My best writing occurs when I am just coming out of a meditative nap. A place where I let go of everything---discovered this being lulled in a hammock strung across my tiny studio. I like to be lying down, with a notebook and a pencil on my lap, or my tiny pocket pc, something private, that only I can see, and drifting dreamily in and out of stillness. It is in this deeply relaxed state that images begin adding their vitality to what I am writing about... It is in this quiet state of mind that my imagination has most freedom... And I have learnt to trust the flow of words, even if they don't 'pull together'; when I come back later, I find nuggets in the tumble of jewels that I can take out, polish and wear...How about you...? What state of mind do you find best for your creativity and how do you evoke that...?
What's your ritual as a writer?
When I lived in Chicago I used to get up very early and listen to the author Stud's Terkel, one of Chicago's national treasures. I liiked the gruff sound of his voice as he tackled some of the more sensitive issues of the day. I would pretend I was him. Then I would try and paint like he speaks. Then I would try and write like I just painted. Then I would get angry because when I paint I do it once. When I write I have to do it over nuemrous, numerous, times. Now, for a minimalist painter that sucks! But I keep trying anyway.
ReplyDeletelhombre, thanks for the great comment! I'm reading a book called, "The Woman Who Pretended to Be Who She Was," (Doniger), which is all about disguising ourselves as ourselves to find out who we are, only you were disguising yourself to be the gruff voice of Stud Terkel, and then painting that voice and then trying to write like you painted...I love it!
ReplyDeleteFor me painting is a leap into the unknown and from which there is no return - sort of a once and once only; whereas writing is an evocation of language that can be rewritten over and over...sort of. Writing is perhaps a little more forgiving...?
Hmm. The book your reading sounds intersting. I think I'll go look it up.
ReplyDeleteIf there is one approach to my life, either as an artist or life in general I think I can best characterize it with a quote from the poet Stanle Kuniitz. It's a qoute I've used in painting classes that I've taught as well. It is from an interview he was doing on "craft."
"...Practically all my poems start with something given to me, that is, a line or phrase, or a set of lines, that takes me by surprise. When that happens, the challenge is to accept the blessing and go with it. Only in the process of writing the poem do you discover why the gift was bestowed on you and where it will lead you. Craft is there to sustain and fortify the original impulse, and to preserve the momentum, now by letting go, now by pulling back. Sometimes you find in the end you have to throw out the very lines that gave the poem its start, because they have become embodied in the whole act of the poem and are no longer necessary. Sometimes they require modification, because they may not have come to you perfect."
I will be posting this quote on my blog.