Reading Response to Chapter 1

The first chapter, Establishing Practice, has been one of the most beneficial readings I have read in a long time.  The most important aspect I received was giving me the realization if I start the process of writing with a specific message,  it can be detrimental to the creative process.   I tend to commit myself too early with a specific theme or passage forcing me to limit the direction of my writing.  Usually when this happens, I get writer's block and give up or write something that doesn't feel good intrinsically.  Another valuable tool I received from this chapter is the notion of "showing not telling."  If poetry is language and performance, then the performance without painted imagery is not going to challenge the audience or give them something new to take away for further contemplation or enjoyment.  It's easy to tell, but showing forces a creative process.