How not to read a poem

I once wrote a 15-page paper entitled How to Read a Poem for a college composition class. Rather than subject you to that, I have decided to share a list of the opposite approach:

1. Assume that the goal of poetry is to confuse the reader and obscure the truth. Pay no attention to the words, images, rhymes, or lack of rhyme. The words are mostly chosen to fit the  pattern anyway, and only English teachers care about rhymes. 

2. Inject whatever meaning you want into the poem. Don't try to understand the mystifying words -- skip over them or just stop reading when you come across something you don't understand.  Don't think about how the words are put together, how they sound, or why they were chosen over other words.

3.  Don't try to put the poem in context. All poets have essentially the same, unhappy background, and poetry has no connection to history, prose, or any other form of writing. It is safe to assume that poetry will always be there, exactly the way it is, and will never change.

4. Imagine yourself as a reader, not a writer of poetry. After all, the only people who write poetry are sensitive artistic souls who have no impact on the real world.

5.  Evaluate, evaluate, evaluate. Constantly compare the poem to your own beliefs or situation. If you find something you disagree with, stop reading. Be inflexible, and avoid ambiguity, shades of gray, or immorality. Denounce degenerate art if it depicts something you don't like.

Let me know what you think!

7 Ways Blogging Can Help You Sharpen Your Thinking

1.  It provides opportunities for you to express thoughts in longer format than text or tweets.  You can elaborate on ideas, find nuances in them, and keep coming back to them until you get them right.
2.  It goes worldwide quickly, so it can provide valuable feedback from just about anyone, anywhere.  Almost all feedback is valuable.
3.  You need to communicate with people to truly test your ideas. If your ideas reach someone, are commented on, plus-one'd, liked, or go viral, then you have a chance to start a dialogue and really interact with people about your ideas, as opposed to talking about circumstances or small talk.
4.  It breaks down the public/private barrier.  Your blog can record your inner thoughts or your outward self, but it isn't totally private and it isn't totally public.  It's self-publishing that reaches people who really care about the topic you're writing about.
5.  It's better than a journal because it forces you to think about your audience.  Who is reading this post?  What do they think?
6.  It's better than a media outlet because it is relatively agenda-free.  Big-time blogs have built-in biases, just like news channels (think Huffington Post vs. Drudge Report or CNN vs. Fox News).  But until your blog reaches critical mass as a full-on media conglomerate, you're free to innovate and post whatever you would like.
7.  It allows you to see if your ideas are really world-changing or not. If by chance you don't build your blog into a media conglomerate, there is still room to reach people in a small or large way.  Blogging really is competing in the marketplace of ideas.  If you don't end up changing the world, it at least has the potential to change some people's thoughts. 

I'd love to know if you have other ideas on how blogging helps or hurts thinking.  Please leave a comment, and consider blogging yourself!

Love Pixar Movies? There's a story there...

This list of rules from a Pixar story artist make sense to me for anyone who's trying to write an original story.  Stories don't have to follow rules, but these rules are fun and challenging.  Even better, Neil Gaiman's sardonic eight rules for writing are a "related link" at the bottom of her 22 rules.  For someone who's struggled to write any kind of stories as an undergrad and currently, I find these rules liberating.

Related articles

• Under The Hood of Pixar's Cars 2
• Neil Gaiman's Calendar of Tales
• Pixar's Casts of Characters Surround its Classic Logo
• Facebook Hires Pixar Artist to Reinvent the Emoticon
• Animated Oscar

The Olympics of poetry

One of the cooler things that goes along with the Olympics is the festival of culture that accompanies it.  The Salt Lake City "cultural Olympics" included an installation of glass sculptures that we toured in 2002.  In London, there is a focus on poetry.  Here is an interactive map of poetry from every country in the Olympics:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/interactive/2012/jun/26/poetry-parnassus-interactive-map

Here are some photos of poetry installations around the city:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/gallery/2012/jul/27/poetry-olympic-park-london-2012

Gore Vidal's epitaph

Gore Vidal described himself with the following quote, which I found in an excellent LA Times obituary earlier today: "I am at heart a propagandist, a tremendous hater, a tiresome nag, complacently positive that there is no human problem which could not be solved if people would simply do as I advise." The quote is from Gore Vidal: A Biography (1999) by Fred Kaplan.

I'm not sure I would want that as my epitaph, but then again, I am clearly no Gore Vidal. Still, I sometimes value being right over the people in my life. I know at heart that it is the people that matter, but sometimes, I just want to be right, so I can sympathize with Mr. Vidal's sentiment. I am also sad to see Mr. Vidal go.

