Poetry's got back
Aug. 9th, 2008 11:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
danaerisPoetry is expression. Poetry is raw emotion as expressed by words. It may be explicit or implicit, naked or hidden, but the expression is pure.
Once, I expressed myself so often that the muse would take me randomly, unexpectedly, and have her way with me. I'd be helpless to do anything but grab a pen and paper and scribble furiously until she left me, her seed spilled all over the paper.
Language kept me sane. When I needed release, I expressed myself with words. In metaphor and analogy, in plain, blunt words and in fictional verses that paralleled my feeling but not my reality. And when I needed escape, I read stories of far off lands that gripped me with import so urgent that my troubles fell away.
But, the more fool I, I left all that behind. With fears of technique, with attempts to learn new tools, poetry became a skill, a vocation, rather than a way to bleed out my deadly humours before they festered and choked me. I set aside my books because they distracted me from what had to be done, and in so doing lost a retreat I didn't realize I'd had.
At Kaleidoscope this year, I curled up at the feet of a kindred soul, an artist, poet, musician, and teacher. He created for us a haven to write and share poetry without being judged. And for a short while, the floodgates opened. I wrote, I cried, sweated, and bled into words, onto paper.
Gods, it was good. Gods, it felt good. Gods, I'd love to do it again.
welcomingsong was there and expressed a willingness to do it again sometime. Anyone else interested?
Here's what I'm imagining:
-no regular meeting time -- we meet when it is convenient for us
-we meet somewhere in Toronto, TTC accessible
-we each bring an exercise on a slip of paper, and we pick them out of a hat until we're tired for the night
-we are encouraged but not expected or pressured to read what we've written
-The space MUST be non-judgemental. This is not a space for workshop-ing a piece, for getting constructive criticism. This is a place for safe self-expression.
-not sure if there should be a cap on attendees -- we could always split into groups for reading our stuff, or something like that
Any takers? I'm figuring if nothing else we could meet in early September.
Once, I expressed myself so often that the muse would take me randomly, unexpectedly, and have her way with me. I'd be helpless to do anything but grab a pen and paper and scribble furiously until she left me, her seed spilled all over the paper.
Language kept me sane. When I needed release, I expressed myself with words. In metaphor and analogy, in plain, blunt words and in fictional verses that paralleled my feeling but not my reality. And when I needed escape, I read stories of far off lands that gripped me with import so urgent that my troubles fell away.
But, the more fool I, I left all that behind. With fears of technique, with attempts to learn new tools, poetry became a skill, a vocation, rather than a way to bleed out my deadly humours before they festered and choked me. I set aside my books because they distracted me from what had to be done, and in so doing lost a retreat I didn't realize I'd had.
At Kaleidoscope this year, I curled up at the feet of a kindred soul, an artist, poet, musician, and teacher. He created for us a haven to write and share poetry without being judged. And for a short while, the floodgates opened. I wrote, I cried, sweated, and bled into words, onto paper.
Gods, it was good. Gods, it felt good. Gods, I'd love to do it again.
welcomingsong was there and expressed a willingness to do it again sometime. Anyone else interested?Here's what I'm imagining:
-no regular meeting time -- we meet when it is convenient for us
-we meet somewhere in Toronto, TTC accessible
-we each bring an exercise on a slip of paper, and we pick them out of a hat until we're tired for the night
-we are encouraged but not expected or pressured to read what we've written
-The space MUST be non-judgemental. This is not a space for workshop-ing a piece, for getting constructive criticism. This is a place for safe self-expression.
-not sure if there should be a cap on attendees -- we could always split into groups for reading our stuff, or something like that
Any takers? I'm figuring if nothing else we could meet in early September.
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no subject
Date: 2008-08-13 04:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-08-13 03:12 pm (UTC)I'd love to get together. I can't offer crash space as I'm living with my parental units in Hamilton right now (about as far as San Jose), but I'm in the city all the time for classes. Toss me an email with exact dates and we can make plans.
*sends lots of hugs and snuggles*
no subject
Date: 2008-08-13 04:43 am (UTC)Moop!
no subject
Date: 2008-08-13 03:10 pm (UTC)