What I want to remember:
"A poem can be said to have two subjects, the
initiating or triggering subject, which starts the poem or 'causes' the poem to
be written, and the real or generated subject, which the poem comes to say or
mean.... [discovery]. C1, P4
"Once you have a certain amount of
accumulated technique, you can forget it in the act of writing. Those moves
that are naturally yours will stay with you and will come forth mysteriously
when needed." C2, P17 [I've tried calling it training the
unconscious/subconscious parts of the brain. And yes, they will be there when
you need them.]
"No semicolons. Semicolons indicate
relationships that only idiots need defined by punctuation. Besides, they are
ugly." C5, p40 [:)
Nuts and Bolts, chapter 5, was my favorite chapter.
Chapter 4, page 30, gives us the writing exercise
from Hell. Hugo goes on to insist it often got his students to produce their
best work.
Other quotes worth remembering:
"You are someone and you have a right to your
life." C6, P65
"Writing is a way of saying you and the world
have a chance. All art is failure." C7, P72 [Don't be so hard on yourself.]
I found this little book helpful for those
occasions when I pretend to be a poet. It's useful for the other times as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment