I have been writing a poem lately. I was not content with what I wrote so far, so I decided to put it aside for a few days. Then this week, I saw a youtube video clip of Allen Ginsberg 'talking to fools' about the writing process. I was already aware of the problem to a degree, but I didn't know what to do about it. When I write, sometimes the thoughts flow and sometimes I get stuck on what words to use to express my thoughts. My way of dealing with it was to take the short cut and fill in something to get an idea of what I wanted to say, thinking I'd come back to it later when I find the right words. But then, when I thought about it later, I would loose my muse. The emotion and creative flow had vanished and it didn't work.
Ginsberg mentioned this sequence and said that the writer needs to take time to visualize what he wants to say when he comes to that point of being stuck, to forget about the words and think about the picture in his mind, and then describe the picture in his mind while the creative energy is present. The results for me before, were that I could tell when I was substituting, or if I was writing from that creative place.
One of the themes of my poem was about the fog. After I got home last night, I realized I needed some things at the store. I also had a lot on my mind, so I wanted to get out for some fresh air. When I went outside, a thick fog had moved in and as I stepped outside I was submerged in the very context of my poem, I knew my muse had arrived. I tried writing again last night with Ginsberg's words in mind, (Jack Kerouac's suggestion) and it worked so much better! I realized that when I paint it is a similar process, and as my previous blog demonstrates, the things I thought I would come back to do later were sometimes left undone.
"It is you and I who are perfect, not the next world." Allen Ginsberg, America
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