Trees, Sentences Educating Sentences, a Gesture
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Heard a possible first line for something the other day on npr:
Trees don't get confused.
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Brian Kiteley of DU, in the introduction to his book about writing, The 3 a.m. Epiphany, says he "heard William H. Gass explain to a group of students how he wrote his fiction. [Gass] said, 'Each sentence educates the next sentence. Each paragraph educates the next paragraph.'" Kiteley says that he imagines "Gass meant he rewrote each sentence until the next one came to him. Or that by rereading a paragraph often enough he saw, finally, where next to take the story."
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When Li-Young Lee spoke here years ago, he discussed writing as a gesture. He said that he didn't go back and tinker with a poem word by word or line by line. Instead, if a poem didn't work, he threw it away and started again, writing a new poem from start to finish. He said that in writing as a gesture, one line lead to the next.
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Normally, I wouldn't think of putting Gass and Lee together, but these thoughts seem to connect them.
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What next.
Heard a possible first line for something the other day on npr:
Trees don't get confused.
***
Brian Kiteley of DU, in the introduction to his book about writing, The 3 a.m. Epiphany, says he "heard William H. Gass explain to a group of students how he wrote his fiction. [Gass] said, 'Each sentence educates the next sentence. Each paragraph educates the next paragraph.'" Kiteley says that he imagines "Gass meant he rewrote each sentence until the next one came to him. Or that by rereading a paragraph often enough he saw, finally, where next to take the story."
***
When Li-Young Lee spoke here years ago, he discussed writing as a gesture. He said that he didn't go back and tinker with a poem word by word or line by line. Instead, if a poem didn't work, he threw it away and started again, writing a new poem from start to finish. He said that in writing as a gesture, one line lead to the next.
***
Normally, I wouldn't think of putting Gass and Lee together, but these thoughts seem to connect them.
***
What next.
posted by Anonymous at 10:57 PM
2 Comments:
Writing as a gesture. Sounds like Chinese brush stroke painting. Each stroke has to be perfect and deliberate and intentional and meaningful.
Do you like your new template? I've changed mine a few times and I'm itching to change again.
Personally, I think trees DO get confused, but that's just me.
Thanks for the Hirshfield post below. It was most informative.
Yeah, I think Lee told the story of the artist, the emperor, and the fish.
Template? Eh. I don't know.
You should listen to the npr story about the magnolias blooming after Katrina.
Oh, and I think I'm being ungracious. Sorry. It's been a long week already.
And of course, you're welcome. Thanks for visiting. I'm surprised anyone visits.
The story I heard on npr said that because of stress the trees began to bloom to produce the seeds necessary after the storm. Also, it said the small trees once dwarfed by the canopy of larger trees were growing really fast now that the canopy is gone.
Maybe you're right though.
Would you explain what you mean when you say that you think trees do get confused? I'm curious.
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