Call me late to the party, but I just realized Allen Ginsberg's Howl Part I is a 2105 word sentence. An incredibly dense sentence at that. It is one of my favorite poems for the layers of density and incredible tongue torque-ing, stupefying feel of the words in your mouth.
"I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked, dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn looking for an angry fix,…"
The poem begs to be read in one breath, which is impossible of course, but the next best thing is just plunging in and treating the poem as a freight train and going along for the ride.
"… who chained themselves to subways for the endless ride from Battery to holy Bronx on benzedrine until the noise of wheels and children brought them down shuddering mouth-wracked and battered bleak of brain all drained of brilliance in the drear light of Zoo,…"
I find myself fascinated by the overt and covert religious imagery in Ginsberg's poems, the biblical rhythms and the torrential spewing of words onto the page. They shouldn't make sense, but they do. The poem hangs together tenaciously. Maybe because it was written with such emotion that the sensations somehow etched themselves into the fabric of the poem and transfer themselves to the reader. You cannot read a poem like this and remain indifferent.
"… who dreamt and made incarnate gaps in Time & Space through images juxtaposed, and trapped the archangel of the soul between 2 visual images and joined the elemental verbs and set the noun and dash of consciousness together jumping with sensation of Pater Omnipotens Aeterna Deus,…"
I don't see myself writing poetry like this, not at this time, probably not ever. But in reading Ginsberg I start to catch a glimpse of a place, a time, a generation. I branch out and read his contemporaries in an effort to understand. Will Ginsberg influence me, now that I am aware, now that I understand the process of literary influences? Does understanding carry with it the obligation to negate those influences? I hope not. I may never write like Ginsberg, but from reading him I take away a pure, visceral joy for poetry and the power of words in juxtaposition. If that is what influence is, smite me.
"… to recreate the syntax and measure of poor human prose and stand before you speechless and intelligent and shaking with shame, rejected yet confessing out the soul to conform to the rhythm of thought in his naked and endless head,…"
Excerpts from Allen Ginsberg Howl and Other Poems. San Fancisco: City Lights Books, 1956. Part I.
30 August 2006
25 August 2006
Empty Wyoming
For those of you who were wondering.... this is what I see if I drive about 2 miles from my house. There's an antelope out there, you may have to squint to see it. With all the fires going on, it may not look the same as it did last week when I took this. I'll try for an antelope pic. There as thick as mosquitos right now, so it shouldn't be hard to photograph one. Or ten.
21 August 2006
Poetry as Performance
I've been listening to Billy Collins Live: A Performance at the Peter Norton Symphony Space, which is supposed to be an audiobook, but is basically a recording of Billy Collins reading his poems before an audience he terms "relatively enormous". Reading poetry or any literary work in public is never an easy task. It requires a set of skills I don't think many are born with. First thing is reading your audience, feeling the undercurrent to the room. The second is setting expectations. You want people to know what to look forward to with your poetry so they aren't disappointed. Last is eye contact with your audience.
Reading your audience:
You have to know what came before you on stage. If it was a musical act, it takes the audience a while to come down from that. On the plus side, they are open to rhythm and probably a little more relaxed. If you follow another poet, listen to what that poet read. Adjust accordingly. You want to be different enough to not get confused with the previous person. I still have people come up to me in Wal-Mart and say "Hey, you're the Cheese Poem Lady!" One poem about Gorgonzola cheese and I am branded forever in some people's minds. Instant connection.
