found interesting, or preposterous, or leave comments that open discussion on the subject.

 

Reading and Writing in the Digital Age

Writing for Multimedia

Response to Reading, Week 2:

• The Yahoo! Style Guide—Chapter 1, “Write for the Web”; Chapter 19, “Keep a Word List”
• “Technologies of the Word: Reading and Writing in the Digital Age”, by Dennis Baron

---

As with all new technologies, writing had its critics. In  the Phaedrus, Socrates warns that writing will weaken our memories: “this discovery of yours will create forgetfulness in  the learners’ souls, because they will not use their memories; they will trust to the external written characters and not remember of themselves.”

We remember this because Plato wrote it down.

 

This is my new favorite quote.

 

Baron’s essay is not impressive at first glance. The copy isn’t that clean, and considering the date it was published, I wasn’t holding out hope for relevant information.

 

My opinion changed quickly enough.

 

Baron begins with a discussion of all the woes of technology in contrast to the extreme conveniences that computers and the internet have brought us. He then takes brief, but enlightening, jaunts into specific eras of history in which new “technologies” met with heavy criticism, if not doomsday predictions.

 

In making this, in some respects, broad comparison to the criticisms and praises that modern mass media is subject to in the 21st century, Baron expounds upon a particularly terrific truth—writing is indeed a technology.

 

Writing is a technology that has survived countless innovations over thousands of years. And the innovations keep on coming.

 

This is wonderful news, of course, because it disproves the doomsday predictions–literacy, though it may suffer trends of failing sophistication from one generation to another, still exists. Mankind has not yet been reduced to an incoherent, hopelessly ignorant horde.

 

Literacy exists, it evolves just as the many ways we access information evolve almost minute-by-minute nowadays. We are, for the most part, becoming a global civilization of impatient, blog scanning, techno-greedy instant messaging junkies. This is true. Nevertheless, we are reading and writing.

 

Hope abides.