Season's Greetings

November seems to have a different character each year in Colorado. One year, the leaves may still be green, and if like last year, trees were covered in snow. Actually in October of 2011, we had one of those early snowfalls, with the leaves still on the trees, and my apple trees still full of bright red apples! My maple tree in front was badly broken, but the apple trees held up very well.

The above scene was one of twenty-five from various places I have lived, that I have used in a book of haiku I am writing, representing changes of landscape and weather throughout the year. I am using fifty haiku poems. The images are not strictly illustrations of the verses. The sequence of both poems and photographs is generally from the start of a year to the end.

The following is a poem I am quite excited about:

Gathering Fragments                                 

Illuminated writing decorates black velvet

in her open-eyed dreams. It is one a.m.

Diverse innovations congeal from disparate

sources::  an assemblage of materials suggest

new constructions used in new ways. She is

wrapped by diverse threads, uncoiling from

the universe, wrapping her gently in a cocoon

of delight. The meanings are in a new tongue.

The woman can feel herself morphing

in the darkness but she cannot sleep.

Excitement boils in her blood, anxious as she is

to learn her new identity, what new creature

is shape-shifting within this matrix?

Her heart whispers, a gift is coming.

The confettied particles fall faster than

she can grasp them in her  hands:: to hold them

she must juggle in constant sequence.

Like leaves they blow before the wind.

Weightedness is needed to make them fly.

The woman has come before her time,

and her body fails before time catches her up.

She surrenders into now. She is herself a

flying scrap. The wind lifts her into her new

incarnation. Faster and faster the fragments

fall into her mind. Hands on her head, the shape

is like a satellite dish, a funnel. She sees

collages forming in her lap. Bits and pieces

grow from her fingers, gathered from living fully,

form patterns connected by intuition, layers

experienced through multiple spirals of time.

 The exercise for Greeley Poetry Club was to stretch in one's approach, by using methods to encourage divergent thinking, such as to generally collect fragments of poems-suggested over a period of time- phrases, words, images and write them down, and then to put them into a sequence of related ideas. This tactic was one called "Chasing Poems."

It was adapted by Mary Lauck, from Writing Poetry; Creative and Critical Approaches by Chad Davidson and Gregory Fraser.

I loved the surrealistic result, and also the delight I felt while noticing strange synchronicities emerge over the period of time I paid attention. I was sorting my books, and looking for missing books that might relate to making hand-made books. The books I was looking for appeared from other book cases, like fragments, and also art images literally fell out of some shelves as if to make me notice them. Having an open mind allows for connections between different ideas to occur, without having a linear goal in mind, both in the process of writing and in art.

The process ended with two poems emerging along with about a hundred approaches for making hand made books. And one large bookshelf is now organized!

Writing and Images in this post are the © property of Ruth Zachary.

Literary Review

Last night, Masterpiece Theatre produced a play, from Christopher Reid's poem,  The Song of Lunch,  by the same name. It is a dialogue between two people, in which a narrator, one of he characters, gives voice to the inner thoughts of the man, a publisher and writer, who meets his ex-beloved for lunch. (Alan Rickman)

            The stream of consciousness narration is pure poetry, and even the exchanges between his ex, (Emma Thompson) in which she points out the man's lack of awareness of anything but the voice in his own head, including herself and the truth she shares with him, even while that is what he is obsessing about. The language is totally beautiful, but he fails to grasp the deeper significance of her coming to meet him, the opening she gives to him in mentioning the monotony of her own life and marriage in its routine, the touch of her hand on his, offered in compassion, his response which is sexual/physical, rather than empathic, which she wants from him. His continuous obsession with his own voice continues, and drowns out the truth of the remaining bond between them.

            She tells him twice of his failure, in the moments they have between them in the restaurant, alluding to their relationship, and his shortcomings as a writer, which sinks in enough to  make him more numb and deeply miserable, and then which he escapes by running to the roof where he falls asleep, long enough to wear off his drunkenness from the wine. When he awakens, and returns to the restaurant, he finds his ex gone, having paid their bill, the crowd has disappeared, and the restaurant owne, whom he remembers as once being charismatic, has grown old and dull in the corner of the restaurant. He only recognizes the man's identity after he has turned to leave.

            (Of course the owner is a metaphor for himself.) The entire monologue (or dialogue if you include his ex's words to him ) is amazing. The reality and insight behind the words and between the lines is brilliant, and something every artist/ writer might strive to accomplish.

HELLO, READERS, I'M BACK

What I have Been Up To...

One thing I have done is finish my book, The Woman Who Named Herself,  my first book of poetry, meant to honor women who have chosen a name other than their birth name, as an affirmative act of naming themselves, in a society where too often they, and I have been defined by others.

