Random write week 6

 DOGSTARS AND REDNECKS

After an arduous day at school,  I let my mind wonder for an hour instead of my writing hand.  When the alarm went off I realize I was concentrating on something funny.  Am I becoming a redneck?  I contemplate this because of my choice of escapism this past week: Dog the Bounty Hunter. This will be Exhibit A. Yeah I can't believe it myself.  But, there is actually something endearing about Dwayne, The Dog.  After he captures a fugitive, (if they aren't a murderer, rapist, or pedophile) he speaks to them with respect, feeds them if they are hungry, and gives them cigarettes along with sincere encouragement.  He suggests to them they are not bad because they have made bad decisions.   Perhaps because I am a psych. major will explain what attracts me to his empathy.  Anyways, I am getting off track.  Exhibit B: Last night, as my dog walked me,  I remembered I was jogging with a cigarette in my hand.  I'd also like to state that his name is Dig, coined after porn star Dirk Diggler from Boogie Nights, because he is a shining star.  (And the fact that when we picked him up off the street in Atlanta he wasn't neutered and humped everything in sight.)  Have I proven my point yet?  If not, let me shred the last bit of dignity I have with Exhibit C:  I am sitting at my husbands bar with 4 rock-a-billy dudes  praising the coolness of George Jones, while singing at the top of our lungs, wait for it, wait for it:  He stopped loving her today. "The best love song EVER"-  according to Lou and Dan.
My father hates the term "redneck" and finds it insulting.  He grew up on a tobacco farm, began work at the age of 4 and learned how to roll his own smokes at 6.  A self-made man he is very proud.  His interpretation of redneck is a derogatory name for farmers or people who grew up in the country.  And I guess he is right.  But, I am being derogatory... towards myself.  I can do that, right?   Now, in all honesty, I don't really think I am a redneck but like I said in class today I am out of inspiration as far as writing goes and I don't mind poking fun at myself.  And hey,  at least I don't dip or take snuff, right...?

Reading Response

 Cervantes lays a wonderful world of imagery pitting two destitute lifestyles against each other. Goldbartth's poem doesn't so much lay out imagery but rather the strength of this poem lies in the subject matter and the presentation of this from the voice.  I like the fact that he takes headlines from grocery store and incorporates poetry from them.  Jim Morrison did the same thing, junkyard quotes believe it or not.  He obviously did not call them "junkyard quotes" but he would write in his journal slogans from billboards and commercial slogans, which he includes in Break on thru when at the end of the song he says: Stronger than dirt.  For those who are too young to know, he got that from a Tide commercial.  Anyways,   Booth's poem is very Frost-like to me, which the book states is a huge influence.  These poems lay a wonderful example of what  good poetry sounds like when you follow some of the editing questions we went over in class on wednesday.  All three of these poems seems straight forward, but say so much without premise indicators dictating them, as well as lofty overstated imagery. 

Junkyard quotes week 5

Since I have been in an inspiration standstill, I have decided to take my favorite passages from our readings as my junkyard quotes.   Hopefully, some established poems can instill some life in my own, rather than seeking out the poetry in the life that surrounds me:
1.)  sheep clouds gather below the buff
        How many times have I looked at clouds in my lifetime, but never saw them as sheep, But now that the image is etched in my minds eye its as if they've always being sheep. The power of a good descriptive line.

2.) I worry about a winter in a place I've never been, about exiles in their homeland gathered around a fire, about the slavery of substance and gruel: will there be enough to eat?
       Here I not only am able to visual the family gathered around a fire in some Afghanistan cave, but when I read this line I actually feel the desperation.

3.)... malaria, tuberculosis, cholera, machetes of he jefes.
      This quote took me a minute to realize that she was referring to Indian chiefs.  However, this is another excellent descriptive quote, the machetes of jefes.  simple, direct, but invoking a feeling from their deaths.

4.)...and the slits in their throats are neat professional slits, as if four envelopes were opened:
         Again, the imagery here is simply stated, but so little sometimes can say soo much.

5.) The fog is all but asleep in the woods, evening deepens the house.
       I actually hear the silence in the house from this quote.

Random write

This is my attempt to write something totally concrete with very little abstractions. it s not long yet but I tend to elaborate when I am feeling it in my gut....like that abstraction?

My knees are like little nuggets of popcorn cracklin' in the microwave. With every step, a sinewy sound is released from my patella.

Reading Response chapter 9 Voice

Chapter 9's idea of "catching meaning thru suggestion" appears easy because it is a simple concept to grasp.  However, this takes alot of thought and calculation.  Its hard!  I was glad "premise indicators" were brought to light because I use them too often.  In leaving them out, you can explain "why" in your writing through concrete images. I feel that this chapter is dealing with a level of advancement beyond myself.  What really hit home for me was the example given on tone, in relation to how younger kids speak to their parents when asked to do chores. Tone can definitely change the way a poem is interpreted.  I feel the easiest portion of this chapter for me to apply in my own writing is the "leaping away from logic."  It's easier to exaggerate with imagery to get a point across. 

Junkyard Quotes Week 5

1.) Death follows you your whole life, its like a sparrow perched on your shoulder.  --  TV (where else) show that deals with real crimes...

I like the imagery of this quote.  When we are born, we die a little each day but the fact that death symbolized as an innocent sparrow perched on our shoulder is shall I say poetic.

