NPR's All Things Considered has a new project called "Newspoet": once a month they will invite a poet to spend the day with them; their guest poet will finish that visit by writing a poem about the day's news. The inaugural poet was Tracy K. Smith (great choice!) who wrote about Nigerian women fleeing the violence that resulted from attacks by a radical Muslim sect in the northern part of their country.
Listen to an interview with Tracy K. Smith about her process of culling a poem from the day's news, and hear or read the project's first completed poem at the link above. You can also read the article that inspired Smith.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Armantrout on PBS
Rae Armantrout was recently featured on PBS's NewsHour Poetry Series, with an interview and a reading you can stream at this link. One of the more intriguing things she says is that what an artist brings to society is the urge to not compartmentalize, but to bring disparate elements together. She cites this as a function of metaphor, among other things. She also discusses self-censorship and her tendency not to keep the personal out of her poetry, despite the fact that many readers perceive language poetry as impersonal.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Happy Anniversary to this Blog
I started blogging exactly one year ago today, so it's my blog's birthday, or anniversary, or something.
In the past year, I've had over 20,000 hits, though for the life of me I can't figure out why or who.
However, my life is heading for some big changes. As of February, I am going back go school part-time, online, to prepare for some of the challenges facing my family. I'm not sure how much time my studies will take, but I know my days will be stretched in a myriad of new ways. Additionally, my sons' activities will double their number of meetings per week starting from the second week in February, further filling up my schedule. Plus my part-time jobs and all. Oh, and last month I started volunteering a couple of days a month.
Basicallly, I suspect that I will be posting less often. And I've been requested to include more information in this blog about my life in Japan, so I am thinking about how to manage that. Anyway, things will be changing.
I hope you'll all continue to check in with me now and again, and I'll try to be here, who knows how often. Thanks for your support thus far.
In the past year, I've had over 20,000 hits, though for the life of me I can't figure out why or who.
However, my life is heading for some big changes. As of February, I am going back go school part-time, online, to prepare for some of the challenges facing my family. I'm not sure how much time my studies will take, but I know my days will be stretched in a myriad of new ways. Additionally, my sons' activities will double their number of meetings per week starting from the second week in February, further filling up my schedule. Plus my part-time jobs and all. Oh, and last month I started volunteering a couple of days a month.
Basicallly, I suspect that I will be posting less often. And I've been requested to include more information in this blog about my life in Japan, so I am thinking about how to manage that. Anyway, things will be changing.
I hope you'll all continue to check in with me now and again, and I'll try to be here, who knows how often. Thanks for your support thus far.
Friday, January 27, 2012
The Joy of Repetition
So in my explorations of UbuWeb this past week, I came across a recording called "Via," made by British poet Caroline Bergvall, in which she reads 55 different translations of the opening verse of Dante's Inferno (you know the one: the first version Bergvall reads is by Dale (1996), "Along the journey of our life, halfway, I found myself again in a dark wood, wherein the straight road no longer lay.") The subtle yet significant differences of the 55 various translations, read successively, is mesmerizing.
This got me to thinking again about the effects of repetition. Actually it had been on my mind all month because of the use of it, to varying effect, in two of the volumes of poetry I read recently.
First, in Butterfly Valley by Inger Christensen, I was entranced by the repetition in the piece called "Watersteps," in which five fountains in Italy are described one time each in seven different sections (for a total of 35 descriptions of the five fountains.) The descriptions are parallel in each section.
For example, in the first section, each fountain is described in its own subsection in five couplets. The first couplet of each fountain's description contains information about when the fountain was built and who the designer was, among other details. The second couplet gives a very brief description of the fountain. The third couplet describes where the voice in the poem is in relation to the fountain while describing it. The fourth couplet introduces a red Jaguar into the scene, a car which reappears in every section. The final couplet describes what light is reflecting off of in the scene.
If all that repetition in detail isn't enchanting enough, the second section starts with its descriptions of the same five fountains in five subsections of five stanzas each, and each stanza not only refers content-wise to the other stanzas in the section, but there is also echoing from the previous section. The effect is that, if you read the description of the second fountain from the first section, and then read the description of the first fountain in the second section, you can reasonably guess what kind of information and detail will be included in the second stanza of the second section to describe the second fountain. Not word for word, of course, but you can predict the content, and that anticipation and its realization are deeply satisfying.