It is also about Lesbian women, but others have told me the book is about more than that. To paraphrase, one woman told me I had a way of expressing emotion that opened her eyes about what poetry could be. She said her experience in the world of journalism, academia and law had closed her in a box she had not known was there. I will not use her name as I do not yet have permission.
But I believe her comment opened my eyes too, that many experiences recounted in the book are ones that many women may relate to.


The image above appears on the cover. The book was published by Xlibris. To order, call 888-795-4274, or order on line at www.xlibris.com or www.amazon.com.


Other things that have occupied my time have been 1. serving as UU Church Board Secretary, and 2. starting up a new arts group and arts program in my church, named Chalice Arts, to promote arts expression in our church and in our community. If you are interested in following our events and activities, visit our new blog at chalicearts.blogspot.com .

 I am the featured artist in a solo show in the church, Montage and Metaphor. I have around 30 images in the exhibit, interspersed with poems written about subjects related to images in the art pieces. I gave a talk about the connections between montage and writing poetry in January.


I am planning another poetry program for the Greeley Poetry Club in March, about Courting Your Muse, and will say more about accessing the right brained process in writing poetry. No doubt my efforts in researching this talk will result in an overflow in this blog, in the future.


I want to say, in the few months I have been away from this blog site, much has changed in Google's blogging program. The "Design" options are wonderful, and what you write is now what you get, when the post is published. Thank you Google. It is now a pleasure to enter comments and images!  (This is in bold, on purpose!)


© Ruth Zachary.

REVIEW OF BARRY LOPEZ BOOKS

After Monet, Study for Mixed Media Collage © by Ruth Zachary

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Reading Other Writer’s Work Can Sharpen Your Own Style.

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Ted Kooser said, “We teach ourselves to write the kinds of poems we like to read.” He said even a poem you don’t like can teach you, if you can articulate how you would change it.

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Sometimes the influence of another author’s work can be absorbed on an almost imperceptible level. Even some prose is so lyrical it has that kind of effect. I see this as a good thing. As a visual artist, other imagery influences me and yet it always is interpreted in a way that is uniquely different than the source.

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Recently I saw Barry Lopez in an interview on Bill Moyer’s Journal, and was very impressed with the lifestyle he has embraced in order to nourish his writing. Lopez goes out into remote areas to experience nature in an intimate way, so that he can bring back his impressions and reflections to reach others whose lives rarely experience it.

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Years ago Lopez wrote Of Wolves and Men, which I read and was most impressed by. Since then he has gone on writing, and has written several published books, containing his nature essays, and short stories that reveal unique qualities in people. I find both forms spiritually uplifting. As a writer, I am inspired by his style, which I would define as poetic prose.

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Lopez narrates some of his short stories on audiotape. In Light Action in the Caribbean, he reads very well, imbuing his characters with unique personality. The stories too, grip the imagination.

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His Artic Dreams, a National Book Award Winner, contain his observations and notes about people and animals living in the Artic. He draws from many sources, history, science, literature and myth in the construction of his essays, and truly takes us to places most of us would never experience.

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I don’t know as yet how his unique vision and language will affect my writing. I do know trying to say something of substance is something I value, and Barry Lopez always says something of value to me. In reading his work, I believe I can only be strengthened in my own writing.

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A Challenge to Visitors of this Site –

Read an author you have been influenced by, or share the impact a particular author has made upon your own thinking, and hopefully upon your writing.

You are invited to share your reflections on this site. (You will be attributed)

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Writing and Images are the sole Copyright © of Ruth Zachary.

The Magic of Daily Writing

Spring Magic, Study for Collage, In Progress, by Ruth Zachary.

Writing as a Daily Practice

The Greeley Poetry Club is fortunate to have Mary Lauck, an English teacher, who provides the writing exercises every month. The December lesson suggested writing small selections every day, whether as a journal entry or a poem. I have followed such practice at other times in my life, and it took about one week to realize the positive effect it had on my writing, after starting it up again.

The lesson for January was to try to take up different writers of poetry, and to read until we found a line that stimulated an idea we would like to explore. The metaphor was that our chosen author would drop a thread for us to follow, and for us to go where it led us. This seemed like a relevant extension of a daily practice. Never have we as a whole group written so many inspiring poems!

Part of this kind of practice taps into the unconscious, or takes us to the intuitive level in our writing, especially if written by hand in cursive script. It works. It can even release some people from writers block.

Recommended Books

I took up three different books I have used before. These books all offer daily suggestions for writing topics. I recommend them! They are:

Simple Abundance, a Daybook of Comfort and Joy, by Sarah Ban Breathnach.

The Artist’s Way, A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity, by Julia Cameron.

A Writer’s Book of Days by Judy Reeves.

These books also discuss a variety of issues artists or writers encounter on their own Creative Path, and offer solutions to problems that occur. All three books are extremely useful in discarding negative internal messages in our heads which condition us in ways that make us less productive than we might be without them.