I admired Mr. Vidal's Lincoln as a work of historical fiction. He imagines Mr. Lincoln much more darkly than some historians, viewed primarily through the eyes of his clerk. The portrait he paints of Lincoln is not flattering, but it is compelling. In the end, it is the scholarship and work of the imagination that led to Lincoln that hovers over the book, and Mr. Vidal himself almost becomes a character with the way he powerfully describes Mr. Lincoln. After reading his novel and a couple interviews about him, I came to view Mr. Vidal as an imposing figure -- a worldly, masculine person who defied not only categorization but also self-definition. After all, no one can really be summed up in one sentence, after all.

According to letters published in the LA Times, Mr. Vidal also had a lively debate with Charlton Heston over a gay sub-text for Ben-Hur. I found the photo above on the LA Times website -- Gore Vidal is third from the left, next to Charlton Heston.

A Poem for Sunday (Father's Day)

"Those Winter Sundays"
by Robert Hayden

Sundays too my father got up early
and put his clothes on in the blueblack cold,
then with cracked hands that ached
from labor in the weekday weather made
banked fires blaze.  No one ever thanked him.

I'd wake and hear the cold splintering, breaking,
When the rooms were warm, he'd call,
and slowly I would rise and dress,
fearing the chronic angers of that house,

Speaking indifferently to him,
who had driven out the cold
and polished my good shoes as well.
What did I know, what did I know
of love's austere and lonely offices?

Desperate Wonder

Terry Gross of NPR interviewed Maurice Sendak this year, and it got the most email responses of any interview she did in 2011.  It's not hard to see why if you listen to the audio on this link:

http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=144077273&m=144381898

Mr. Sendak wrote Where the Wild Things Are, and he recently published a book called Bumble-ardy.  Both books are, I'm sure, masterpieces, though I haven't been able to get my hands on Bumble-ardy yet.  More importantly, Mr. Sendak is getting older, and his responses to Ms. Gross's questions display his desperate wonder at the process of aging and losing those close to him, while also continuing to live and produce art.  The interview is poignant and insightful.  Highly recommended.

An Inspiring Book with an Awful Title

So far, reading James Gleick's new book has been wonderful -- pictured at left, he is one of my favorite writers, for his clarity and thoughtfulness in explaining scientific topics.  However, the title of the book is horrible, and doesn't begin to explain his purpose -- The Information: A History, A Theory, A Flood.  Gleick has set out to chronicle how information came to be the dominant cultural force of our times, beginning from the beginning and ending with today.  I have only read the first three chapters and the prologue, but those chapters are starting to change my thinking about reading and writing in this digital age.  The idea that talking drums in sub-Saharan Africa could convey messages in much the same way that the telegraph did, or that Mesopotamian cuneiform tablets (such as the one pictured at right) could contain algorithms for mathematical principles, and that these drums and forms have a connection to the bits and bytes that we exchange daily now, had honestly never occurred to me, and would never have occurred to me without reading this book.  The prologue explains that 1948 was a pivotal year, not just because the transistor was invented and named by Bell Labs, but also because the term "bit" was defined, by a Bell Lab mathematician/engineer named Claude Shannon.  Such nuggets are only beginning to form a picture of how information came to be a cultural currency, but I am enjoying the puzzle-piecing immensely.

Brave New 1984 World

For all you readers out there, here's an interesting infographic on links between George Orwell's 1984, Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, and modern society.  Interestingly, most of the Orwellian links come from dictatorships in the Middle East, while Huxley's links are based in the U.S.  I like the infographic itself for its clarity and usefulness as a teaching tool.  I found this link today through Andrew Sullivan of the Daily Beast.

Here's Something Beautiful -- A Found Poem

Well, if I can't make something beautiful (see my last post), I can at least find something beautiful.  Here it is, the Beaufort Wind Scale, in poetic form:

0 - smoke rises vertically
1 - smoke drifts slowly in the direction of the wind
2 - leaves rustle, flags stir, wind is felt on the face
3 - leaves move constantly, light flags unfurl
4 - twigs move, flags flap, dust and loose papers blow about
5 - small trees sway, flags ripple, small waves appear on lakes
6 - large branches move, flags beat, umbrellas turn inside out
7 - whole trees move, flags are extended, it becomes difficult to walk into the wind
8 - twigs break off trees, it becomes very difficult to walk
9 - shingles blown off roofs
10 - trees are uprooted, houses receive much damage
11 - violent storm, widespread damage
12 - devastation

I once read a whole book on this subject, Defining the Wind, reviewed here.  The book didn't capture my imagination the way this presentation of the scale does.  Strange how I can't seem to find this exact rendition anywhere on the Internet.  I hope you like it.

The Other Side

I read George W. Bush's memoir recently, on M's recommendation that I read something from the "other side."  I found the book really interesting, although I can't say I agree with everything Pres. Bush writes.  My full review is available at my book blog.  That reading has got me thinking about what else I don't know, so I may broaden my reading a little bit this summer.  So, any recommendations for me out there?  What should I read that will force me to re-think my preconceptions? 

Since My Life is an Open Book...

