Projection

I just got done puzzling my way through Aaron's blog. I have one thing to say: paragraph breaks.

Actually, I have many things to say. This topic came up with Trent and seems to be the central theme of most of our discussions. And by this point in a post I should have identified my topic, but I'm not sure what to call it. Poetic project, poetic theory, poetic function? None of these really encapsulate what I'm after, but slap your own label on it when you get there.

Aaron referenced Leslie Norris and I'm going to follow suit: "I truly spend my life waiting to write." This was towards the end of his presentation in our 518 class. He began it by asking "Why do you write?" and his answer was "Is it because you can't help it?"

I don't want to come off as self-righteous or self-indulgent or even self-congratulatory, but I write because that's what I do. I'm not concerned with my reader. Writing for me is a purely selfish pursuit. My poetry comes when it comes and unless I have an assignment, I don't sit down to write a poem. I sit down to write and I just happen to translate my thoughts into words and hyphens and line breaks. I do admit to being too fond of the em-dash, but as that didn't stop Emily Dickinson, I'm not overly concerned.

I bring a unique reading to poetry in that I'm more interested in publishing other poets than getting myself published. I'm more interested in teaching a class out of poetry anthologies than seeing my name in one. This alters what you do, how you write, and for me is the only answer.

This is turning into altruistic drivel. My apologies. I don't expect that my theories or concepts will work for anyone else. If anything, this thread of blogging proves that we all approach our art from different angles, even if we voice it in a plethora of ways. Yes, plethora. As in pinatas. Aaron has his cat in the orchard. And from that experience, he has given me the voice of the woman sitting in the front seat. Maybe voices are what I'm interested in, even if they all are portions of myself.

Late. Rambling. Good morning.