Remember, your audience can only take so many poems about angst and death before they shut down. If the previous poet was somber and earnest, start with something lighter to change the mood. You can gradually lead into more serious stuff, but only when you've earned the trust of the audience. Your work is distinct, make sure the people listening know they are listening to you. Introduce yourself right up front. Try for some humor. On the days I feel obnoxious I may open with something like this- depending on the audience. "Hi, my name is C.A. Brewer, I'll be your poet tonight. Our special is a lovely filet of Shakespearean sonnet, served cold…"
Setting Expectations:
If I open with humor then the audience rightly expects me to have poems that are lighter in tone. I try and plan out my presentation including the order I read the poems, but sometimes that is all out the window depending on what came before. When I read my more personal poems, based on my growing up Italian, I try and preface the poetry by including my maiden name (Italian) and telling them why I include that name, then lead into how my life did or didn't resemble the Sopranos growing up. Since a majority of the poems have to do with food, I try and reach common ground with the audience by asking "How many of you have ever eaten Italian food? Pizza? Lasagna? Gnocchi?" By the time I get to Gnocchi, they are curious, especially if they have never heard of it. I actually had someone tell me they went out and bought Gorgonzola cheese to try after hearing my poem about it. A ripple effect I never expected.
I find the Billy Collins Audiobook a good study for how to introduce your poems, how to lead into them, and lastly, how to transition from one to the next without saying continually, "Here's one about rutabagas. Here's another about the time I was pelted with rutabagas as a child. Here's one I call Homage to Rutabagas." The audience is looking for a connection to the poet. Make it easy for them. Open up and give them a glimpse of the real you, painful as that might be. You are trying to reach an intimate level where there is the right degree of casualness to your reading, where the audience feels like they are seated at your kitchen table and you are reading just for them.
Eye Contact:
To go along with the intimacy, you must make eye contact with your audience. This has been the hardest thing for me to learn. I am afraid if I look up and see the number of people out there, I will freeze up. On occasion I have had my voice start quavering. Not a pleasant experience! I soldier on, but to help get over the initial jitters, I found employing steps one and two helped immensely. If you gain the trust of the audience, you can confess to nerves, or a headache, or dyslexia and they will be sympathetic. The quickest way to establish a small degree of intimacy is to look at people. I try to do most of my looking directly at people when I am doing my introduction. At that stage I am still gauging their reactions, ready to adjust my spiel if need be. You can't do that without making some sort of eye contact- unless you are psychic. Since the Amazing Kreskin isn't in my ancestry, I have to do it the hard way.
It helps to find the friendly faces in the audience, the one you know are fans, or at least look sympathetic and open to your situation. Mark their place in the room, because here is my torrid confession. After I start reading, I never really look directly at anyone. I give all the appearance of looking up, making eye contact with people as I read… but I don't. I look at a space about six inches over their heads. It lets individual audience members have the illusion I am looking at them, or the person behind them. I can't multitask when I'm reading. I read off of the paper, a line or two ahead, because I know if I tried to memorize my poems and perform, I would royally screw it up. Having the poem on paper in front of me is my security blanket. With that in front of me I can make eye contact, drop my gaze back to the paper, pick up the next few lines, and move on. Unlike dogs, who can take eye contact as a challenge, people hunger for contact with the object of their interest, even if it's only the Poet du Jour slotted in as a distraction at a conference or dinner. The audience won't remember what you wore (usually) or that your hands shook (sometimes), but they will remember that for a brief instant, when you spoke of poetic things, when a connection to art or artist was offered, they remember that out of all the people in the audience, you looked and spoke directly to them.
Sincerely,
The Cheese Poem Lady
Reading your audience:
You have to know what came before you on stage. If it was a musical act, it takes the audience a while to come down from that. On the plus side, they are open to rhythm and probably a little more relaxed. If you follow another poet, listen to what that poet read. Adjust accordingly. You want to be different enough to not get confused with the previous person. I still have people come up to me in Wal-Mart and say "Hey, you're the Cheese Poem Lady!" One poem about Gorgonzola cheese and I am branded forever in some people's minds. Instant connection.
