Books I’m reading/re-reading at the moment
February 16, 2009
Reading/re-reading
I’m on a non-fiction bender right now, plus some poetry :
* Stasiland, by Anna Funder -fascinating, bleak, vivid picture of various aspects of life in East Germany during the reign of the security regime created, managed and enforced by the Ministry of State Security, nicknamed Stasi.
* Sailing Alone Around the Room – collection of poems by former US Poet Laureate Billy Collins -excellent range of themes and forms, humour, deep and perceptive thoughts – all written in a very accessible style.
* Living Words: Journal Writing for self-discovery, insight and creativity by Stephanie Dowrick -interesting to read for its own sake, also has masses of exercises that can be a great help for writing personal non-fiction.
* Bird by Bird: some instructions on the writing life by Anne Lamott -first published in early 1990s, it’s now a classic writers’ guide, and like the best of them it stands up to a lot of re-reading as a personal story about how writing can be part of a life.
Poem: ‘Making time for writing on an overcast day’
February 15, 2009
Making time for writing on an overcast day
1.
A week ago, on a Sunday,
it was too hot to write;
today has been overcast and the demands
of indoor chores have threatened
to soak up the writing time.
What a bleak pattern!
2.
I re-read the first poem,
noticing the lines about moving to a new chair – check,
using a hard-topped table – check,
getting pen and paper – check,
committing to the essential action:
writing for the sake of writing.
3.
It worked.
4.
Again.
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NB: This poem relates to the one about writing on a really hot day, but is also about dealing with reasons for not writing, and trying to apply a few tips found in various writers’ guides. On this Sunday, the main tips I had in mind were about what writing material to use, staying away from computer for a while and the possible benefits resulting from shifting self to a different part of the house. Once again, Zen-style poems were a helpful guide for their in-the-moment emphasis and doing, not ‘trying’.
Poem: ‘Beginning new writing on a hot afternoon’
February 14, 2009
Beginning new writing on a hot afternoon
1.
The heat of the early afternoon
is too strong: it saps any urge to write.
Even the dog lies on its side – too hot to curl up.
2.
The heat of the late afternoon
is still strong, but I overcome my lethargy
by moving from a reading chair to a hard table,
by choosing some paper and a pencil
and by finally making new notes:
the beginning of new writing.
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NB: This poem was partly inspired by re-reading some Zen-style poems earlier today, and in this one, about writing during a very hot afternoon, I simply wanted to get at the ‘being in the moment’ aspect of Zen poems without being overly concerned about finer points of line length according to old stylistic rules or whether I heard one hand clapping or not.
