I had been hoping to discover some kind of pattern to my poetry - to see that the third friday or the first wednesday of each month was actually the best time for writing, so that I could just write on those days in future, as yet no such pattern seems to be emerging... although it's possibly too early to say.
I do seem to like more poems from this month than from last month or the month before (as you'll see from the sad little colour coded excel sheet, shown here in black and white - these are the lists of poems per month that might actually be ok), though I'm not entirely sure whether that's because I'm too near to them now to be objective or if I'm actually getting better. I always like my recent stuff when it's recent, but given time some of it goes off, gets smelly and mouldy and is fit only for the dump. It's so hard to judge your own work isn't it?
I guess the daily forcing myself to do something - sometimes ANYTHING - isn't a bad thing. It's nice to always have fresh material to look at. And now that I've admitted it here, in public, I might even have to keep it up...
10 comments:
What a good idea. I might even try doing it.
Funnily enough, I've spent the last few days looking at (and, in some cases, revising)all the poetry I've written in the last 35 years (actually, most of it in the last 20 years). I'm just beginning to see some sort of a pattern... I think... So, if you're like me, you may need to give it time. :)
In awe.
Not only of the discipline, but also of the spreadsheet. That's what I call organisation.
Ha, Uisce - didn't think ye'd be able to zoom in on that, clever ye.
That's mad Dominic - I bet you can do really interesting new takes on some of the old ones - I did that with a ten year old one from a diary last year, it's one of my favourites now. Yes I need more time at it really, and alot more material to shape - even the poet I had on the show who now writes 2 poems per year went through a hardwork phase, think it's a good exercise.
Thanks Titus - probably the least poetic thing you can do with a bunch of poems - put em in a spreadsheet and colour code, but hey it gives me some idea of what I've been doing with my time, and is easier to look through than the now 65 pages of poems.
I have a suggestion. Why not take April to go back and edit all your 3 months of poems, maybe combine some, split some, workshop ones. Start with the January ones as I agree that time and distance makes it easier to judge your own work. A terrible memory such as mine helps too.
Thanks EW, I think I'll keep it up as long as I can, am kind of going back through the odd one here and there, but if I stopped completely think I'd feel like I wouldn't be able to start again! and I'm enjoying it...
Uisce - why did you remove that fabulous piece of work? Ah... submitting it for publication already, eh? Can't say I blame you.
I'm impressed at a poem a day. Don't think I'd be able to keep that up. A mere photo a day seems insurmountable at times.
And by all means, keep telling us about it. We'll keep you honest.
Tks Jessica, sometimes they don't deserve to be called poems really, but it's a routine. Got the photo today btw, Thanks!
when I was a teen i used to keep a notebook on me at all times.. I would write at least a pom every day, usually three or four. I kept them.. and reading back over them, I have never read such appauling crap in my life!.. I like the idea of writing every day though, at the very least you might come up with one sentence that could go somewhere.
Songs are the same, I love anything we've done in the last week, then listen back to stuff we did last year and think... bleeuughhh! BORING!..
us creative lot are basically all doomed!... (colour coded excel charts!?..).. lol!
when I was a teen i used to keep a notebook on me at all times.. I would write at least a pom every day, usually three or four. I kept them.. and reading back over them, I have never read such appauling crap in my life!.. I like the idea of writing every day though, at the very least you might come up with one sentence that could go somewhere.
Songs are the same, I love anything we've done in the last week, then listen back to stuff we did last year and think... bleeuughhh! BORING!..
us creative lot are basically all doomed!... (colour coded excel charts!?..).. lol!
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