Remember, your audience can only take so many poems about angst and death before they shut down. If the previous poet was somber and earnest, start with something lighter to change the mood. You can gradually lead into more serious stuff, but only when you've earned the trust of the audience. Your work is distinct, make sure the people listening know they are listening to you. Introduce yourself right up front. Try for some humor. On the days I feel obnoxious I may open with something like this- depending on the audience. "Hi, my name is C.A. Brewer, I'll be your poet tonight. Our special is a lovely filet of Shakespearean sonnet, served cold…"
Setting Expectations:
If I open with humor then the audience rightly expects me to have poems that are lighter in tone. I try and plan out my presentation including the order I read the poems, but sometimes that is all out the window depending on what came before. When I read my more personal poems, based on my growing up Italian, I try and preface the poetry by including my maiden name (Italian) and telling them why I include that name, then lead into how my life did or didn't resemble the Sopranos growing up. Since a majority of the poems have to do with food, I try and reach common ground with the audience by asking "How many of you have ever eaten Italian food? Pizza? Lasagna? Gnocchi?" By the time I get to Gnocchi, they are curious, especially if they have never heard of it. I actually had someone tell me they went out and bought Gorgonzola cheese to try after hearing my poem about it. A ripple effect I never expected.
I find the Billy Collins Audiobook a good study for how to introduce your poems, how to lead into them, and lastly, how to transition from one to the next without saying continually, "Here's one about rutabagas. Here's another about the time I was pelted with rutabagas as a child. Here's one I call Homage to Rutabagas." The audience is looking for a connection to the poet. Make it easy for them. Open up and give them a glimpse of the real you, painful as that might be. You are trying to reach an intimate level where there is the right degree of casualness to your reading, where the audience feels like they are seated at your kitchen table and you are reading just for them.
Eye Contact:
To go along with the intimacy, you must make eye contact with your audience. This has been the hardest thing for me to learn. I am afraid if I look up and see the number of people out there, I will freeze up. On occasion I have had my voice start quavering. Not a pleasant experience! I soldier on, but to help get over the initial jitters, I found employing steps one and two helped immensely. If you gain the trust of the audience, you can confess to nerves, or a headache, or dyslexia and they will be sympathetic. The quickest way to establish a small degree of intimacy is to look at people. I try to do most of my looking directly at people when I am doing my introduction. At that stage I am still gauging their reactions, ready to adjust my spiel if need be. You can't do that without making some sort of eye contact- unless you are psychic. Since the Amazing Kreskin isn't in my ancestry, I have to do it the hard way.
It helps to find the friendly faces in the audience, the one you know are fans, or at least look sympathetic and open to your situation. Mark their place in the room, because here is my torrid confession. After I start reading, I never really look directly at anyone. I give all the appearance of looking up, making eye contact with people as I read… but I don't. I look at a space about six inches over their heads. It lets individual audience members have the illusion I am looking at them, or the person behind them. I can't multitask when I'm reading. I read off of the paper, a line or two ahead, because I know if I tried to memorize my poems and perform, I would royally screw it up. Having the poem on paper in front of me is my security blanket. With that in front of me I can make eye contact, drop my gaze back to the paper, pick up the next few lines, and move on. Unlike dogs, who can take eye contact as a challenge, people hunger for contact with the object of their interest, even if it's only the Poet du Jour slotted in as a distraction at a conference or dinner. The audience won't remember what you wore (usually) or that your hands shook (sometimes), but they will remember that for a brief instant, when you spoke of poetic things, when a connection to art or artist was offered, they remember that out of all the people in the audience, you looked and spoke directly to them.
Sincerely,
The Cheese Poem Lady
15 August 2006
Poem Development, Part II: Borrowing and Stealing
Poetry has long been agreeable to the borrowing and outright theft among poets. In this perhaps it is far ahead of other forms of writing. Much is made about 'originality', but all work springs forth from the same common ground. Jane Hirshfield has some great thoughts on originality in her book Nine Gates: Entering the Mind of Poetry. She talks about how art encourages copying and reinvention, and has since its inception.
"Before the invention of photography, copying was an integral part of every visual artist's training. The purpose was not just to make exemplary works more widely available for study- in the process of making a copy, it was understood and new forms of vision could arise."
In music, "Sampling" is a valid art form- remixing older works to create something new.
-Making comes before meaning.
-Form follows function.
