| September 2011 Workshop Moderator: Estelle Langston |
Be That as It May | List of all workshops |
During many days or evenings, we experience an epiphany which triggers
thoughts. The thoughts linger. We muse, bemused by the accumulation of pictures in our
minds.
A painting I admired was of a horse and rider dressed in western clothing, who
were quite fatigued, who were riding slowly yet were “cutting space,” as the Western
phrase describes, in order to accomplish their goal. Our daily thoughts, ideas, emotions,
can contribute to the writing of poetry—a kind of “cutting space” in our day.
Our need this morning is to attend to the job at hand, which is to describe the
moment of epiphany with all of its attendant emotions into the emotion of your poem.
Each early morning begins with the satisfaction for me, the comfort, of the
peaceful constellations of Orion and the Big Dipper.
So I hope that during these past 24 hours, or possibly yesterday’s 24 hours, you
encountered a scene with its accompanying emotion which impels or compels you to
describe your emotions. You might begin by writing on one side of your paper the
compelling scene, and then, on the other side of your paper descriptive words which your
scene calls out from your mind. Then combine scene and emotions into your poem.