Video–Open Stage Tulsa Poetry Reading 7/11/11

Open Stage Tulsa is a roaming open mic event organized by my friend, Smitty Jones. Each act is given 30 minute sets (though it looks like I only used 20 minutes this time). The venue for this particular edition of Open Stage Tulsa was Crystal Pistol Saloon, which is quite different than the coffee shops I frequent. Many people were participating in other activities, including background noise production, so I had trouble gauging from the mic how my poems were being received. You can probably hear the nervousness in my voice; I have to admit following back-to-back hip hop groups was intimidating.

Enough excuses and analysis. Here’s the video:

Method Monday–Metaphor

Method Monday is my weekly exploration of my writing process. Take what works for you; ignore the rest. This week, I’m discussing metaphor.

I guess I should begin with a definition of metaphor. Wikipedia’s definition is clear and concise and should suit our purposes: “A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story, or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea.” There are several types of metaphor, but I won’t get into specifics for this post. My goal here is to show how I develop metaphor in writing.

As described in the given definition, metaphor has two basic parts. The “image, story, of tangible thing” is what readers can relate to, what they already understand. The “less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea” is what we hope the reader understands better after we’ve related it to the first part. This is not to say that metaphor is easy to understand. Sometimes writers are vague about what the metaphor represents. If metaphor were always easy, we wouldn’t have much use for university English departments, but even if a metaphor is difficult to interpret, it provides a starting point for the reader to gain intended understanding.

Why use metaphor? Metaphor makes writing more powerful. If I want to write a poem that talks about loss of a family member, I could be literal. I could say what you already know, that losing someone you love hurts. Readers don’t just want truths laid plainly before them; they want images that they can relate to that lead them to those truths. Metaphor, even though it pulls away from the literal in a way, makes certain concepts more “real.” The following metaphor is an except from a poem I wrote after my great-grandmother passed away:
“And he denies,
even more, time’s persistent current
as it carries, too swiftly, her
humble craft toward
a hazy horizon.

He grows into a man, still resisting,
still hoping
she will paddle back to him.
As her ship’s mast
fades from sight, and as the
setting sun spills its spectrum on the sea,
he misses Lucy—whom he never knew.” -from “Missing Lucy” by Randall Weiss
This metaphor isn’t difficult to understand. Lucy, the grandmother, is a ship that is leaving the boy/man behind. The metaphor works (at least I think this one works) because you can imagine, even if you’ve not done it, standing at the dock watching a ship slowly fade from site and wishing that you could bring it back. I think this conveys the emotion more effectively than just saying, “I miss my grandma.” It also helps relate to readers; they may or may not care about my grief, but if the metaphor can relate to grief they’ve experienced, then it’s successful.

Writing good metaphor takes practice. I’ve written more duds than successful metaphors. Determining the difference between successful and unsuccessful metaphor also takes practice. Read your own work critically. Does your metaphor affect you in the way you hope it affects your readers? Get additional opinions from your peer writing group. The more I write, the easier it becomes both to write metaphor and to know if that metaphor works.

I’ve talked a lot about what metaphor is and how to use it, I guess I should talk about how I write them. I always start with one side of the metaphor equation, usually the tangible image side. I may see or imagine a particular image that I find intriguing, then I think about what that image means to me. Starting with the vague idea then searching for an appropriate image may work better for you, but I rarely work that way. For example, in my poem “Magnolia Blossom,” I started with the image of a magnolia tree (I have one in my front yard). The image didn’t become metaphor immediately, but I knew that it had something to offer. It clicked, if you will, as I sat on the porch watching the blossoms bloom then wither.

What are your thoughts on metaphor?

Method Monday–Practice Makes More Better

Method Monday is a weekly feature in which I talk about various aspects of my writing process. Feel free to adopt any practices you think may benefit you, and ignore the rest. This week, I’m talking about writing practice poems.

Not every poem I write is intended for publication or feature on this blog. Sometimes I just write practice poems.

If I intend to write a practice poem, then I approach it with that mindset. It’s not that I give it less effort than any other poem, but instead of focusing on the content and themes that make a poem excel, I focus on construction aspects. I may try to make the poem mathematically perfect, perhaps, even if it doesn’t suit me in other ways.

I see practice poems as a way to learn writing mechanics. For example, if I write a few dozen iambs that don’t matter, then I have learned something about iambs that I can transfer to “real” poems.

Practice poems help me approach different forms. As someone who usually writes free verse, I must employ different mental processes to write in a form. Let’s say I have an idea for a sonnet. I may write several practice sonnets about different topics before I approach the inspired sonnet. I don’t always approach forms this way, but if I find problems after trying to write the inspired poem, then writing practice poems may help my mind fix those problems.

Writing practice poems improves my narrative and imagery. I’m writing this post while sitting in a cafe. I’ve written many “real” poems based on activities and people I’ve seen in cafes and other public places, but not every people watching poem is significant. I may use the available inspiration to practice creating images or telling stories. My challenge in this cafe might be: can I describe the girl sitting next to me well enough that my readers would be able to see her?