Years of art school are coming back to haunt me.
Theodore Roethke has perhaps the most well known essay on the subject, "How to Write Like Someone Else".
"Imitation, conscious imitation, is one of the great methods, perhaps the method of learning to write. The ancients, the Elizabethans, knew this, profited by it, and were not disturbed. … the most original poets are the most imitative… if a writer has something to say, it will come through. The very fact that he has the support of a tradition, or an older writer, will enable him to be more himself – or more than himself."
So why is writing exempt from this training ground? Is it because we expect writers to create by divine inspiration alone? Or is the slavish quest for originality a result of cultural conditioning? On one hand we say copying is stealing, on the other we reward musicians for remixing, Andy Warhol for re-envisioning. Why can't writers do the same?
Originality is an odd duck. We claim to want it, but are sanctimoniously appalled when the conventions of our society are broken or bent. We jump on the new and different bandwagon, at least long enough for it to become cliché. Then we jump to the next best thing. Perhaps it has to do with a culture of anti-intellectualism that is prevalent today. A good grounding in your craft and its history gets no respect while the shocking- and lets face it- work by the young garner accolades. It takes time for a poet to feel comfortable with his/her craft, but in our society, if you aren't a Poet Laureate by age 30, your career is over.
That's what they would like you to think.
We credit Walt Whitman with being the leader into free verse, breaking away from the pack of traditional form poets with something new and unique. There were likely others before him, but Whitman was persistent enough to change the aesthetics of the time and get away with it.
Borrowing may be making a comeback. Cento poems are poetry's version of the musical sampling. Although the Cento is from Roman times, it seems to be making a comeback of late. To create a Cento, you take a line here and there from other poets and reassemble them into a new poem. You also credit the poet and poem at the end where you pulled the lines from.
I haven't tried one yet, but I find the idea intriguing. When stuck for inspiration, I often start reading some of my favorite poet's work. A line will strike me in a certain way and I will have the makings of a poem to play with. A sequence of words will play themselves through my mind over and over. I have to think about the deep dark meaning I want to convey before I write. Sometimes the poem percolates so long I forget what my original inspiration was. I've never knowingly stole from another poets, but I definitely use them as a source of stimulation. In art, I find myself drawn to images by Rothko and Hopper and Kandinsky. I study them, play with my own versions of color and form. In the end, I paint my own painting. Homage aside, it will never be mistaken for a Rothko. I bring different experiences to the table and filter them through the lens of my own making. So it goes with poetry. Eventually, all source material all comes back out in the form of an 'original' poem of my own. Did I borrow, steal, or imitate? Probably. Is that wrong? You tell me.
"Before the invention of photography, copying was an integral part of every visual artist's training. The purpose was not just to make exemplary works more widely available for study- in the process of making a copy, it was understood and new forms of vision could arise."
In music, "Sampling" is a valid art form- remixing older works to create something new.
-Making comes before meaning.
-Form follows function.
Years of art school are coming back to haunt me.
Theodore Roethke has perhaps the most well known essay on the subject, "How to Write Like Someone Else".
"Imitation, conscious imitation, is one of the great methods, perhaps the method of learning to write. The ancients, the Elizabethans, knew this, profited by it, and were not disturbed. … the most original poets are the most imitative… if a writer has something to say, it will come through. The very fact that he has the support of a tradition, or an older writer, will enable him to be more himself – or more than himself."
So why is writing exempt from this training ground? Is it because we expect writers to create by divine inspiration alone? Or is the slavish quest for originality a result of cultural conditioning? On one hand we say copying is stealing, on the other we reward musicians for remixing, Andy Warhol for re-envisioning. Why can't writers do the same?
Originality is an odd duck. We claim to want it, but are sanctimoniously appalled when the conventions of our society are broken or bent. We jump on the new and different bandwagon, at least long enough for it to become cliché. Then we jump to the next best thing. Perhaps it has to do with a culture of anti-intellectualism that is prevalent today. A good grounding in your craft and its history gets no respect while the shocking- and lets face it- work by the young garner accolades. It takes time for a poet to feel comfortable with his/her craft, but in our society, if you aren't a Poet Laureate by age 30, your career is over.
