Trigger warnings and why they matter

Trigger warning: references to sexual assault, violence, and PTSD. 

I've been following some of the online articles recently about trigger warnings for course content, especially in light of the currently tabled trigger warning policy at Oberlin College and UC Santa Barbara. (Sidenote: I absolutely agree that the Oberlin faculty should have been consulted more fully before a policy was established.) And now I'm frustrated by some of the objections being commonly raised. Academic freedom? Infantilization of students? Not every trigger can be predicted? Or, as one article points out, "There is no trigger warning for living your life."  (Also, you may be interested in reading Roxane Gay's complex and very personal AND POTENTIALLY TRIGGERING essay "The Illusion of Safety/The Safety of Illusion" BUT make sure you read it all the way to the end.)

While I have plenty of responses in my head to each of those objections, I'll just share my own experiences of using trigger warnings in my courses. Two experiences stand out in particular. 

1) In my English II and 20th-century Literature by Women courses, I've regularly included Joyce Carol Oates's "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been." If you've read it, you know that there's a scene that not only implies sexual assault but that takes readers through the cajoling and intimidation that lead up to that assault. It's a powerful and frequently anthologized story, and it's great for discussing literary concepts like symbolism, character development, epiphany, and exposition, as well as discussing women's roles in society. BUT, it has significant potential to trigger survivors of sexual assault and abuse. So I use a trigger warning (written in the Course Calendar and verbal in the class meeting prior to the day it will be discussed), and I include an optional reading for anyone who chooses not to read it because of the potential trigger. I've had several students, sadly too many, thank me individually afterward for providing that trigger warning, usually because they had similar experiences. In one case, a student came up to me after everyone else left and said that she really appreciated the warning ahead of time and the opportunity to choose. She explained that she'd been through therapy, and she'd come to grips with what had happened to her. So she chose to read the Oates story anyway--but she was able to brace herself for it, not blindsided by it. And she was able to appreciate how well the story conveyed the experience. It's not my place as an instructor to force students to "face their trauma," especially in a literature class, which is not a therapy session. It's not my place as an instructor to re-traumatize students by making them re-live their own horrors so I can teach them literary concepts. 

2) Similarly, I regularly teach Tim O'Brien's short story "The Things They Carried," which is also frequently anthologized separate from the book with the same title. I also frequently have students who are former military veterans, too many of whom are suffering PTSD. O'Brien's short story has significant potential to trigger vets. One semester, I had such a student who specifically asked me to provide him with warnings if any potentially triggering readings were to come up. So I gave a warning when assigning the O'Brien story. As with the previous anecdote, this student likewise thanked me for the warning and likewise read the story. In fact, it was perhaps the single most deeply affecting reading for him that semester. But, again, he was able to brace himself. He was able to decide what he was ready for. And both his own reading and his contributions in class discussion were powerful and ultimately positive because he was prepared for it in advance. 

I realize many of the objections to trigger warnings are due to the extension of such warnings to more nebulous things (more of the "-isms" like racism, sexism, ableism, etc.). Personally, I'd rather err on the side of warning students of some potentially traumatizing content elements than not. No, we can't know what might trigger a student. No, we can't protect them from their lives. But, for instance, even TV shows include notes of what can be potentially problematic (violence, language, etc.) And that's primarily for entertainment, for voluntary experiences, rather than a compulsory experience like so much college course material is. Someone who is, for instance, triggered by having someone behind them can actively take steps to minimize those occasions, even if they can't avoid such occasions entirely--they can choose to go through therapy to address such triggering. They have agency over their psychological health. It takes so little for me to give a brief warning, a brief heads up, in class and in writing--why should I as their instructor not offer them that level of agency in my courses? 

For these students I've described, and for many others like them, I will continue to use trigger warnings and to offer alternate assignments in my courses. These students are bright and thoughtful and dedicated, and they get to decide for themselves. Sure, I could just remove such stories from these courses, but they can clearly be powerful for students, even students who could be triggered. They can perhaps be especially effective for students who've shared similar experiences, as long as they can go into these works with their eyes open. I certainly don't want to re-traumatize these students myself in the name of academia when so many other potential triggers already exist for them in everyday life. I do trigger warnings for them.

