thoughts before next time

oetry workshop

Those of you who have not commented on Taulapapa McMullin's work, please do so this week. If you ask him direct questions, he might be tempted to join us. Dan? For example: Dan, talk to use about different kinds of narratives, stories, and how you try to tell them in your poems. How does your poetic work differ from you work in film and drama? How not?

We will be performing some of Dan's work next time, and also doing a couple of "exercises" aimed at getting at his (and our) use of detail in developing character.

Think about the word "detail" this week. What do details do for the poet? What kinds of details are effective? How can we replace abstract words (like "anarchy") with concrete words (like "Arkansaw"), as Ginsberg did. A poem creates the possibility for a reader to think and feel--it does not do the work for her. The poet creates the possibility for meaning to happen, it does not convey meaning in the same way that a technical manual does. Which is why it's interesting to experiment with writing a poem in the form of a technical manual....(see John Ashbery's "Instruction Manual").

Start coming up with lists of the elements you think make poems work (and, conversely, not work). We will come up with a class list of things to look for in poems we workshop. First on my list this week is "detail."

Have a good weekend.

Susan