That's what they would like you to think.
We credit Walt Whitman with being the leader into free verse, breaking away from the pack of traditional form poets with something new and unique. There were likely others before him, but Whitman was persistent enough to change the aesthetics of the time and get away with it.
Borrowing may be making a comeback. Cento poems are poetry's version of the musical sampling. Although the Cento is from Roman times, it seems to be making a comeback of late. To create a Cento, you take a line here and there from other poets and reassemble them into a new poem. You also credit the poet and poem at the end where you pulled the lines from.
I haven't tried one yet, but I find the idea intriguing. When stuck for inspiration, I often start reading some of my favorite poet's work. A line will strike me in a certain way and I will have the makings of a poem to play with. A sequence of words will play themselves through my mind over and over. I have to think about the deep dark meaning I want to convey before I write. Sometimes the poem percolates so long I forget what my original inspiration was. I've never knowingly stole from another poets, but I definitely use them as a source of stimulation. In art, I find myself drawn to images by Rothko and Hopper and Kandinsky. I study them, play with my own versions of color and form. In the end, I paint my own painting. Homage aside, it will never be mistaken for a Rothko. I bring different experiences to the table and filter them through the lens of my own making. So it goes with poetry. Eventually, all source material all comes back out in the form of an 'original' poem of my own. Did I borrow, steal, or imitate? Probably. Is that wrong? You tell me.
10 August 2006
It's All About The Socks
I'm finally getting brave enough to tackle socks. Now that Linda is back. This is not my first sock, I ripped that one out 7 times and started over, not my second sock, that one is getting its heel flap done and awaiting gusset instructions that make sense, but my third sock. Thicker yarn. I wanted to actually see and fix in my mind what the K2P2 ribbing looked like, and how to tell a knit from a purl. I think I finally got it. It was very hard to see on the other yarn, which is dark blue and fingering weight. My eyes are bad enough. This sock is also being done on my new Knit Picks needles. They are a lot pointier than my other metal needles. My finger is sore from pushing the yarn off. I'll have to retrain myself to slid the stitch off without using the tip of my finger.
This is a picture of the colorway I worked on for Linda. I named it Byzantine Necklace after the
piece that inspired the colors. The golds got away from me and turned orange, but I am pleased with the greens. I think I will try the colorway again, with more grapey color for the dark. This was done with mixes of Kool Aid dyes. Lemon Lime with a little Black Cherry for the green- it is much sageier looking in real life- Lemonade and a touch of Orange for the gold, and Grape, Black Cherry, and Ice Blue Raspberry for the wanna be purple that is really more of a maroon. Maybe next time. I also need to find a way to wind the yarn into skeins. The lid of my hamper is not long enough. Drawback to Kool Aid dyeing? The dogs wanted to lick my yarn. Eww.
07 August 2006
Engineering for Writers
"The engineer's first problem in any design situation is to discover what the problem really is."
I found this in a file of quotes I've collected over the years. It applies equally well to the craft of writing as it does to engineering. Problem: I spent the weekend struggling to get a scene down on paper. Transitional scenes at times can give me fits. I know what I wanted to write, I even knew what I wanted to bring out about the character. I just couldn't get it done. Not in under 5000 words. 5000 words seemed awfully long just to show how my main character can make the tough decisions when he has to.
I wrote. I rewrote. I changed characters in the scene. I showed what led to my main character's decision, the effect his decision had on others, and the problems it raised for the main character internally. Then I put it away, but the scene bothered me all evening. Was there a better way to show what I wanted to show about my main character?
It finally dawned on me. If the reader wasn't sure of the main character by this point, and what his course of action should be, then I had done something wrong with the initial introduction of my main character. Midway through the book, we should know him, and know his reactions. My engineering problem wasn't with the structure of the scene, it was that I didn't need the scene at all.