I believe the process of daily writing functions to recondition a writer’s thinking both in removing negative messages, but also in opening easy access to one’s own natural creative power.

A third possibility is also that magic is afoot. Gratitude changes everything. The things we focus upon are what we manifest in our lives. This extends beyond the act of writing, and the process of creating objects. Amazing coincidences have repeatedly shown up in other areas of life, things I have hoped for, within days or hours of visualizing them. Wouldn’t it be irrational to discount something so amazing? I think it might even be ungrateful.

But if you want to be more “rational”, try Positive Visualization and record the results. And if you want only practical ideas for career building, I have found they abound on the Internet, and much of this information is free. I am happy to learn from these options as well, but why not avail yourself of ALL the Universe has to offer?

I Think I’m Back on Line Again!

It has been a while since I posted my blogs regularly. As I mentioned in September, I have had problems with my eyesight. I belong to two writing groups and two art groups. I fell back a little on the meetings, because driving at night was too difficult. But now I am getting back into the swing of normal living, and attending the writing groups is part of that.

And I am happy to say, in the months I was less functional, I never stopped creating, either my writing or my visual art, because those forms of expression are what I live for.

All writing and images are the exclusive Copyright © of Ruth Zachary.

COURTING YOUR MUSE

Channel to Crooked Lake. By Ruth Zachary.

COURTING YOUR MUSE
and/or Foiling Your WRITE -Brained Creative Blocks

Sometimes you write like an obsessed demon. Then later, mysteriously, the words you just wrote appear to be drivel. You can’t even muster the start of an idea. Worse, you can’t remember who you were when you wrote those great pieces you turned in one semester two years ago. Your muse appears to have wandered away to spend time with someone whose writing is more worthy. It’s easy to feel that way during a dry spell.

As a creative person working in the visual arts as well as writing, I have many years of paying attention to the times when creativity seems to flow from some miraculous source. Others have said words or images seemed channeled into their mind and spirit, and to flow out through their hand on the page as if they were the instrument of the Muse Herself.

Often the real answer to blocks is a positive approach, steps taken to create the conditions which nurture your creativity.

I have talked to many other writers about this. Many list the tangible barriers preventing them from being creative, and they set about removing the blocks. Some say just writing regularly helps a great deal. Few, however, have linked right-brained activity with creativity.

Few are even aware of how to tap into an altered state to enhance their art work, or Play. Keeping an attitude that your art form is for you a privilege, a source of joy, and your time to play will help you nurture the process which for your will be most productive.

The Right Brain
Several years ago, I read Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards, for visual artists. It emphasizes the functions of the brain which can encourage creativity, if cultivated. In fact, flipping through it, I see renewed ideas there, and think I must read it again.

Since the first time, though, I have identified many situations which I believe are directly tied to right-brained functions. Creativity can be stimulated by identifying your own personal right-brained states, and learning to prolong those states during the period of play devoted to your personal art form.

Here are some situations that put me into a creative place:

√ Sleep and Dream States – often ideas come for art. Write them down.
√ Darkness at dawn or dusk – also write these thoughts down.
√ Waking slowly, stimulated by coffee, and letting thoughts wander freely
within the areas of your art expression. Write or sketch your ideas.
√ Showering. Record your ideas as soon as possible.
√ Driving through beautiful scenery. Have you noticed how you are able to do your
driving functions and still think of something else at the same time? That is your right brain working, but don’t do this if you might endanger yourself or others, and do pull off the road to record your ideas.
√ Riding on a bus or train.
√ Meditation.- images and writing may come automatically or unconsciously.
√ Listening to music. Pay attention to which kind of music stimulates you. I prefer non-vocal
music when focused on writing.
√ While doing routine exercise.
√ Dance.
√ Sex- afterglow. (Hold that thought til later)
√ Gardening.
√ Repetitive chores.
√ Laying on the beach.
√ Under the Influence – light alcohol, only. You can’t be creative or productive when wiped out.

I don’t claim that my creative space is the same as yours. But do pay attention to what works for you, and do set up the conditions to encourage your own creativity!


Another excellent book for all sorts of artists and writers is The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, which encourages the artist’s spirit and discusses the issues plaguing many artists, and how to overcome them.


All images and writing are the Copyright of Ruth Zachary.

POETIC INNOVATION

The Secret Garden. Photo Montage by Ruth Zachary

Expand Your Range: Presentation

You may have found your unique and natural way of expressing yourself through poetry. You may have established rhythms and forms that you use regularly. Your subjects or content may also define your authentic voice and style. But it never hurts to depart from the usual, to stimulate both yourself and your readers. Challenge yourself to do things a little differently ever so often. How often is up to you.

Often one’s most creative work occurs during revision.

Here are some ideas.

Look for innovative ways to present your writing; different from your own usual.

