Poetry: Serious. Not That Serious.
[Ed note: Poetry: Serious. Not That Serious. is a new weekly column by Lucy Hitz. Read it every week or you're dead meat.]
Poetry is a matter of agreeing that you have these two people inside: everyday you set aside time to be with the subtle person who has funny little ideas. —Robert BlyOh heyyyyy! RB'S quote says it all (or most of it). If you're anything like me/if you're not a robot, your emotions and opinions tend to change and sometimes contradict one other. Poetry holds these peacefully co-existing or viciously battling pieces of ourselves up to the light. Poetry thinks it's silly to believe there's one answer or that we can be defined by one thing. Poetry throws an arm around our shoulders and is like, “Girlfriend, the pieces don't have to fit. That's probably not the point. Also, a fool's errand.”But ciao to the proselytizing. I'm just trying to draw you in with my charm and good looks. Welcome to the Weekly Barnstorm Poetry Extravaganza, or Poetry: Serious. Not That Serious. Every Thursday, I'll post re: a book/poet/poem I'm humping and why, or some poetry craft experiment, or General Poetic Stuff.”˜Nuff said. If you need more convincing on the poetry tip, may I suggest Adam Roberts' article over at the Atlantic? Ancient by internet standards (2010!). Relevant 4ever.The GChat SchoolYou might not be wasting as much time as you think. GChat = the new AIM = the new AOL chatroom = the new street corner/water cooler shooting of the shit. Speech patterns, rhythm, and slang are unique to each person. Finding fresh perspectives, ideas, and language are the biggest challenges writers face. I exhort you to mine your loved ones via GChat for these oft-evasive nuggets of gold.And the best part? GOOGLE KEEPS YOUR MUNDANE/PROFANE CONVERSATIONS FOR ALL ETERNITY. I mean, that can also be the worst part (you know, 4:18 AM, Saturday morning, “So, do you want me to come over?”). But let's go glass half-full. You have an ever-expanding reference library for your life. You have 100% accurate access to the voices that surround you, which influence your thought processes and expressions. Added benefit: less awkward than bringing a tape recorder to the bar. “Could you repeat that part about Donnie breaking up with you and how you feel like a unicorn that's been downgraded to a donkey?” Not very sensitive. I've written many poems that found their genesis in GChat. Here are some ways I used the G:1. What Up, Self-Revision? Self-revision is an extremely engaging writing technique — making a statement, and then modifying it or flipping it entirely, as in Dorothea Lasky's poem “Jakob,” out of her book Black Life: “I am sick of feeling/ I never eat or sleep/ I just sit here and let the words burn into me/ I know you love her/ And don't love me/ No, I don't think you love her”¦” This mirrors the way we think, deciding something and then doubting or arguing against it. This process, through which we attempt to decipher exactly how we feel or what we should do, often manifests itself in communication with friends, i.e.:Lucy: I really like him.Michelle: Really?Lucy: Yes. I like him.I think I like him.I might like him.He has some great qualities.He likes peanut butter and jelly and bacon sandwiches!I think he does, anyway.He seemed to.GChat obviates the natural self-revisionary process and, hopefully, makes it easier for us to incorporate in our work.2. Go Long, Go Deep Ever had a GChat bender? You know, an extended period of time (maybe because you're at the office; maybe because you're procrastinating) in which you cover every possible topic with your chat bud? At the time, it seems like nothing more than a survival technique. But go back to some of those conversations. Overanalysis and long-winded description is a way of deepening thought, getting past the niceties. This has something to teach us about poetry: don't just scratch the surface. Get to the meat of things, which will only happen if you allow yourself to ramble and roam. The best writing often comes after you think you've gone too far. Cut later. Look closely at those Lord Of The Rings-trilogy length masterpieces of messaging. Find some deeply buried treasure.3. Know your audience. You're not typing the same thing to the person you just started dating as to your best friend. And you're probably not going to describe the date in the same way to Friend A as to Friend B. Good practice for poetry! Who are you talking to? What are you leaving in or out because of that differentiation? Is the poem directed towards a specific person, or yourself, or everybody? These are the questions that our quick-witted GChat decisionmaking—what to tell who and when—train us to consider.4. Happy Accidents Of misspellings—sometimes you find yourself saying something much more interesting than what you originally intended. See my slip up: I meant to write, “trying to get into a groove here.” It came out “trying to get into a grove here.” My typo became the seedling first line for a really weird, surrealistic poem I wrote that very day.5. You Got Jokes And finally, humor. It feels good to make people laugh, and GChat reinforces this in a visual way. You watch your companion's reaction on a screen, in your chosen medium of written language, instead of on someone's face. Quite a boon for you, the writer, you who are oftentimes more comfortable making words mosh than getting in the pit and tasting the blood in your own mouth. I think my metaphor got away from me there. Anyway, there are levels. A series of definitions: Ha = That's an interesting, moderately witty point you made there. Haha = Short, appreciative guffaw. Heh heh = Humor + Hint of Sarcasm + Poss. Lewd Intent. Hahahaha = Uncontrollable Laughter. Lol = Ha. LOL = Oh No, You Didn't. ROFL = Strictly Ironic. This loose hierarchy (which I created and might be different for you) makes it easy to see what kind of humor your peers respond to, and keep that eye toward connection and entertainment value in your poetry. And in both poetry and life, of course, there's always unintentional comedy:Lucy: So then I ate ten donuts, made out with the doorman, and came home.Michelle: HahahahaLucy: What?--Lucy Hitz