Journal #1
The artist’s book is something that I have a degree of familiarity with, having used it in an art class and a creative writing class before. I was immediately drawn to it as a hard left turn from the standard printing of most books, filled to the brim with only black text. The artist’s book has potential for a very freeing form of expression, wherein each page could be a completely different concept or build up to a unifying theme. Poetry books are probably the most synchronous form of art book, where already poets are playing around with forms of their words and white space, so it is not a great leap of imagination to consider filling in the blanks with something more, and the unity of art and word can be quite compelling. A concept I’ve been bouncing around is an artbook that combines place and word through poetry about a certain area and then artwork uniting the poems, say maps or landscapes of the area, imagined or real. After reading the article it’s easy to see how many different ways an artist can express themselves through their artbooks, and it is definitely something I would like to explore further.
Journal #2
Cutting off slivers of yourself until there’s only a veneer remaining. What an interesting metaphor for the creative process and a way to get the mind turning, considering poetry and what it takes to write compelling literature. A difficulty of creative work is presentation, wherein a chunk of your soul must be put on display. It’s fairly easy to pick up on a dishonest display, so authenticity is important, but in that same vein authenticity can come from a dark place that isn’t one that would typically be shown off. This chapter makes me consider the confidence that is required not only to create compelling work but also to show a chunk of yourself on the page. To draw out gold from the long shadow. I feel the only way to bring these midnight feelings out is to travel to a dark place yourself, but it is important to keep in mind that poetry isn’t supposed to be a completely negative affair, you can just write about anything. Now to get to plumbing the depths.
Journal #3
Imagery, poetry’s secret sauce. In short imagery is typically made up of phrases that describe how we absorb and interact with the world. The smell of a marsh at low tide or a well loved piano with an out of tune yet full tone. These small instances of imagery can have a major effect on the reader, even when incredibly simple. It has the power to draw out memories that may have been long forgotten or show others how different people interact with the world. The examples included in the chapter contain powerful feelings, romantic ones toward a girl with golden hair or calling back to good and bad times when the authors were younger. Every single tiny detail helps build a fuller image, so it is important to paint a full picture yet very possible to overdo it and make something a bit too corny.
Journal #6
Having a published poet attend the class was a fantastic look into the creative, editorial, and publishing processes. Hearing Navicky digging into the steps that made up these poems show that writing a final edition can come from a spark and also arise from large amounts of editing. The thing I was most attracted to was the style of his poems, often appearing like prose and creating rhythm with line breaks instead of rhyme or organizing syllables. The first poem read, “Catapult,” for a lack of other words, felt real. the style of writing didn’t feel forced and trailed on like a natural train of thought, and creating vibrant imagery from relaying his descriptions in a very nonchalant way. The catapult wasn’t something to be understood, it just is. Perhaps knowing that is was made offhandedly with minimum editing changed my perception of it, though what I believe may still ring true. The second poem “Human Co.” was a surreal description of a strange acting troupe, and I also very much enjoyed the obtuse way something fairly mundane was described. It feels like an alien is trying to explain something to me, and they thought it was a sinister thing. My favorite takeaway from it was the picture painted of the Human Co headquarters, a long drive from here. Hearing Navicky discuss the process what published work must go through, often needing a great deal of changes made to allow a good concept to become a great work of writing. “Portrait of Anna K.” had some fantastic use of imagery and proves that a picture says a thousand words. “The Famous Poet” had a good concept and some inspiring imagery, yet I think a less prose based style would make this poem more compelling.
Navkicy gave great insight into what it takes to write strong works. First he’s obviously had years of practice from teaching poetry, but he also has a strong hold of what the reader may find interesting. Perhaps I was his target audience or this was a skill that came from birth I can’t say. Another takeaway for myself was word choice. Navicky didn’t write like he was trying to impress someone, he wrote in fairly simple language so that strong word choices stick out very well. Navicky’s visit taught me a number of things, such as the importance of simplicity and the state of mind one should be in to construct a compelling poem, that being taking inspiration from whatever you can find, like interesting objects, events, or dreams. Finally I’ll remember his take on critiques. Even when your work has been accepted as good, it’s still difficult to show it off, as often you’ve put a piece of yourself into, so sharing it with the world is always going to be hard if what you’re making is honest.
Journal #7
It was great seeing Cathleen and her books again! Last time I saw her was in a creative writing class taught by Brod where we wrote non-fiction. The artist’s book is such an interesting method of self expression, especially because you can fold so many different mediums directly into one composition. The one that stood out the most to me was the Wild Ginger book, with a simple poem in the middle and an incredible accordion pop out. Either could have been wonderful on their own, but together they had an additive property. I especially admire the care taken into the printing of it, having a glossy embossed icon on the canvas cover. Very elegant. Aside from that seeing all the different styles and bookbinding methods used makes the imagination run free, there are just so many ways that one can play around with this format. I especially liked the flag fold fish and having a poem printed in a way like a puzzle that comes together would be very interesting I feel. Or maybe an artists book that uses material to incorporate sound? Like tight foil or parts of the book that rattle. What if you put a rain stick in a poem about weather? Or maybe played around with texture? What if I made a sticky book?
Okay maybe I won’t make the sticky book. That would be gross.
Journal #8
Free verse is for suckers! There I said it. Okay, maybe that was a joke, the style has its merit, just look at Navicky’s work. Though when the average person thinks of poetry they probably think of roses being red and violets being blue, lines with a matching syllable structure and an ABAB rhyme scheme. This chapter takes a look at different forms that meter and rhyme can take, taking a good chunk to focus on Shakespeare and his sonnets. I do like Sonnets though they are quite difficult to write, one must be very deliberate in order to make a really great one. Now to discuss rhyme. Rhyme schemes are an interesting beast, because even having rhymes multiple lines apart will lead to a different perception of the poem’s rhythm. The ABAB scheme is the most typical though one can even get creative and make rhymes happen within their own individual lines, creating an internal rhyme scheme. This all adds up to the meter of a poem. It is something less dictated and more so felt. The most famous of these is probably Iambic pentameter, where the meter is made up of alternating strong and weak syllables. Maybe I’ll get around to writing on of those someday.
Journal #9
When I look through my poems I notice a few trends. The first is topic, where I either focus on relationships, daily life, or the abstract. Most of my poems travel towards a dark place emotionally or are a reflection on what I’m going through at the moment. I think my strongest poems come from trying to write about a heightened reality, when I’m attempting to become more psychedelic and abstract, so that may be what I should focus on. I wrote my first true free verse poem the other day and it felt fantastic to write and turned out quite well, so I believe that’s what I’m going to stick with. And maybe I’ll keep writing poems about heartbreak and loneliness along with working on creating more obvious narratives. Often it’s difficult for me to do that because when I write poetry there is a certain flow to the way I write, and trying to create an arc usually makes my writing feel a bit stilted, and the more time I spend with a poem the less happy I am with the final product. I feel that it is a bit too difficult to tie 4-5 poems of mine together, as 3 are about my daily life, 3 are about relationships, and the others are just fiction. I like trying out different topics, concepts, and styles so maybe in a few more weeks I’ll have a tighter hold on what my wheelhouse truly is.