I thought I'd quote from what I'm reading today:

Psalm 84:10-12 -- Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.  For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from thsoe whose walk is blameless.  O Lord Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you.

And just for fun, The Princess Bride, 30th anniversary edition, p. xiv:

"But did I go?  Did not.  Never went to Florin, never thought much about it.  No, not true, I did think about it but I didn't visit for one reason: I was afraid the place would disappoint me."

This is William Goldman, writing as William Goldman, instead of as S. Morgenstern, the author of the history of Florin on which the Princess Bride is based.  Too bad none of that made it into the movie.

"The Only Thing You Really Care About"

I like this quote from an interview with Philipp Meyer, author of a novel I just finished (American Rust -- see my review here):

"Really, you just have to keep writing and ignore the thousands of rejections that accumulate along the way.  Aside from being a good person, and treating your family and friends well, writing has to be the only thing you really care about.  Once you start feeling this way, regardless of what anyone else thinks, you're a writer."

So, my question is, what is the one thing that you really care about?  Is there something that defines you in terms of your career or occupation?  Is it something spiritual, like a relationship with Jesus or a particular idea about faith?

I wouldn't say I have a single defining interest or activity.  I am clearly interested in politics, and I love reading and writing, but I wouldn't say that defines me.  I would say my love for God defines me.  That can be a very vague concept, but for me it comes down to some practical decisions about everyday life.  Just some deep thoughts for this evening...where's Jack Handy when you need him?

I Hate to Disagree, But...

This editorial in the New York Times argues that Holden Caulfield, the hero of The Catcher in the Rye, is an eternally young character whose timelessness will outweigh the attempt to "update" his image by a lackluster, derivative writer. In my experience, I don't think there are any timeless characters. Holden's transgressions already seem mild after years and years of adolescent rebels getting into more and more trouble on cable outlets ranging from Nickelodeon to HBO. The kids I knew from teaching high school were more jaded than Holden on his worst day. The way I remember the novel, it was a good read, but I don't think Holden will survive another decade of decadence in our entertainment culture. Just my thoughts...

Connecting to Leo Bloom

This article and accompanying graphic illustrate some reasons to read Ulysses by James Joyce. Happy day after Bloomsday, everybody!

Son of Sylvia Plath Commits Suicide

I found this story on the New York Times book page. So sad, really, to see this pattern repeated. Turns out he was a fisheries biologist, not a poet, but he found delight in little things. The obit is well-written and has a few interesting details. Read it to find out more about the man besides the headline.

The Perils of Science Fiction

Since beginning to write a sci fi novel, I've learned a few things about the genre.

1. Projecting out into the future gets more difficult the further out you go. I think that's why Star Wars is set "a long time ago." It's easier to create something out of whole cloth than to project out from our current day by say, 100 years. What will cars look like in 100 years?

2. Everything is relevant. I saw an article on "landmarks of speed" in the doctor's office that made me think about what cars will be like in 100 years. Hence, the question above. How we pay for things will change, how we identify ourselves will change. The pace of change is increasing.

3. A lot has been done before. I think of Minority Report and Blade Runner as two examples of successful movies made from sci fi short stories. Then there's the classics of sci fi novels involving space travel (which my story doesn't, because traveling at the speed of light is practically impossible) and worlds apart. Not to mention Fahrenheit 451 and that genre. There's a lot out there that has entered the public consciousness.

4. Sci fi is fun! The more action in sci fi the better.

That's all for now. Maybe more later.

Novel Progress

The novel I'm writing for NaNoWriMo is coming along, but I am definitely behind the pace if I'm going to get to 50,000 words. Somehow, life keeps intervening to keep me from writing for any length of time. If it's not the election, it's the cat going to the vet or a late night phone call. (Of course, I've also procrastinated just a little bit.) I'm going to devote some time tonight to try to get caught up, but it may be the weekend before I'm able to really get cranking again.

Creativity is ALIVE, it's ALIVE!

I've done something risky for me and joined NaNoWriMo. It's a ploy to get myself motivated to actually write a novel. I'm telling myself I won't be exhausted by the end of this month, but we shall see. So far, the juices are flowing. Any support will be welcome. I will post more as I become more familiar with how the NaNoWriMo site works. Right now I'm having technical difficulties.

Wrinkle in Time

Madeleine L'Engle's Wrinkle in Time series captured my attention as a young reader. I'm not sure I fully grasped the whole story, but it definitely suited my eager young mind's idea of what a good story was. I remember wanting to read more and more of the story, to find out what would happen, to be sure, but also wanting to understand. It's all very vague now, unfortunately, but the story definitely influenced me. If, as the New York Times piece linked to below asserts, the story is really about internal struggles of right and wrong, then I can see how it would lead me to love literature that embodies those kinds of struggles later in life.

Madeleine L'Engle died Thursday. Her works live on.