This has been a hard week. A really esteemed colleague and friend being denied tenure, my own frustrations about academia reaching its boiling-point, a bunch of rejections from the journals I sent my work out to. The only silver-lining has been my daily writing practice.
I am not a spiritual person. I didn't grow up religious. And, I am an atheist. But, writing poems is the closest I have come to a spiritual practice. I do not write to win any prize. I do not write to become famous, although, I do want my work to be read by others. Because, I hope, the lines I am writing, would communicate something to someone. Creative writing is NOT my career. it does not put food on my table. and, i wouldn't like to put pressure on it to do so.
but, my poems provide me with a space to be myself. to peel off my layers one by one. to stand naked on page. to be as dangerous as i can. to take risks. things i cannot do in my day job. things i cannot do within my own family. that's why, i keep coming back to my poems. again and again. and, if i have to be completely irresponsible, i will also have to admit, writing is the only "real" lover i have. the others, they are friends. intense, indispensable friends. but, not really lovers.
during this stressful week, when i really truly wanted to quit, i have also begun to revise a little write-up i produced during the beginning of this month: a write-up that was somewhat between a free writing and an "antonymn" exercise. i transformed that into a prose-poem. still working on it. hopefully, will be able to give it some shape by tonight.
fifteen minutes a day. that's what i keep telling myself. if not fifteen minutes, ten minutes. two lines.
meanwhile, s.t. got back with her feedback for my chapbook. she has some really good suggestions, some really good observations and edits. i will work during this weekend so that by the end of this month, i can send this out to some of the contests and submission deadlines. i was really really depressed when the manuscript wasn't even a semi-finalist for one of the contests i had entered, and got a straight-up rejection from another press i had submitted to. but the fact that st had liked my chapbook enough to call it "lovely", and thinks it's "very nearly done," gives me renewed hope. it inspires me enough to continue working with it. yes, i need to be persistent with it. what else?
Links To Read:
http://indiereader.com/2013/09/all-about-chapbooks/
I am not a spiritual person. I didn't grow up religious. And, I am an atheist. But, writing poems is the closest I have come to a spiritual practice. I do not write to win any prize. I do not write to become famous, although, I do want my work to be read by others. Because, I hope, the lines I am writing, would communicate something to someone. Creative writing is NOT my career. it does not put food on my table. and, i wouldn't like to put pressure on it to do so.
but, my poems provide me with a space to be myself. to peel off my layers one by one. to stand naked on page. to be as dangerous as i can. to take risks. things i cannot do in my day job. things i cannot do within my own family. that's why, i keep coming back to my poems. again and again. and, if i have to be completely irresponsible, i will also have to admit, writing is the only "real" lover i have. the others, they are friends. intense, indispensable friends. but, not really lovers.
during this stressful week, when i really truly wanted to quit, i have also begun to revise a little write-up i produced during the beginning of this month: a write-up that was somewhat between a free writing and an "antonymn" exercise. i transformed that into a prose-poem. still working on it. hopefully, will be able to give it some shape by tonight.
fifteen minutes a day. that's what i keep telling myself. if not fifteen minutes, ten minutes. two lines.
meanwhile, s.t. got back with her feedback for my chapbook. she has some really good suggestions, some really good observations and edits. i will work during this weekend so that by the end of this month, i can send this out to some of the contests and submission deadlines. i was really really depressed when the manuscript wasn't even a semi-finalist for one of the contests i had entered, and got a straight-up rejection from another press i had submitted to. but the fact that st had liked my chapbook enough to call it "lovely", and thinks it's "very nearly done," gives me renewed hope. it inspires me enough to continue working with it. yes, i need to be persistent with it. what else?
Links To Read:
http://indiereader.com/2013/09/all-about-chapbooks/
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