Any poem I write based on a writing prompt goes into the practice category. One reason for this is that I feel like a prompted poem isn’t completely mine. But prompts are a useful challenge. I read a prompt a few days ago (sorry I don’t recall the source) that suggested writing a poem about gaining a superpower of your choice. I doubt a poem about super vision would score me a nomination for Poet Laureate, but it was fun and useful for developing my craft.

Do you ever write practice poems? If so, how does it affect your writing?

Friday Favorite–John Berryman

In an artistic field full of great beards, John Berryman's is amongst the best.

For this week’s Friday Favorite, I am featuring a poet from my home state of Oklahoma, John Berryman. Berryman is best known for “Homage to Mistress Bradstreet” and The Dream Songs. And having a great beard.

I’m kidding about the beard.

Berryman seems to me as elusive as his characters from The Dream Songs,  Henry and Mr. Bones. Many critics consider these characters Berryman’s alter-egos. I can see the argument, but I don’t know that I’m sold. I don’t know that I have many clear answers about Berryman. The mystery is something that attracts me to his work.

Berryman’s poems are structured similarly to sonnets and have an easy-going lyrical flow. His poems are very different than what his contemporaries produced. He wrote book-length lyrical series surrounding recurring characters while others wrote short, ironic satire or confessional poetry.

Here’s a video in which he discusses some elements of his poetry then reads “Life, Friends, is Boring” from The Dream Songs:

Method Monday–Writing Venues

There’s something about where I choose to write that sets the mood of my writing. My most frequent writing venues are coffee shops, my front porch, and anywhere outside.

Shades of Brown Coffee and Art in Tulsa, OK

Coffee shops give me great noise. I like to watch people, listen to them, see if I can find out something about humanity. The challenge when writing at the coffee shop, or any other public place, is to not allow the noise that offers me so much fodder to distract me.

I am blessed to have a large, covered front porch. I like to sit out there (usually after my kids are in bed) with my friends, tobacco and alcohol. There’s something incredibly relaxing about ending my day in this writing locale. This is also where I do most of my editing.

Tulsa Skyline across the Arkansas River

There are many great places to sit outside and write. In Tulsa, the local parks and the river are great venues. This is where I usually write about nature. I observe the plants and animals around me and try to become one with them.

Where do you like to write?

Friday Favorite–Gwendolyn Brooks

Gwendolyn Brooks (1917-2000)

Gwendolyn Brooks’ list of awards and fellowships inspire awe. Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress (now called U.S. Poet Laureate), Poet Laureate for the State of Illinois are a few, but she’s more than just a decorated poet.

I first encountered Gwendolyn Brooks the way that many young English majors do, in an anthology of American literature. I first read her most well-known poem, “We Real Cool,”  but I couldn’t stop with the brief survey class offered; I read more. A few favorites include: “The Lovers of the Poor,” “The Mother,” “The Bean Eaters.”

Brooks inspires and challenges me, both poetically and personally. I hope she does the same for you.

Instead of my usual list of quotes, I offer just one. “Poetry is life distilled.” What better definition is there?

Cheers,

Randall

Event: Open Stage Tulsa at the Crystal Pistol

Open Stage Tulsa is a little different than most open mic events in Tulsa. It isn’t tied to one location, and the sets are 30 minutes, instead of the typical 10-15. The next one is at Crystal Pistol Saloon in downtown Tulsa’s Brady Arts District on Monday, July 11, 2011 at 8pm. I’m on the schedule for 9:30pm, but come early; sometimes the schedule runs early due to some acts not lasting their full alloted time.

By the way, I have new poems.

Note: Venue is 21+

Friday Favorite–E.E. Cummings

E.E. Cummings

E.E. Cummings was born October 14, 1894 in Cambridge, MA. He was a prolific writer of poetry, prose, plays, and essays.

When I was in high school, many of the my fellow students only knew him as “that poet who doesn’t use capital letters.” Non-standard capitalization is a feature in many poems, but it’s incorrect to say he avoids capital letters. He just uses them sparingly, a technique which highlights the importance of certain words or phrases.

He covers many topics in his 2900+ poems–nature, politics, religion, sex, etc. His poems often challenge traditional forms, though formless would not be an apt description.

He has long been among my favorite poets. Reading him repeatedly has taught me (and continues to teach me) much about diction, form, syntax, rhythm, imagery. You know…all that poetic stuff.

Here is a website that has compiled a few poems for your reading pleasure.

And here are a few lines I like from various poems:

For whatever we lose(like a you or a me) / it’s always ourselves we find in the sea

somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond / any experience,your eyes have their silence:

I’d rather learn from one bird how to sing / than teach ten thousand stars how not to dance

i like my body when it is with your / body.  It is so quite a new thing.

pity this busy monster,manunkind, / not.  Progress is a comfortable disease:

my father moved through dooms of love / through sames of am through haves of give, / singing each morning out of each night