In memoriam - Christine Eldin

Dear Chris:

I didn't really know you very well. There were probably periods of time when we communicated daily, but in the way of bloggers and online acquaintances, I still didn't *know* you. Nonetheless, I always found your contributions and comments on other blogs thoughtful and entertaining. I knew you loved your children. I knew you were funny and prolific and talented and generous and supportive. It was always a pleasure interacting with you and reading your work. I admired you. You were a friend to so many bloggers/writers in our diverse yet somehow intimate community, and I felt you were a friend to me.

It is tragedy piled upon tragedy that so much of your blogging is gone, even though you had your (very important) reasons.

We lost touch around 2009, when I basically dropped off the face of the blogosphere (for personal reasons that were positive and beneficial but...). I regret not working to maintain contact. I regret letting you and so many others slip away, brushed aside by other priorities. I regret doing it so easily. I still thought of you often, wished you well. But wishing doesn't make it so.  

In your memory, I've made a donation to American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

And I think of Robert Frost's "For Once, Then Something." 

You will be missed. Whatever anguish and despair you suffered, I cannot truly know. But I remember you. And you mattered.

-Precie

I'm not dead...

Hubby and I went to see the film ARGO today.  First, I was amazed at how long it's been since we saw a grown-up film (I said "grown-up," not "adult." Keep your mind out of the gutter!).  We've seen a plethora of kid-friendly movies, but that's not at all the same thing.  I would recommend ARGO.  It was competently done and seemed very true to the period (late 70s-early 80s).  It also, I think, seemed realistic about the politics of the situation.  I was so young during the actual hostage crisis that I remember very little of it, except for the fact that it was nightly news. 

Second, the Kid has been very interested in using clay, Legos, and my camera to make little stop-motion videos.  They're rough, as you might expect, but I'm impressed by his creativity.

And now, back to grading...

Lascaux Flash Fiction contest - deadline Sept 22

If you follow my blog, odds are good that you already follow the Lascaux Review as well.  (If you don't, you should!) In case you don't, I highly recommend you check out their Lascaux Flash Fiction contest, open now.

Here is my entry, entitled "Splinter."  Please do feel free to go read and comment--and read and comment on other wonderful entries.

I opted to submit it as a guest entry rather than as a contest entry because, frankly, I just don't need the stress right now. :)  I loved participating in the Clarity of Night flash fiction contests, and Lascaux reminds me strongly of them--but I didn't want the mental weight of wondering how my entry "measures up."  I just wanted the pleasure of reading and being read. 

You, however, should certainly enter the contest.  Submit flash of up to 250 words, inspired by the photo prompt.  There's a $250 prize, and they just recently announced that the winner will also receive an 8x10 print of the fabulous photo prompt. The deadline for submission is Sept 22.  So go! Now!  And good luck to you!

And then we came to...another beginning

Beginnings are always filled with such promise, such unbridled potential!  A birth, a new relationship, a new job...all these new developments carry such hope and (I certainly hope) joy.  No, they don't always work out, but, at the beginning, we don't know that yet.  :)

As I face the birthing of a new academic year, with all its usual upheaval, I love the sense of anticipation and potential that comes with preparing to meet my set of students.  Every class has its own personality. Every class has its own strengths and weaknesses, its own characters and conflicts, its own reactions to the work we do.  I can't want to see what happens next.

AND I'd like to draw attention to another new beginning:  The Lascaux Review will be running its first-ever annual flash fiction contest at http://www.lascauxflash.com/.

I'm excited to see the entries, although I haven't decided whether I'll enter yet (and, even if I write something, I'm considering submitting it as a guest writer, not for competition).

The contest involves a visual prompt. Entries are 250 words max. You can find all the details at the link.  Oh, and did I mention there's a cash prize?  Yup. Go click and find out more! 

Here's to new beginnings!

An Evolution...or "Where the Hell...

In the midst of grading, meetings, writing, and, you know, life (yes, I hear it's summer...to academics, "summer" doesn't mean what might think it means), I just wanted to take a moment to share the joy that is the "Where the Hell is Matt" series.  I've posted one of the videos before, but there's a new one! And while I prefer the music from the 2008 version, there's much to appreciate in each of them. What's equally fascinating to me is how we witness an evolution in the series.

