I can't hear.

This is the millionth time in a week that I have sat in desk, in my bed, in the hall or in the library. I have read and tried and tested but I still can't hear. Can't hear the highs and lows of metered poetry and especially can't hear to write it. I can hear rhyme or weird breaks but I cannot hear meter. I think I might be dead or not have a heart because I have no sense of da DUM and feel lost, even more than usual. So I continue to sit here, desk light blaring at me, and try to clap out syllables and sounds like a one armed seal. At the beginning of semester this seemed like it would be easiest for me, a standard set of rules and guidelines to follow in the world of poetry that to me seems so free-flowing without rules or regulations. Now I realized this is harder. Writing in meter is taking something so fluid and natural and making it work within a set guideline. So now, I'm going to back to writing my best effort or metered poetry with rhyme and get ready for the massive revisions I'll get to handle tomorrow with the much needed guidance of class.

This is my favorite poem . . .

"There is intention
in the wing to fly, airfoil
not foiled
even in the death of
the red-winged blackbird, unlucky
on the hot macadam.

The wing is not foiled
by the stillness of heart
for it is not stillness it responds to.

The updraft of a small truck
pulls the wing toward flight
as if it could leave the blackbird
behind, on the heat-shimmering road.

As if wing alone could fly."
- Stephanie Coyne DeGhett

The reason why I love this poem so much is because of the very last line. I think it throws the whole poem into a different perspective. At least, it does for me. At first the poem was simply about a dead bird on hot pavement, but I realized while reading the last line that the poem wasn't about the bird but the will of the wing to fly. As if the wing alone could fly. As if any of us could go anywhere with just a wing. We can't move forward if parts of us are still stuck where they are. Our whole being needs to move forward with the wing.

Ekphrastic Writing & Film

Ekphrasis is a word that comes from the Greek that literally means “to describe an object”. It is a term often used to describe any writing about the visual arts, whether in the form of prose or poetry. It is commonly associated specifically with poetry, however, and some very famous poems are of this type – John Keats’ “Ode on a Grecian Urn”, Elizabeth Bishop’s “Large Bad Picture” and John Ashbery’s “Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror” are all notable examples. The ekphrastic poem often includes a sort of commentary or analysis of the visual art object, which can then be used by the poet to create new imagery or meaning (if s/he wants). What I’m wondering is, can writing poetry about movies be considered alongside these more traditional forms of ekphrasis, or is it a fundamentally different game? Since movies (usually) include various forms of music, characters, plots (and so on), it seems likely. And yet, the main element of almost all film is ultimately visual. Alternatively, what about writing an ekphrastic poem from a still shot (from a movie)?

I’ve included a link to a blog that I really enjoy. It’s dedicated to ekphrastic poems written on images found online.

http://thestorialist.blogspot.com/

Spoken Word Poetry

What showed up in the 80's and 90's as "Spoken Word Poetry" is now flourishing in modern entertainment. As seen by the clip below, Seul Williams performs "Coded Language" on Mos Def's poetry contest.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzY2-GRDiPM

I was shocked the first, second and third time I listened to this speech/rap/song. Although I could barely keep up with Williams' words, the way in which he speaks lifts and pushes me through this linear distance of images. Beginning with what I though was something along the lines of a Declaration of Independence I went to picturing a mother and child then to the Universe. Then he speaks faster and images zoom by...

While I feel an essay thesis could be written on every sentence he spoke, what do you guys think?

figments.

I thought i'd take the initiative and start the blog with an introduction to something I love: Figment. As a "Creative Writing" major, I see myself writing for years to come. I'm constantly looking to share my work with others, and have it critiqued by different perspectives. For a while, most writers I know have posted new works on blogs such as this, or livejournal.

More recently, I've stumbled upon a website called "Figment". It is similar to a blog-site, however, it incorporates a social-networking aspect. People of any age (I find mostly preteens, teens, and already established authors) can post their work and have it read by other figment-ers. A reader can respond to the author by writing a comment, a review, a reaction, or simply pressing a button marked "heart". Figment also features contests that are hosted and guest judged by various authors.

You can check out an example of my figment account here.