The scene was tense, there was action, plenty of dialogue, it was a good scene. But it was unnecessary. Better to chop it now, than edit it out later, or worse, be told to edit it out. I should know these things by now. I was so caught up in what my character wanted to tell, I forgot to take charge and tell him, "No." At first I was miffed I just wasted the entire weekend writing a useless scene, until I realized I had the scene in my head now, and the aftereffects on his friends and colleagues could still be played out with just a throwaway paragraph about my hero's character building episode. Hopefully, I can start examining scenes I plan to write with a more critical eye.
"Is this scene totally necessary?"
"Will this scene keep the story moving forward?"
"Is this scene just character ego gratification?"
"If I chop this scene, will it leave a gap in my novel?"
Brewer's 3rd Rule of Combat Engineer Writing. Figure out the real problem with a scene before you write it.
Engineering. It's not just for bridges anymore.
I found this in a file of quotes I've collected over the years. It applies equally well to the craft of writing as it does to engineering. Problem: I spent the weekend struggling to get a scene down on paper. Transitional scenes at times can give me fits. I know what I wanted to write, I even knew what I wanted to bring out about the character. I just couldn't get it done. Not in under 5000 words. 5000 words seemed awfully long just to show how my main character can make the tough decisions when he has to.
I wrote. I rewrote. I changed characters in the scene. I showed what led to my main character's decision, the effect his decision had on others, and the problems it raised for the main character internally. Then I put it away, but the scene bothered me all evening. Was there a better way to show what I wanted to show about my main character?
It finally dawned on me. If the reader wasn't sure of the main character by this point, and what his course of action should be, then I had done something wrong with the initial introduction of my main character. Midway through the book, we should know him, and know his reactions. My engineering problem wasn't with the structure of the scene, it was that I didn't need the scene at all.
The scene was tense, there was action, plenty of dialogue, it was a good scene. But it was unnecessary. Better to chop it now, than edit it out later, or worse, be told to edit it out. I should know these things by now. I was so caught up in what my character wanted to tell, I forgot to take charge and tell him, "No." At first I was miffed I just wasted the entire weekend writing a useless scene, until I realized I had the scene in my head now, and the aftereffects on his friends and colleagues could still be played out with just a throwaway paragraph about my hero's character building episode. Hopefully, I can start examining scenes I plan to write with a more critical eye.
"Is this scene totally necessary?"
"Will this scene keep the story moving forward?"
"Is this scene just character ego gratification?"
"If I chop this scene, will it leave a gap in my novel?"
Brewer's 3rd Rule of Combat Engineer Writing. Figure out the real problem with a scene before you write it.
Engineering. It's not just for bridges anymore.
02 August 2006
New Historical Fiction Book
Historical Ficton Author Scott Oden's new book, Memnon, hits the stores today. It tells the story of Memnon of Rhodes, a Greek mercenary serving Persia during the time of Alexander the Great. Memnon contracts with King Darius of Persia to get rid of that pesky Alexander. If you like biographical fiction, this promises to be a good tale.Scott is also the author of Men of Bronze, a novel of ancient Egypt.
Surf on over to Scott's Blog for some insight on his writing process.
Congratulations Scott!
01 August 2006
Poem Development - Part I: Research, It's Not Just For Scientists Anymore.
Earlier I talked about where I got my ideas. This time I am going to show how my basic idea is developed into a poem.
I was thinking on my military background and the fact that my father and grandfather also served in the military- same branch, same specialty. So there is a line of Army engineers in my family. I wanted to write a poem about that. My first step is to decide what the poem is to be about. Is it about me? Is it about my father or grandfather? Is it about my family in general? Engineering? Since poetry is a very Me-centric occupation, I decided to write it in the first person, as a commentary.
The next thing I look for is any underlying themes I want to develop. Is there something I want to say about the military, engineering, my family, or all three? I decided the thrust of my poem was my relationship with the other engineers in the family. What was the one thing we all had in common besides engineering? Bridges.
