I usually hate the word "inspired" when it comes to talking about poetry. I tend to think of writing as less of what happens after I'm inspired and more of what happens when I decide to engage in some intense work. Bryan and I were just talking about this today, actually, when I told him I'd decided to start putting in some hours in terms of writing more, much more. Writing takes time, practice and patience. I know that reading always helps me write better, so I brought Robert Hass's new book with me, as well as Myung Mi Kim's Penury. I ended up reading all of Penury and just taking short breaks to write a bit.
I seem to always write more effectively after reading Kim's work or listening to her read. I think it's related to the space that she leaves for her reader. As I read her work, it's as if she's carving out little windows and doors in my brain and inviting me to take a breath of fresh air, look at my surroundings from different viewpoints, and notice what is right in front of me but what I keep forgetting is there.
So, here I go, off to try some more writing.
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2 comments:
Find those spaces, be they inspired by string, drum, instruments, or honest words spoken full of heart... salted with joyous tears. Find your voice where in these pockets of purity where it floats, ethereal and self inspiring, falling to pen or keyboard. It is the closest I often have to faith that that there is something so wonderful in us all. The awe in words I know are both my own and the sum of all I have seen and learned and heard.
Thanks so much for your thoughts, Matt. I'd been neglecting my writing again, but you made me want to try to find that place where poetry comes from again.
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