Creative writing, blogging, & networking

This is round two, for me, of using blogger in a creative writing class. Round one failed miserably because I offered the option to blog. You all get no such option. You MUST blog and blog frequently.

So, what should you write about? That's a fine question...and one I don't have a finite set of answers for. Write about writing. I'll get you going with the first two posts, which will carry us through to week two.

Blog post #1

Write about why you're taking ENGL 2116. Explain what you hope to get out of this experience. Set five goals for yourself. For example, I might set these:

1. Write 10 new poems this semester. That's about one poem every week and a half. That's not going to yield a brand new manuscript, but it could definitely bolster the one I already have.  
2. Revise my manuscript. I've got a bunch of poems, many of them published previously, and I've done anything with them. Remember, writing is meant to be read. Those poems are doing me no good sitting in a folder on my computer. 
3. Read two new poetry collections. I might ask some folks on Twitter what new books I should read. I always feel like my friends read way more than I do--at least when it comes to literature. I'm always busy reading for my dissertation or reading to grade papers that I feel like I forget what it's like to get lost (in a good way) in a book of poems. 
4. Find a new short story author to read. I'm guilty of not trying new things often enough. My favorite short story writer is Ron Carlson. A Kind of Flying (2003) is one of my favorite books--ever! But I know there are other writers out there and that I should be reading and celebrating / sharing their works too. 
5. Write up the first scene of that film adaptation I mentioned in class on Monday. I don't need to write the whole thing out, but I need to get the first scene (and maybe an outline) "on paper" before my ADD kicks in...again...

So, those are my five goals. You all have to help me keep them. Ask me, periodically, how many poems I've written since classes began. Give me the disappointed, sad headshake walk-away if I'm not making progress. 

Blog Post #2

For this post, I want to introduce you to a couple of websites that I think might help you broaden your network. Feel free to write about anything on these sites, but give us a link to a specific page (poem, essay, story, etc.) whenever possible.

Poetry Daily  (Read this poem, from A. E. Stallings, "The Companions of Odysseus in Hades")

Verse Daily (Read the poem for 8/18: "Body and Soul" by B. H. Fairchild)


Academy of American Poets (check out this essay: "Unlearning to Write" by Ron Silliman)

I picked the first poem for James, since he brought up formal poetry in class. Stallings is a master with forms, meter, and the technical components. But she's also really great with the content. Sometimes, that's a hard balance to strike--or maybe that's just my failure as a writer. I remember reading Stallings for the first time, in college, and being in awe of how the words were familiar yet completely foreign to me in the syntax she'd arranged.

The second poem is from Pete Fairchild. I love his work. The Art of the Lathe is one of my favorite books because of how well it captures this sort of vulnerable-but-not-weak sense of masculinity in the late 20th, early 21st century. There's this sort of visceral quality in his work that is balanced with this very cerebral intellect--like the words only work because they're being used to talk about these very common but essential elements of life.

The third link is an essay that I thought might give us something to talk about in class next week (Monday 8/25). I'll leave it at that.

Go find something that interests you on one of these three sites and write about it. Post your blog and then tweet the post using the #ghc2116 hashtag.