Response to Writer’s Series with Steve Himmer, Robert Kloss and Matt Bell
2/24/2011
I’ve been attending the Writer’s Series for a number of years. Each author or poet has had their own style and personality. Thursday night was no different. For me the writer that got my attention was Robert Kloss – wow! History, Abe Lincoln, Lincoln’s story. Outstanding imagery right down to the silver dollars on little Willy’s eyelids. I also never knew Lincoln had his son exhumed twice. You could tell the piece was well researched. Again, it is Kloss’ imagery that is the hook for the listener and I am sure the reader.
Matt Bell picked an interesting set of characters for his story about the cartographer and his girl. I liked how he intertwined the girl with map making, mapping every place she went. Bell is very good at building up tension in the story. Steve Himmer’s work didn’t grab me, although I did like his idea of having a character who was employed in the plastic plant business.
When I listen to other people’s work I look for imagery. I need to be able to picture the story, the characters, etc. The more color and detail the better.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
The Writing Life
Reader Response
Reading Annie Dillard's "The Writing Life" is like sitting around with a friend and just talking about writing and reading. As the Boston Globe said on the back cover, "It's like a spiritual Strunk and White." I read this book when it first came out in 1989, the year I graduated with a degree in communications from Salem State. I think I enjoyed the book much more this time around. I think it is because I have more years of writing under my belt. I think Dillard's writing show the difference between writing now and writing back in the 70s and 80s. She starts out on page 5 talking about talking about the writing process and throwing things away. Yeah, we did that with typewriters but today with computers nothing is thrown away, it is just deleted or moved and not printed either until the end or at all. The computer has made a huge difference in the writing life. We no longer crumple up paper when we make a mistake. We no longer use White-Out with a type writer. Some of us were raised drafting on legal pads or spiral notebooks. To us it seems strange to begin to tell a story and cross out words not needed. Now we adapt the writing process to technology. Don't like a word, just delete. Don't know how to spell something, use spellcheck. Use a grammar check. I prefer pen and paper. Dillard creates her own writing space by using the shed. Writer's have always needed their own space but Dillard's now includes a computer in hers. She also talks about the importance of having a schedule when it comes to writing. When it comes to writer's writing about writing like Dillard does she stresses that writing is about writing about what you know.
Reading Annie Dillard's "The Writing Life" is like sitting around with a friend and just talking about writing and reading. As the Boston Globe said on the back cover, "It's like a spiritual Strunk and White." I read this book when it first came out in 1989, the year I graduated with a degree in communications from Salem State. I think I enjoyed the book much more this time around. I think it is because I have more years of writing under my belt. I think Dillard's writing show the difference between writing now and writing back in the 70s and 80s. She starts out on page 5 talking about talking about the writing process and throwing things away. Yeah, we did that with typewriters but today with computers nothing is thrown away, it is just deleted or moved and not printed either until the end or at all. The computer has made a huge difference in the writing life. We no longer crumple up paper when we make a mistake. We no longer use White-Out with a type writer. Some of us were raised drafting on legal pads or spiral notebooks. To us it seems strange to begin to tell a story and cross out words not needed. Now we adapt the writing process to technology. Don't like a word, just delete. Don't know how to spell something, use spellcheck. Use a grammar check. I prefer pen and paper. Dillard creates her own writing space by using the shed. Writer's have always needed their own space but Dillard's now includes a computer in hers. She also talks about the importance of having a schedule when it comes to writing. When it comes to writer's writing about writing like Dillard does she stresses that writing is about writing about what you know.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Attempting to Catch Up
Feb. 9, 2011
I started this blog a couple of years ago but as you can see I didn't keep it up. So now with this class I'll breathe new life into it. Let me start with a couple of assignments from ENG819.
First, the writing responses to the readings we're doing, then the DNA exercise, and then this week's assignment to create a story using the mixed up index cards.
1) Reader Response - "Birds of America"
By Lorrie Moore
TBD
2) Reader Response - "Mixquiahuala Letters"
By Ana Castillo
This book made me think of my best friend in high school. The letters are like telephone conversations we might have. The book moves along like each letter were its own individual story. Being given options on how to read the letters was interesting. I’ve never seen that before and I am still not sure why Castillo did this. I read the book the “regular” way since I can be a bit of a conformist. On page 22, last paragraph I love Castillo’s wording and how she says they are “not furious enough.” It’s a unique way of saying how their ideas are squashed. On page 31 I liked the clever way she wrote that the baby had no cradle and the father was a carpenter – a reference the Jesus perhaps. Castillo often uses simile – page 36 – “ground over the summer like Colombian coffee beans.”
