There Goes the Top of My Head
"There Goes the Top of My Head" - a paraphrase of Emily Dickinson’s criteria for recognizing a true poem. Although I've left older posts here about all sorts of topic, for the foreseeable future, this will be my repository for anything literary: book reviews / reactions, writing journal, and any topics related to editing or writing poetry or fiction.
Wednesday, January 11, 2023
Ironic?
Tuesday, January 10, 2023
Why Do I Need a Life of Letters?
What does give me a sense of accomplishment and the feeling I am using my life in a worthwhile fashion is writing, more specifically “having written.” There’s something about the process of putting together words to express something that quiets my feeling of inadequacy. Maybe I can say writing helps me to feel as if I’m not wasting the precious time of my life. I am doing something constructive and creative. I am creating something that did not previously exist. When the creative juices are flowing and I perceive that I’m writing something special and surprising, it is the best feeling ever. It’s like what I imagine it would be like to have superpower. Writing well is when I feel most God-like, in the sense I am creating new life and new worlds from words.
As well as I know myself I can say, it’s not so much producing writing that impacts others and the world so much as it is the active practice and discipline of scribbling in my notebook. Once I did dream of producing popular books, of going into a random bookstore and seeing my name on the spine of my latest work. But for my life now, the goal is quieter, simpler, more for my sense of meaning and purpose rather than the consumption of others. I simply feel good when I have written. I feel great when I write regularly. And, when the opposite happens, when I allow writing to be squeezed out by the business of other pursuits, that’s when I feel like a failure. To look back on a month, a season, a year or more without writing is to want to lay down and die. For vitality and a sense of purpose in my life, I need writing.
Saturday, January 07, 2023
Routine Writing
Friday, January 06, 2023
Photo Prompts
Thursday, January 05, 2023
Slavery
In the novel The Mountain in the Sea, the plight of characters Son and Eiko, slaves trapped on an AI run fishing ship, have deeply disturbed me. What novelist Ray Nayler has demonstrated in their story is that anyone, no matter race, nationality, or resources, can be abducted, isolated, and enslaved. The use of drugs in kidnapping and the use of technology to evade detection makes anyone vulnerable to being used as free labor in whatever the business. Son and Eiko remind me about human trafficking which happens all around us, under the radar. I'm reminded there are people silently suffering with no hope of rescue or escape. They also have no choice whatsoever in how to live and be. What helplessness they must feel.
This leads me to think about the slavery of black people in America. I want to shelter my emotions from too much exposure to their afflictions. I would rather ignore how their suffering continues to impact our nation today. Yet I know I must choose to look directly at their affliction and imaginatively see and experience through their eyes. I'm making a commitment to myself to visit The Legacy Museum: From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration in Montgomery within the next month. I know this will be a painful experience, but I do believe it is my calling to live out the character of my God who is afflicted as we are afflicted, who weeps with us in our suffering. There is nothing godlier I can do than to expose myself to the pain of other people's suffering.
Wednesday, January 04, 2023
Imaginative Empathy
I'm currently reading a sci-fi book entitled The Mountain in the Sea which deals with Artificial Intelligence and efforts to communicate with a non-human lifeform. One of the major themes is about longing for connection and the difficulties of communication. The characters have gotten me thinking about my own level of empathy for others, a crucial ingredient for connection and communication. In the novel there's a guy who has been kidnapped and enslaved. As he is forced to work with other slaves, he realizes how he has never cared too much about other people. He's only cared about himself. In the midst of his slavery, he starts to listen and actually pay attention to his fellow slaves, where they came from, what they are thinking, and how they are feeling.
All this has stimulated the observation that I too need to grow in that area. Wouldn't it be wonderful if I imaginatively explored the plights and conditions of others through poetry and writing? It not only would offer the potential of interesting writing, but it would also aid me in developing greater empathy for others. I need to get reacquainted with poets like Norman Dubie who excel at monologues from the point of view of other people, including historical figures.
Friends working in a soup kitchen |
Lastly, allow me to note that I decided yesterday to adopt the practice of 20 minutes of writing daily. Part of the commitment includes doing this writing no matter what the circumstances of my surroundings or the distractions of tasks, guests, travel, or illness. What I'm aiming for is the discipline of writing no matter what else is going on. It seems an achievable goal which could conceivably lead to a good habit.
Tuesday, January 03, 2023
My Creative Journal
Starting today I will be posting here more regularly on the topic of my creative efforts and my exploration of aspects of writing and stimulating creativity. My aim here is to keep a running journal of what works for me and what doesn't. Also to document my thought process as I strive to reactivate my muse and search for ways to get back to the pleasure of imagining and creating new worlds, whether they be worlds of language or story.
This week I am committed to spending a bit of time on nailing down my aspirations for 2023. My biggest hope is to improve at balancing my time and efforts. I have a tendency to get single-minded about tasks, tenaciously spending an excessive number of hours on one thing to the detriment of everything else. Often that's either seminary or occupation related. I'm obsessively focused on being responsible. While it is good to be concentrated on important and purposeful things, I need to develop the disciple of setting aside other things in order to fit in things I aspire to do.
My other weakness is succumbing to timewasters, especially scrolling through Facebook or looking up the latest news or gossip on Doctor Who, Marvel movies, or Star Trek. My goal is to set aside those mind-numbing sessions of yielding to click-bait. Time is limited in this life, and there are so many other edifying options.
If you know me and you happen to find this post, please say a prayer for me, and I also invite you to check-in and hold me accountable for my aspirations. Drop me a line and say something like, "Keith, did you write today?" Thanks in advance.