The early ones (2005 and 2006) - http://www.wherethehellismatt.com/videos - are just Matt in various international locales doing a distinctively quirky dance.  I wasn't familiar with the videos back then, and, frankly, my initial reaction whenever I see them is: "Are you kidding me?? I could do that! Please, somebody pay for me to spend my days traveling the world just to dance--not even particularly well!"  (Okay, so I have a mean streak. I'm well aware of that.  And I'm not even a big fan of traveling.)

I didn't encounter these videos until after the 2008 version was released. The addition of group participation (starting at around 50 seconds into the video) transformed the concept entirely.  Now I wasn't just watching some (presumably) privileged guy dancing around in places I wouldn't in a million years get to visit myself.  Instead, I saw the joy of having people of different cultures, languages, traditions, regions, etc., all having a blast doing the same silly dance.  The video became more about them--and their unadulterated, unchoreographed enjoyment and enthusiasm--than it was about this Matt guy.

Watch the 2008 and then watch the 2012 version. They're both wonderful in their own ways.

The 2012 version is different in some key ways.  There's more of a sense of learning--Matt learning from other participants and teaching them as well.  That's because there's more choreography.  He isn't doing the "Matt" dance...he's doing their dances, and then they're all doing parts of a massive, spliced, choreographed "flash mob" kind of thing.  The crowds have gotten bigger too (AND it turns out one part was filmed where I grew up--phooey!).  My own personal preferences aside (I do love the sense of spontaneous fun from 2008), the changes over time are wonderful.  As a global exercise or outreach or whatever it is (well, advertising, for one thing), the bottom line to me is that it's just soooo damn cool to see so many people in so many different "worlds" dancing happily together...to see appreciation for their cultures...and to see so many people participating. 

For someone who makes her living with words, I have to admit that 1) these videos feel to me like they accomplish an awful lot without words and 2) I don't have the words to express how awesome I think this series is.

What I've Learned from Teaching

Here are a few random observations on what I've learned from teaching...there are are more, but these were at the forefront of my mind today...perhaps because they tie together several different projects I'm working on.

1. Clarity - With a Myers-Briggs personality type of INFJ, I tend to think broadly and abstractly. I tend to seek out new and improved ways of doing things rather than following traditional or standard methods. So one of the things I have to be mindful of is how to communicate broad, abstract ideas or processes in concrete, understandable ways.  My course syllabus averages 13 pages and includes a Table of Contents.  My essay assignments are generally 3 pages long and include "Do's and Don'ts." If what I'm saying in class (or to any audience) isn't clear, it's pretty easy to tell: the glazed eyes (which can also just be a sign that I've been talking too much and need to switch to more engaging activities, like having them write!), the furrowed brow, the whispered questions from one student to another asking for clarification.  And I find that this more overt attention to clarity--Am I making my points clear?--translates into what I do outside the classroom.  It's not enough to say what I want to say...it's also my responsibility to confirm that my audience gets what I'm trying to say.  Clarity doesn't equal simplicity...complex thoughts and ideas and processes can still be presented in ways that make them clear to others.

2. Structure - Both in a pragmatic sense and in a creative writing sense, teaching structure has made me much more keenly attuned to the way communication is structured, the way plot is structured, the way we establish points; raise expectations; and then develop, defend, and deliver on those expectations.  We could jump willy-nilly into situations guided by instinct and impulse (and I'm sure I still do), but I have a greater appreciation for how strongly attention to structure can foster more effective communication.  The five-act structure in drama (also sometimes known as Freytag's Pyramid), for instance, is a classical skeleton for any story.  Even non-fiction uses that basic structure to build audience interest.  It's also the basic setup for business letters: exposition, complication, climax (why you should hire me), resolution, and denouement.  I didn't fully appreciate the five-act structure until I started teaching it...now I see it everywhere (and sometimes my students do too).  And structure goes hand in hand with clarity.

