The word “experimental” attracts me. I am interested in deviation (and I enjoy the sense of science [and thus procedure] that can come with the word). I would say that I am interested in reading (and writing) the experimental. But as with “beauty,” “experimental” can be primarily subjective. I wish to advocate use of the […]
Comparison and Transformation (A Lesson Plan)
May 31, 2014 by
Overall objective: move from comparing nouns (as done by simile and metaphor) to transforming nouns by use of a well-chosen verb that seems to augment the usual abilities of that noun. Level 1: The Simile (approximate time: 5 minutes) Explain definition (relating a noun to another noun through the use of “like” or “as”). Show […]
Why making constraint-based erasures can be good for children
February 5, 2014 by
In a previous post, I discussed my procedure in introducing some upper elementary children to constraint-based erasure poetry. I think that, besides the benefits of creating poetry lateral to the self, this type of engagement with books may be doubly beneficial for children (or any learner). A constraint-based erasure can be done with any text; […]
The first time I led a Poetry Workshop
February 5, 2014 by
Last month, I led my first poetry workshop. The focus was neither revision nor editing. The focus was on beginning and writing a poem, specifically the genesis of a poem with the use of a source text—a generation I managed to explore with a group of children. I was welcomed to engage with the upper […]
When writing of Place, consider various meanings of the term “Location”
December 30, 2013 by
I think writing of place should explore location in as many senses of the word as possible. Geographic location: the urban, the landscape, with the entrance of wildlife and domestic animals if accurate. Location in time: beginnings, endings, in-betweens, and memory’s effect in urging recontextualizing. Location relative to another person: understandings and misperceptions, intimacies and […]
A Brief Statement on the Desire for Risk
December 30, 2013 by
Below is a “bias statement” written in the beginning of the Fall 2013 semester. … Dislikes. I dislike it when a poem does not seem to engage in any risks. That is, when it looks, smells, tastes, feels like what readers expect from typical poem-ness. When it uses phrases that sound like something easily said […]
To read what averts or what attracts?
September 30, 2013 by
[Originally written in June 2013] The simple answer is: do both. But with an emphasis on reading what attracts until it doesn’t attract any more. Once what attracts begins to sound the same—once you feel like a genre/subgenre/writer/work becomes monotone, move on…if your enthusiasm brought you enough motivation to reach the point of feeling exhaustion […]
The pleasures of the ’Pataphysical novel: The Exploits & Opinions of Dr. Faustroll, Pataphysician
September 30, 2013 by
My previous post on this subject focused on The Supermale. I had mentioned Opinions of Dr. Faustroll, Pataphysician, and now I’ll discuss the pleasures of its overt ’pataphysicality. Regarding Dr. Faustroll himself: Doctor Faustroll was sixty-three years old when he was born in Circassia in 1898 (the 20th Century was [-2] years old). Anomalies are […]
The pleasures of the ’Pataphysical novel: The Supermale
September 30, 2013 by
In a previous post, I considered what makes fiction a page-turner and how a page-turner often is richer in plot than language. But there is another factor I want to mention: the value of a novel creating its own system of reality. In other words, its own metaphysics. In still more other words, perhaps its […]
Why you should know of ’Pataphysics, Part 1
May 30, 2013 by
Because we think of definitions as a form of knowledge, I suppose I should tell you what ’pataphysics is defined as if I am to construct premises that ultimately answer this post’s title. Whew. Well, in ‘Pataphysics: A Useless Guide, Andrew Hugill says: To understand pataphysics is to fail to understand pataphysics. To define it […]