And it just gets more recursive as you go through all seven sections, with the red Jaguar reappearing, the fountain architects showing up again and again, the light reflecting of this object and that, and the sections building on one another so that the reader's expectations build and build. In fact, although one might expect this amount of repetition to be dull, in fact the reality is quite the opposite: it's thrilling to anticipate. I found myself holding my breath a number of times through the reading.
The other book I read recently using repetition as a formal element was H. L. Hix's Chromatics. In particular, there is a long piece called "The Well-Tempered Clavier" containing a succession of shorter pieces titled by using the following template, "Prelude and Fugue No. X in (Key)"; for example the first piece is "Prelude and Fugue No. 1 in C."
Obviously you expect repetition in a fugue, and you get it here. And while the word choices are, as usual with Hix, gorgeously precise, the effect of the repetition is not, for me at least in most of its instances, particularly useful. In fact, in a few cases it is merely annoying, sounding almost like filler. (By the way, I'd like to reassure you that I am a big fan of Hix, and find much to like in this book, but just don't find the fugue structure as interesting as I'd expected to. This book was actually a finalist for the National Book Awards; to see a more complete representation of the book and a sample poem, see the NBA website.)
So what is the difference? When is repetition useful (evocative, or joyous even) and when is it not, especially formal repetition? I probably shouldn't be attempting to blog about this yet, because I haven't got a definitive answer. But it seems to me that at the least, repetition as a pattern should build an expectation in the reader. And while Hix does repeat, he does so in a scattershot way that is not satisfying to me. But which another reader might find very pleasing while simultaneously finding Christensen's predictable use of recursion to be overdone, overbearing even.
I suppose it's a matter of temperment. And today my preference shows.
This got me to thinking again about the effects of repetition. Actually it had been on my mind all month because of the use of it, to varying effect, in two of the volumes of poetry I read recently.
First, in Butterfly Valley by Inger Christensen, I was entranced by the repetition in the piece called "Watersteps," in which five fountains in Italy are described one time each in seven different sections (for a total of 35 descriptions of the five fountains.) The descriptions are parallel in each section.
For example, in the first section, each fountain is described in its own subsection in five couplets. The first couplet of each fountain's description contains information about when the fountain was built and who the designer was, among other details. The second couplet gives a very brief description of the fountain. The third couplet describes where the voice in the poem is in relation to the fountain while describing it. The fourth couplet introduces a red Jaguar into the scene, a car which reappears in every section. The final couplet describes what light is reflecting off of in the scene.
If all that repetition in detail isn't enchanting enough, the second section starts with its descriptions of the same five fountains in five subsections of five stanzas each, and each stanza not only refers content-wise to the other stanzas in the section, but there is also echoing from the previous section. The effect is that, if you read the description of the second fountain from the first section, and then read the description of the first fountain in the second section, you can reasonably guess what kind of information and detail will be included in the second stanza of the second section to describe the second fountain. Not word for word, of course, but you can predict the content, and that anticipation and its realization are deeply satisfying.
And it just gets more recursive as you go through all seven sections, with the red Jaguar reappearing, the fountain architects showing up again and again, the light reflecting of this object and that, and the sections building on one another so that the reader's expectations build and build. In fact, although one might expect this amount of repetition to be dull, in fact the reality is quite the opposite: it's thrilling to anticipate. I found myself holding my breath a number of times through the reading.
The other book I read recently using repetition as a formal element was H. L. Hix's Chromatics. In particular, there is a long piece called "The Well-Tempered Clavier" containing a succession of shorter pieces titled by using the following template, "Prelude and Fugue No. X in (Key)"; for example the first piece is "Prelude and Fugue No. 1 in C."
Obviously you expect repetition in a fugue, and you get it here. And while the word choices are, as usual with Hix, gorgeously precise, the effect of the repetition is not, for me at least in most of its instances, particularly useful. In fact, in a few cases it is merely annoying, sounding almost like filler. (By the way, I'd like to reassure you that I am a big fan of Hix, and find much to like in this book, but just don't find the fugue structure as interesting as I'd expected to. This book was actually a finalist for the National Book Awards; to see a more complete representation of the book and a sample poem, see the NBA website.)