If you write in one solid block of wording, or in columns, try re-formatting your original presentation by breaking the body of writing into stanzas. This might separate the beginning, middle and end, for instance.

Respect the white space between lines. Visually, the space allows the reader to breathe and see your structure, making it easier to read.

Try long lined stanzas, and then try short phrases instead.

This is a good time to look to see if some words are unnecessary, or if a word could be replaced with a shorter one, one that sounds more musical, or if whole stanzas or thoughts need to be rearranged.

Experiment with using enlarged spaces between words, instead of punctuation. (except on blogs, because the blogger format will not allow it) When reading aloud, observe conversational breaks so the line breaks are natural.

Tempt your reader to read the next line by ending with a word that begs him or her to go to the next line to complete the thought.

Consider omitting capitols.

In some poems you could let the type stagger over the page. (But not on a blog)

Read poetry by well known innovative contemporary poets, and imitate the innovations, (not the wording or content, unless your credit that author)

If challenging yourself with a traditional form, try to make the language flow naturally.

Be innovative in other ways, as well. Change the traditional order of words.

Reccommended Reading:

Poets: EE Cummings, Adrienne Rich, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Rita Dove, Patrick Lawler, Sharon Olds, Gary Snyder, Louise Gluck, Galway Kinnell, Anne-Marie Cusak.

Poetry and Traditional Forms:
The Poet’s Companion, Addonizio and Laux. Norton. 1997
The Poet’s Handbook, Judson Jerome, Writer’s Digest Books 1980
Patterns of Poetry (An Encyclopedia of Forms) Miller Williams. LSUPress.

Writing and images are the property of Ruth Zachary.

METAPHOR AND SIMILE

A Haunting Refrain. Photo Montage by Ruth Zachary.

Alluding to an image which parallels the idea you are speaking about adds depth and richness to your writing. Some languages are permeated with such parallels, comparisons, and connections. The Bible is full of metaphors, similes, figures of speech, fables and parables.

I won’t go into the different definitions of these here. The idea is to compare one thing to another. It is possible to do this without using words such as “like,” or “as” to link one image to another. Write about the subject as if it were another thing; such as a tree which is described in words usually applied to a person, or a bird, as in:

Winter Scene
by A.R. Ammons

There is now not a single
leaf on the cherry tree:

except when the jay
plummets in, lights, and

in pure clarity, squalls;
then every branch

quivers and
breaks out in blue leaves.

Remember too, when the language has become permeated with a colorful “saying,” it often becomes cliché, or stale. When a phrase has been over used, it takes away from the impact or your words, where freshness could delight the reader, and excite their imagination, instead.

A word about mixed metaphors… if you use three or four different metaphoric phrases in your writing, be sure they are not conflicting or at odds with each other. For instance, if the metaphor alludes to fire, don’t use another that creates a moist image. Try to keep those secondary images in harmony with the idea you are trying to express. If you are speaking about a beach scene, try to draw in more allusions to watery parallels.

In some cases, a poem or essay can benefit from an extended metaphor, but this requires a delicate hand. Don’t drag it out to its doggedly detailed death. Keep it as brief as possible, and that is usually when what you have written conveys the idea, without adding more. After all, it is your main idea which is the reason for using the metaphor, and not the other way around.

The Censor

The little armadilla fed herself
in a grape arbor, consuming fruit
in contented seclusion,
until you came, proclaiming authority
and undisclosed agendas.

Your criticisms Invaded the peace
your words were an armada
of carnivorous wasps, which
shot from your mouth,
hummed in the ear; swarmed
through the cracks in her armor;
wedged into every opening,
and where they didn’t fit, stung.

Paralyzed, she lay under broken vines.
Her tongue swollen; numbed.
Your words buzzed behind
her eyes; made a hive of her mind.
Breeding like larvae,
they ate away her heart.

Exercises:

1. Make a list of five nouns or subjects from the dictionary. Then make a list of five other objects or things from your head. Try to match words from both lists. Invent a connection in which one thing parallels another or may be compared with it in some way.

2. Take one or more of the metaphors you have just invented and put it/them in an order which conveys an idea. Connect them with lines which complete an idea.

3. Think of a very emotional situation you have experienced. Limit it to a few moments in time. Describe the environment, or your appearance to make connections with the situation. Make the setting or your physical being reflect the emotions in the event you are telling.

4. Advanced: Think of a story or a myth which is like a series of events you have experienced. Mention the myth only briefly, but use images, symbols and objects from the story which may be compared to your own experience. (The myth doesn't have to exactly match your own situation.) You can change the direction near the end, showing you have learned from the original story. But show us and don't tell us the conclusion.


A very good book about writing Poetry is The Poet's Companion, by Kim Addonizio and Dorianne Laux. Norton.

Images and unattributed Poems or Writing are the exclusive property of Ruth Zachary.