Year of Poetry - Update Month 7

How's the Serenity?

This week, being week one of my holidays, I almost felt at a loss with all the time available for writing.  And it shows in the doubling of writing time below.

I managed to drive in to town (Adelaide) this week on this mistaken notion that Friendly Street Poet's would be on ( got my dates wrong) and endured the winter's windiest and coldest day ie 6 degrees and Police warning people to stay off the roads.

Still, not all was lost as I picked up a couple of remaindered poetry books and some new releases - Ellen Van Neerven's Comfort Food and Kathryn Hummel's Poems from Here ( okay this one's 2014 but I have been informed it's gone into a second printing).


The Writing

The writing week began with working over an idea that's been niggling at me, although on reflection, I think it's an idea that I have thought "I should write a poem about that" an indication after spending too many hours trying to force the idea through, that now is not its time.  

So after a 30 minute crack at this idea, I returned to an earlier note about life in Alice Springs and bingo, a draft popped out and by the next writing session it was sitting at first version stage.  

At a loss again for what to write about, I returned to working over that niggling idea. Seven pages of word soup later (even after a tickle of inspiration) my head was sore from the metaphorical head-desking.  

Cue an early morning breakfast conversation about the lack of diversity in Australian teen soap opera and an image from my windy drive into town and I had a poem finished to first version stage in a day.

I am finding a lot of this poeting business is learning how to hack your own thinking.

The Study

Mary Ruefle's, Madness Rack and Honey turned up on Monday and I have made my way through the first couple of chapters - On Beginnings, Sentimentality and Theme.  The book's not quite what I expected, idiosyncratic is one way of describing it. 

Generally speaking if I were to read a chapter about  beginnings I'd expect the writer to be working very succinctly, very directly toward a point they want to get across.  I find Ruefle gloriously indirect and meta at times.  

There's a point but she takes you on a fascinating journey to get there.


Close Reading

This week I finished John Brehm's, When My Car Broke Down. and Kathyrn Hummel's Last Drinks Adelaide II

For the Statbadgers:


Total time: 16:31 (340:36) hrs


poem writing = 9.15 (150:36) hrs

close reading = 3:09(71:21) hrs

technique/theory 3:06(78:44) hrs

reflection = 1:01(27:02) hrs



Poetry written:

2(29) poems completed


14 poems in draft


1 poem abandoned


1 poem facing execution at dawn



Poems Submitted:


0(16 in total) poems



Poems Published:


0(8) poem



Live Performances:
0(2)



Rejections:



0(8) poems