So what is the difference? When is repetition useful (evocative, or joyous even) and when is it not, especially formal repetition? I probably shouldn't be attempting to blog about this yet, because I haven't got a definitive answer. But it seems to me that at the least, repetition as a pattern should build an expectation in the reader. And while Hix does repeat, he does so in a scattershot way that is not satisfying to me. But which another reader might find very pleasing while simultaneously finding Christensen's predictable use of recursion to be overdone, overbearing even.
I suppose it's a matter of temperment. And today my preference shows.
JWC 2012
The 2012 Japan Writers Conference will be held November 10th and 11th in Kyoto. Below see the announcement and the call for proposals. I have deleted the contact information of the organizers, but if you wish to contact either of them to submit a proposal, please contact me directly and I will give you that information.
The official announcement begins now:
**********
This year the Japan Writers Conference will return to Kyoto and the beautiful Imadegawa campus of Doshisha Women’s College. It will take place on November 10th and 11th, 2012. Please mark your calendar and plan to join us. This will be the sixth conference and while each has had its own special flavor, all have been successes in the eyes of the attendees.
This is also a call for presentation proposals. All published writers, translators, editors, agents and publishers who would like to lead a session are invited to submit proposals. Those who have presented at past conferences are (of course) welcome to submit new proposals. But we especially encourage proposals from new submitters. One of the strengths of the past Conferences has been variety, and the best way to foster variety is to feature new presenters each year.
Please forward this to any friend or colleague who might be interested. If you know someone the conference organizers might approach—either living in Japan or planning to visit Japan next autumn—please send us your suggestion. If you have contact information, that would be a great help.
Detailed information follows, but briefly, a proposal needs to include a brief bio, including some publication credits, the type of presentation you wish to make, a title, a summery of 50 words, a longer abstract (150 words) and any special requests you might have. Standard sessions are fifty minutes long, but if you have something special in mind, please let us know and we will accommodate if possible.
Presentations on all genres and all aspects of writing and publishing are welcome. The deadline for presentation proposals is June 1, 2012.
It would also be good to have one more face/voice/body involved with the organization and operation of the Conference on an on-going basis. If you’re interested, please drop John and Bern an email. Our addresses are below.
As in the past, the Conference will be free and open to all who wish to attend. This is possible because all the presenters and organizing staff volunteer their time and talent, and the use of the site is donated by the hosting institution. As a result, the Conference cannot offer any payment, reimbursement, lodging, or help in securing visas or travel permits. So please don’t ask.
Proposal Guidelines
When planning your proposal, keep your audience in mind. Your listeners will be writers and others (translators, editors, publishers, and agents) concerned with creating the published written word. While teaching, literary studies and private self-expression are certainly worthy activities, they are not the focus of this Conference. Ask yourself as a writer or other word professional these questions:
What information do you have which could be useful to others?
What writing, rewriting, editing, or marketing techniques have worked for you?
What topic would make for a lively and enlightening discussion?
What publishing or other professional opportunities do you know about?
What will an attendee take away from your fifty-minute session that he or she will find worthwhile?
You may submit more than one proposal.
The only qualification one needs to be a presenter is to have published. This does not mean that you need to have published a lot or in some high-profile journal. Your book (if you have a book) does not have to be on a best seller list. You do not have to have won any awards or to have appeared on TV. You simply need to have written, edited, translated, or otherwise worked on a piece of writing which has made it to the public eye. That is, published.
Proposal Deadline and Format
Using the following format, please send your ideas for a presentation by June 1, 2012. Send your proposal in the body of an email (no attachments) to both these addresses:
*****I (Jessica) have deleted these addresses here. If you wish to contact either John or Bern, please email me and I will provide you with their contact information.******
In your subject line give your name, “JWC,” and the date.
In the body of the email, give:
1. Your name (or names)
2. Contact information (email, telephone. These remain confidential.)
3. Your publications (Need not be complete, but give names of journals and genre for short pieces; title, publisher and date for books; venues and dates for plays, and so on)
4. Title of presentation. (20 words or less)
5. Type of presentation (short lecture with Q&A, craft workshop, panel discussion, reading with Q&A, etc.)
6. Short summary of the presentation (50 words or less)
7. Abstract of the presentation (150 words or less)
8. Personal and professional biography (50 words or less. Make mention of your publications, as this will be part of the Conference program)
9. Anything else, such as special equipment needs or questions.
Your proposal doesn’t have to be a “finished” document to submit. There will be time to shape and polish your ideas for a presentation. But there are a set number of session slots available and if you are interested in having one of them, please let us know soon. Again, the deadline is June 1, 2012.