I wrote the first draft, trying to get the essentials of what I had to say down. A little while later I went back to the poem and looked at it, rearranged the order of the words. The basics were there, but it was dull as dishwater. I did some research on World War Two and which bridges were blown up by invading American forces. Quite a few of them it turns out. I had to dig into my memory of where my grandfather had been at least during part of WWII. I remembered Cologne, and the Rhine. So I read about different Allied exercises concentrated around the Rhine river. There were a lot of them, too. I found the right years, read some more. Now I had a picture of what went on during my grandfather's time during WWII as an engineer.
Next I turned to post war information. My father served during the Korean War, but he was stationed in Germany. I remembered his unit, and looked up information on them and on the types of bridges that were being built at that time.
Last, I examined my own experiences. I had to hit the Internet to find the precise type of mobile bridge we used during my service – hey, it's been a while… Once I had all the above information, I pulled the poem back out and began to rework it. I knew I wanted a lead in, then a sequence from grandfather to father to me, so that is how I structured it. I also knew I wanted a conclusion that played on engineering terminology, but could have dual meaning. I crafted the poem, and put it aside again.
The next day I pulled the poem out and looked at it with fresh eyes. I smoothed the language, attended to grammar and punctuation, flipped a thought around for emphasis, then called it done. For now. I pondered my title. Titles are very important to me, and I do not take them lightly (A subject for a later essay perhaps). I left the one word title as is for now. If I come upon a phrase or idea that better fits what I am trying to express in the poem, I will change it. The poem needs to sit a while. I need time away to gain fresh perspective, and to let the research I did percolate in case some other idea rises to the surface.
Next - Poem Development - Part II: Borrowing and Stealing
I was thinking on my military background and the fact that my father and grandfather also served in the military- same branch, same specialty. So there is a line of Army engineers in my family. I wanted to write a poem about that. My first step is to decide what the poem is to be about. Is it about me? Is it about my father or grandfather? Is it about my family in general? Engineering? Since poetry is a very Me-centric occupation, I decided to write it in the first person, as a commentary.
The next thing I look for is any underlying themes I want to develop. Is there something I want to say about the military, engineering, my family, or all three? I decided the thrust of my poem was my relationship with the other engineers in the family. What was the one thing we all had in common besides engineering? Bridges.
I wrote the first draft, trying to get the essentials of what I had to say down. A little while later I went back to the poem and looked at it, rearranged the order of the words. The basics were there, but it was dull as dishwater. I did some research on World War Two and which bridges were blown up by invading American forces. Quite a few of them it turns out. I had to dig into my memory of where my grandfather had been at least during part of WWII. I remembered Cologne, and the Rhine. So I read about different Allied exercises concentrated around the Rhine river. There were a lot of them, too. I found the right years, read some more. Now I had a picture of what went on during my grandfather's time during WWII as an engineer.
Next I turned to post war information. My father served during the Korean War, but he was stationed in Germany. I remembered his unit, and looked up information on them and on the types of bridges that were being built at that time.
Last, I examined my own experiences. I had to hit the Internet to find the precise type of mobile bridge we used during my service – hey, it's been a while… Once I had all the above information, I pulled the poem back out and began to rework it. I knew I wanted a lead in, then a sequence from grandfather to father to me, so that is how I structured it. I also knew I wanted a conclusion that played on engineering terminology, but could have dual meaning. I crafted the poem, and put it aside again.
The next day I pulled the poem out and looked at it with fresh eyes. I smoothed the language, attended to grammar and punctuation, flipped a thought around for emphasis, then called it done. For now. I pondered my title. Titles are very important to me, and I do not take them lightly (A subject for a later essay perhaps). I left the one word title as is for now. If I come upon a phrase or idea that better fits what I am trying to express in the poem, I will change it. The poem needs to sit a while. I need time away to gain fresh perspective, and to let the research I did percolate in case some other idea rises to the surface.
Next - Poem Development - Part II: Borrowing and Stealing
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