2.) Their act of love is like the jabbing of a hypodermic needle to which they’re addicted but which is more and more empty of real interest and surprise.    Tennessee Williams   Small Craft Warnings
 
This quote has a "because" in it but I thought it drove to the point home regardless.

3.) 

Junkyard quotes Week 4

1.  I'm also thinking about getting a gun, and dealing crack. Being a crack dealer. Not like a mean crack dealer, but like... like a nice one. Kinda friendly like, "hey, what's up guys? Want some crack?" I'm just waiting on those two things to flesh themselves out.   Ricky Bobby yall!  Talladega Nights!

What can I say?  This quote RULES!  It's funny.  So if I must explain myself, its obviously funny because it makes fun of the absurdity of aspiring to be a gun wielding drug dealer.

2.  If only I could have been awake to enjoy my deep sleep. - me
3. An artist is someone who produces things that people don't need to have but that he - for some reason - thinks would be a good idea to give them.  Andy Warhol
4.  Age does not protect you from love, but love to some extent, protects you from age.   Jeanne Moreau

5. I was not trying to be shocking, or to be a pioneer. I wasn`t trying to change society, or to be ahead of my time. I didn`t think of myself as liberated, and I don`t believe that I did anything important. I was just myself. I didn`t know any other way to be, or any other way to live."  Bettie Page

Random write week 4

Your propped pillow now sits wilting
From the remote, a sign only I can see flashes vacancy,
the word seeming to extend in the air just long enough for me to catch my breathe,
then its gone.
Now the TV stares back at me wondering if he can run thru the channels as fast as before.
I attempt to surf with your previous speed, but I am only a warm-up.

Reading Response Chapter 5 subject

 I wish that we could spend more time on each of the types of methods suggested in the book.  I would like to visually see a really good poem that used the chasing method from start to finish.  This is because my level of comprehension goes beyond just the surface when I am able to see the process of things.
The negation and reversal process is something that will be useful for me since I used  (sarcastic past tense) to have the problem of sticking to one idea, phrase, or line.  Now, that I know the dangers of that, this reversal process is an excellent remedy for that.  As far as juggling is concerned, I understand what they are saying about it but I want more examples because again I don't think I am going to be able to juggle imagery, setting, and experience on purpose.

Random write week 4

 I have just printed out my 2nd poem to be turned in and upon rereading it over and over again, I have decided I AM a master at something.  Cheese.  No, not cheese, corn.  No worse than corn, golden fucking hominy!  Its not just corn, its corn that has been ground up and stomped on!  Unfortunately, I will never stop.  It feels really good.  I am a junkie and my journal is my fix.  Especially since I am unable to turn up my amp and play music, this has been my only creative outlet. But I will be very glad when this semester is over, because then I can write for myself without having to turn it in.

Reading Response week 3 Chapter 3 Voice

Respect 1967 by Ai was a fun read for me. I usually tend to gravitate towards the sarcastic and for me her own voice is in there with some definite sarcasm.  Taking on the voice of another, especially if it is the total opposite of the speaker seems to be challenging.  That being said, the best way to improve at anything is to get out of a comfort zone. I am anxious to take on a voice opposite of mine since I feel it requires empathy as well as concise attention to detail. As far as the aleatory method goes, it is hard for me to imagine enjoying a poem with no narrative sense, but after several re-reads of Tender Buttons, I slowly began to like the way it sounds when read aloud.  I am also a bit confused with this whimsical, nonsensical randomness.  What is the difference between this embraced approach and a real abstract poem?  Is it the fact that Gertrude Stein's,  Tender Buttons, is to be read knowing there is no meaning and an abstract poem has an assumed meaning?

Junkyard quotes week 3

A grownup is a child with lawyers. Woody Harrelson

The wind of anger blows out the lamp of intelligence.

 There are no mistakes, save one: the failure to learn from a mistake.Robert Fripp
 

At 2:00am my tax refund will in my bank account and I'm going to be a thousandaire!  My friend Wooten
 

Laughter is a form of internal jogging."  Norman Cousins
 

What do you do for recreation? : Oh, the usual. I bowl. Drive around. The occasional acid flashback.   The Dude from The Big Lebowski

Randomly writing recursively Week 3

For instance in a stance
i stand in an instant.
Standing in my stance I stare down a sordid distance.
Distance down a dare, do I dare down that distance?
Staring in an instance I down that distant stare.

Reading Response week 3 Style

I really enjoyed the chapter on Style.  My approach to developing my own artistic voice has been carried out the same way the chapter describes.  For instance, when teaching myself how to play bass, I learned as many John Paul Jones bass lines as possible.  I proceeded to learn songs by various artists, and in doing so I was "investigating the various contexts" of each song, and "building a vast repository" of sounds and techniques.  This is turn broadened my views of possibilities and eventually I began to riff off someone else songs by adding harmonies, embellishments, etc.  After years of playing, I did develop my own style.  I do believe that eventually my own poetic style will emerge by applying this same technique. 
I also would like to add that after reading about the recursive method, I did not think that I would enjoy writing this way.  However,  I loved A Mown Lawn, and during class when we were asked to write in this style, I really dug it. I instinctively think if there is no narrative meaning then I'm not going to like it.  Not the case anymore.  Professor Ellison told us to stop editing ourselves and once I heeded to that advice, I felt I was in the "flow" as discussed in Chapter 1.  I really enjoyed the freedom I felt.