3. Empathy - I remember what it was like to be a first-year college student.  And yet some of my students don't have the naive ego I had.  I was a Honors students with a full scholarship to a prestigious university; I "knew" what I was doing.  Right. During my first year, I basically embarassed myself as the dunce of the Honors interdisciplinary program that was the special first-year experience of my Honors cohort.  I knew how to regurgitate what I read, but as a first-year college student, I didn't really know how to do close readings of classical texts.  Plato was Plato...what he said must be fact...how do you analyze that? The Epic of Gilgamesh...yes, it described the flood that's also referenced in the Bible...okay, what am I supposed to do (aka, write critically) about that?  In some ways, my teaching is directly shaped by and echoes the expectations that were laid upon me then, although I tend to use a "bunny slope" version with more contemporary and accessible (and short) readings for my students to work with.  Critical thinking skills are vitally important...and I believe ultimately enable students to be better learners and better self-teachers in all disciplines...so I emphasize skills like analysis, evaluation, and argumentation...BUT I really do remember what it's like to think "What the heck does this professor want from me?  What is he/she asking me to do?  I have no idea what this means!"  And I like to think that, while I maintain high standards and great expectations of my students, I also do whatever I can to help students get past that "I have no idea what you want from me" phase of critical thinking. 

Abrupt ending. Expect a totally unrelated topic next week.

Gestation

She wondered what this reawakening would bring.  They grew progressively more difficult, both physically and psychologically. She didn't really have much to complain about, though.  In her recollection, she'd never been through anything really traumatic, not like others she knew, not like the ones who wake up screaming or curled up tight, already close to death.  She'd never even been a dung beetle.

She stretched her arms wide. They were longer now, able not just to touch but to stretch her silken prison, like what she remembered of taffy.  Still pliable, this wrapper. When it went brittle, that's when she was supposed to be ready.

Who determines readiness?

She wondered what would still remain of the world.  Would anything still be familiar? Would it be like that time when she (or was it he?) woke in a desert, parched, digging into a sweet cactus as the sky lit up like flame. That was a short visit.

Silk. Strong, but fragile. Protective. She wondered about the other tenuous threads, the ones she'd established before...delicate connections with other beings and times and places.

Which ones finally broke? She'd learned enough to expect some losses.  There would be a mourning period.

Which ones are stretched to their limit? Which can be salvaged? Which can still be retraced, reinforced before they snap?  She could never predict the world she would meet next. 

She stretched again, her legs this time, testing the limits.

Almost time.

Soon. Very, very soon.

May Day!

Happy first of May!

*mutters to self* You don't have time for this. You should be grading those portfolios stacked up in your lap.

*self bellows back* But it's the FIRST of MAY!

It's a day for celebration of life and spring and earth...for dancing around a Maypole...for standing up for workers' rights all over the world.

It's also the day that Brenda Novak's Annual Auction for the Cure of Diabetes starts! Go check it out! Right now!  Lots of great auctions for writers and aspiring writers!

It also just happens to be the day the Great Exhibition of 1851 opened in Hyde Park, London, England. But I'm guessing only a small subset of literature and history geeks care much about that.  It seems to be the touchstone of both my fiction writing and my academic career.

Have a lovely May Day...even if it is rainy and grey!

IMT - "Compromise"

You can find an explanation of the new (and presumably random) IMT feature here.

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Compromise

They tried to
shower
her with
happy
planting bulbs,
hardy
and strong,
blooming wild
in her
purple red
yellow
striated.

They tried to
pile up
bushels
of joy
in her lap.
Cascades.
But nothing
lasted.

They wanted
to find the
key. That
magic.
They didn't
know she'd
gobbled it
up long
ago.
Destroyed
by stomach
acid,
there was
no key left.

They could not
force it on
her.  Only
try to catch
Kore
when she
reappeared.

Another dream course I'd love to teach

Two years ago, I participated in a four-session on-campus faculty seminar on meditation and the teaching self.  Fascinating experience (and the primary reading was Parker Palmer's The Courage to Teach...what's not to like?!) One of the culminating assignments for the seminar was to write up an overview of a dream course I'd love to teach at our institution, if scheduling and general education core requirements and basically "real world" concerns weren't factors.  The assignment I submitted (a course on critical thinking) resulted in my college sending me to an intensive three-day conference on critical thinking; subsequently, a Math colleague and I spent over a year developing and presenting faculty workshops at our institution on how to foster critical thinking in our students and courses. Very much a privilege to be given that much support by my institution but also a tremendous responsibility.  I'm still rather amazed at how that personal assignment mushroomed into such a major and continuing career development.