John Gribble
Bern Mulvey
Co Co-ordinators,
2012 Japan Writers Conference
The official announcement begins now:
**********
This year the Japan Writers Conference will return to Kyoto and the beautiful Imadegawa campus of Doshisha Women’s College. It will take place on November 10th and 11th, 2012. Please mark your calendar and plan to join us. This will be the sixth conference and while each has had its own special flavor, all have been successes in the eyes of the attendees.
This is also a call for presentation proposals. All published writers, translators, editors, agents and publishers who would like to lead a session are invited to submit proposals. Those who have presented at past conferences are (of course) welcome to submit new proposals. But we especially encourage proposals from new submitters. One of the strengths of the past Conferences has been variety, and the best way to foster variety is to feature new presenters each year.
Please forward this to any friend or colleague who might be interested. If you know someone the conference organizers might approach—either living in Japan or planning to visit Japan next autumn—please send us your suggestion. If you have contact information, that would be a great help.
Detailed information follows, but briefly, a proposal needs to include a brief bio, including some publication credits, the type of presentation you wish to make, a title, a summery of 50 words, a longer abstract (150 words) and any special requests you might have. Standard sessions are fifty minutes long, but if you have something special in mind, please let us know and we will accommodate if possible.
Presentations on all genres and all aspects of writing and publishing are welcome. The deadline for presentation proposals is June 1, 2012.
It would also be good to have one more face/voice/body involved with the organization and operation of the Conference on an on-going basis. If you’re interested, please drop John and Bern an email. Our addresses are below.
As in the past, the Conference will be free and open to all who wish to attend. This is possible because all the presenters and organizing staff volunteer their time and talent, and the use of the site is donated by the hosting institution. As a result, the Conference cannot offer any payment, reimbursement, lodging, or help in securing visas or travel permits. So please don’t ask.
When planning your proposal, keep your audience in mind. Your listeners will be writers and others (translators, editors, publishers, and agents) concerned with creating the published written word. While teaching, literary studies and private self-expression are certainly worthy activities, they are not the focus of this Conference. Ask yourself as a writer or other word professional these questions:
What information do you have which could be useful to others?
What writing, rewriting, editing, or marketing techniques have worked for you?
What topic would make for a lively and enlightening discussion?
What publishing or other professional opportunities do you know about?
What will an attendee take away from your fifty-minute session that he or she will find worthwhile?
You may submit more than one proposal.
The only qualification one needs to be a presenter is to have published. This does not mean that you need to have published a lot or in some high-profile journal. Your book (if you have a book) does not have to be on a best seller list. You do not have to have won any awards or to have appeared on TV. You simply need to have written, edited, translated, or otherwise worked on a piece of writing which has made it to the public eye. That is, published.
Proposal Deadline and Format
Using the following format, please send your ideas for a presentation by June 1, 2012. Send your proposal in the body of an email (no attachments) to both these addresses:
*****I (Jessica) have deleted these addresses here. If you wish to contact either John or Bern, please email me and I will provide you with their contact information.******
In your subject line give your name, “JWC,” and the date.
In the body of the email, give:
1. Your name (or names)
2. Contact information (email, telephone. These remain confidential.)
3. Your publications (Need not be complete, but give names of journals and genre for short pieces; title, publisher and date for books; venues and dates for plays, and so on)
4. Title of presentation. (20 words or less)
5. Type of presentation (short lecture with Q&A, craft workshop, panel discussion, reading with Q&A, etc.)
6. Short summary of the presentation (50 words or less)
7. Abstract of the presentation (150 words or less)
8. Personal and professional biography (50 words or less. Make mention of your publications, as this will be part of the Conference program)
9. Anything else, such as special equipment needs or questions.
Your proposal doesn’t have to be a “finished” document to submit. There will be time to shape and polish your ideas for a presentation. But there are a set number of session slots available and if you are interested in having one of them, please let us know soon. Again, the deadline is June 1, 2012.
John Gribble
Bern Mulvey
Co Co-ordinators,
2012 Japan Writers Conference
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