DNA Exercise
1. Painting with blue finger paints in kindergarten wearing one of my dad’s old button down shirts as a smock.
2. My teacher – Mrs. Hahn – I just liked the way it felt
3. Probably my best idea was to do the photography books.
4. The books were a fresh idea and the one for my hometown was a fresh new one for the town.
5. I like to think that I don’t have too many stupid ideas
6. NA
7. I’m usually able to figure out how I got writing certain pieces
8. I have two creative ambitions – one is to quit the shitty job I have now and write a book (I know it’s not original but very true) and I would like to have my own real photo studio instead of the outdoor one I have now.
9. Time and money
10. The vital steps are organizing my time and planning better.
11. ….
Index Card Exercise aka "A Muse for a Killer"
By Sue Ellen Woodcock
Nobody ever told me there were so many rocks at the Parthenon. Each stop I took I seemed to twist my ankle. The sun was beating down on me and I untucked my shirt to get a breeze blowing up. I was on the run but my past seemed to keep following me. Tour guides walked past me with unsuspecting subjects following. Could they tell I didn't belong? Did I care? Had they seen the television news? I am a wanted woman with a passport to guide me around the world if I like.
I never meant to hurt anyone but it's just something inside I can't help. I took off to Greece after the last time. I was quick enough to get to the airport in New York even though I had to drive like a bat out of hell on the Long Island Expressway....
The plan is to play catch up this weekend...we'll see
I started this blog a couple of years ago but as you can see I didn't keep it up. So now with this class I'll breathe new life into it. Let me start with a couple of assignments from ENG819.
First, the writing responses to the readings we're doing, then the DNA exercise, and then this week's assignment to create a story using the mixed up index cards.
1) Reader Response - "Birds of America"
By Lorrie Moore
TBD
2) Reader Response - "Mixquiahuala Letters"
By Ana Castillo
This book made me think of my best friend in high school. The letters are like telephone conversations we might have. The book moves along like each letter were its own individual story. Being given options on how to read the letters was interesting. I’ve never seen that before and I am still not sure why Castillo did this. I read the book the “regular” way since I can be a bit of a conformist. On page 22, last paragraph I love Castillo’s wording and how she says they are “not furious enough.” It’s a unique way of saying how their ideas are squashed. On page 31 I liked the clever way she wrote that the baby had no cradle and the father was a carpenter – a reference the Jesus perhaps. Castillo often uses simile – page 36 – “ground over the summer like Colombian coffee beans.”
DNA Exercise
1. Painting with blue finger paints in kindergarten wearing one of my dad’s old button down shirts as a smock.
2. My teacher – Mrs. Hahn – I just liked the way it felt
3. Probably my best idea was to do the photography books.
4. The books were a fresh idea and the one for my hometown was a fresh new one for the town.
5. I like to think that I don’t have too many stupid ideas
6. NA
7. I’m usually able to figure out how I got writing certain pieces
8. I have two creative ambitions – one is to quit the shitty job I have now and write a book (I know it’s not original but very true) and I would like to have my own real photo studio instead of the outdoor one I have now.
9. Time and money
10. The vital steps are organizing my time and planning better.
11. ….
Index Card Exercise aka "A Muse for a Killer"
By Sue Ellen Woodcock
Nobody ever told me there were so many rocks at the Parthenon. Each stop I took I seemed to twist my ankle. The sun was beating down on me and I untucked my shirt to get a breeze blowing up. I was on the run but my past seemed to keep following me. Tour guides walked past me with unsuspecting subjects following. Could they tell I didn't belong? Did I care? Had they seen the television news? I am a wanted woman with a passport to guide me around the world if I like.
I never meant to hurt anyone but it's just something inside I can't help. I took off to Greece after the last time. I was quick enough to get to the airport in New York even though I had to drive like a bat out of hell on the Long Island Expressway....
The plan is to play catch up this weekend...we'll see
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