So it's with a little caution that I put in words another dream course that's taken over my imagination. I have oodles of them, not all of them very practical but filled with stuff I'd love to read and study and discuss...including a combination sociology/lit or psychology/lit course.  I'm sure a course like the one I'm about to describe is already on the books at some institutions...probably as a 400-level or graduate course.  Alas (or perhaps for the good of my sanity), I don't think it's likely that this would fit a community college...it's a little too narrow in focus for students who need/want to complete 100- and 200-level coursework...and are not likely to be English majors.  (But I'll leave the subject of English major for another day.)

The Lost Generation
After reading Paula McLain's novel The Paris Wife, a fictional account of Ernest Hemingway's first marriage, told mainly from his wife Hadley's point of view, and after teaching some of the Modernist poets in my Modern (and Contemporary) Poetry course this semester, I'm consumed by a burning desire to teach a course on The Lost Generation, that post-WWI group of novelists, poets, artists, etc. bouncing around Europe like so many billiard balls with each encounter affecting their trajectories.

Ezra Pound

TS Eliot

Gertrude Stein

H.D.

Ernest Hemingway

Wyndham Lewis

James Joyce

F. Scott Fitzgerald

and let's not forget the artists like Picasso and Matisse

I'm already fascinated by the near-incestuous literary relationships between Pound and Eliot and Stein...and by Pound's apparent charisma (EVERYONE wanted this man's opinion and approval...not just Eliot but William Carlos Williams, Robert Frost, lots of "big name" writers of the age). Reading The Paris Wife (which I found compelling and heart-wrenching) and then going back to Hemingway's memoir A Moveable Feast, I'm struck anew by the energy and power of this nexus of writers. While they were very much individual and idiosyncratic, it's easy to see that their interactions fed their collective creativity and honed their writing tremendously.  (I'm still critical of Pound's extensive editing of Eliot's The Waste Land, but that's a post for some other day.) No one would confuse their voices, but their interactions (not necessarily friendships) couldn't help but drive their writing and editing and development.

It would also be interesting, I think, to explore the somewhat peripheral role of women in this conglomeration. Certainly, Stein's regular "salons" and her advice for writers like Hemingway suggest an active role in this literary movement. And her voice and poetics were very much her own. But I'm a little put off by the overall promiscuity of the group...Hemingway's infidelity in particular. (Yes, okay, personally, I'm rather morally inflexible about things like that...but I'm also kind of fascinated by the historical relationship between male charisma and infidelity...Bill Clinton was often described as charming and charismatic...we've all seen the power of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s personality...BUT I digress...that's a completely different course topic and probably not an easily constructed one....Also, not really in my discipline.)

(Note:  yup, clearly in the throes of grading hell.  My brain is grasping at all kinds of interesting and engaging topics, pulling me away from the actual work I know I need to get done.  I suspect this is very INFJ of me...Grading papers is a very detail-oriented task AND I spend a lot of time and mental energy couching my feedback in ways that are, I hope, productive for students.  So it's no wonder that my brain wants instead to play in fields of big, fun ideas, tossing around concepts and questions and texts.)

Anyway...if you could teach a course on anything...what would you want most to teach people? and who would you teach it to? And why?  Discuss.

IMT - "Reason"

You can find an explanation of the new (and presumably random) IMT feature here.

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Reasons

He was too old for her
Or she was too old for him
Or he traveled too much
Or she worked too much
Or he wanted children
Or she wanted more children
Or they’d rushed into things.
Wasn’t religious enough.
Wasn’t affectionate enough.
Too political.
Always out.
Too loud.
Too much.
Nitpicked
Never wanted sex.
Turned out to be a lesbian.
Turned out to be a different person.
It was complicated.

They stopped agreeing

On movies, on who had to walk the dog.
They never talked anymore.
They married too young,
Lost their passion,
Grew apart or
Turned out they never loved each other,
Not even as they spoke their vows.

I ,

seldom certain about much,
I
do not doubt
you.

But that is not the same as faith.

---

Celebrating Poetry

As I mentioned yesterday (yes, my brain is on overdrive as papers and portfolios pile up around me so I'm sorta kinda procrastinating to give me fresh eyes), today is Poem in Your Pocket Day. I posted a link to the poem I'm carrying around today (in truth, I've been carrying it in my purse for a few weeks now...but that's a different and not so interesting story). 

So here are a random sampling of poems for you.  Enjoy!


My writer friends will likely either love Taylor Mali's "The The Impotence of Proofreading" or have an aneurysm:



And here's a glimpse of my (apparently conventional, almost textbook Literature Geek) high school self...I loved Dorothy Parker's "Resume" in high school. I'm disconcerted by this video, though:


A perennial favorite of mine is William Wordsworth's "The World Is Too Much with Us."

And I've come to the end of my allotted free time, even though there are so many other poems I'd like to point you to.

So...what's your favorite poem?

Poem in Your Pocket Day - April 26

Here's the poem that will be in my pocket tomorrow for Poem in Your Pocket Day:

The Buried Life by Matthew Arnold : The Poetry Foundation

It's one of my favorites, which probably reveals more about me than I care to acknowledge. It certainly helps to demonstrate my preoccupation with Victorian British literature as it wrestled into a challenging new world, one of materialism and metropolism (NOTE: I was going for "urbanization" but decided I liked the alliteration, even though "metropolism" isn't really a word), one that threatened to distance people from nature and from each other.

I love so many lines in this poem...and, while I wouldn't list this one among them, I love that Arnold's line near the end "And then he thinks he knows" doesn't allow readers the comfort of thinking we can truly find closure and connection...we only think we can.

Check. 1...2...3...Is this thing on?

*waves* Hi!

First, this is my first encounter with the new version of Blogger. In general, I'm wary of change. And I don't think I like this new version. NOTE:  I definitely don't like this new Blogger composition window.

Second, I'll be starting a random feature here that I think of as "The Island of Misfit Toys" (IMT). If you're familiar with the claymation Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, then you know that the Island of Misfit Toys is where Rudolph and Herme the Elf found themselves after they escaped (or, you know, were banished from) the North Pole. This island is home to toys that were somehow wrong...a wooden train with square wheels, a jack-in-the-box whose name isn't Jack, a pink elephant with red spots (my favorite). These are toys that were deemed not good enough for children to receive as gifts. So they sit on this remote island, abandoned and unfulfilled. As is probably fitting for most children's stories, especially ones having to do with Christmas, these forlorn toys are recognized by Santa, who has just come to appreciate that differences like Rudolph's shining nose are to be appreciated, not rejected. So the poor rejected misfits eventually find happy homes.

Well, my IMT will feature my own writing misfits...pieces that I know aren't quite right but I that I still want to give a home to.

Third, I'm in the middle of crunch time this semester and way behind on grading. So, paradoxically, I may be blogging more heavily as I procrastinate (or, to reframe this...as I recharge my mental batteries in the middle of grading). We shall see.

What is the purpose of poetry?

First, bullet points...to get them out of my system:

• Happy Veteran's Day--my thanks and admiration go out to all American veterans for everything they've done for our country.
  
• My heart goes out to the victims in the Penn State child sex abuse scandal...and to all victims of sexual abuse.
  
• There are approximately 4 weeks left in the semester...I can't yet see the light at the end of the paper-filled tunnel, but it's only a matter of time.
  
• I've been spending too much time reading Chuck Wendig's blog...F--- Nano. F--- thinking of getting published. F--- rejection. Again. I write because I want to write, because I enjoy playing with words, because I have ideas and characters and plotlines that want expression. Someday I will likely realize that I'm a talentless hack whose work is like a punishment and trial to anyone I subject it to...but not today.
  

---

I actually started writing the post below about a month ago...these classes have now completed the Poetry Unit, and I'm in the midst of grading the analysis projects at the end of said unit.

---

Okay, so you probably have your own answer to the question that titles this post: What is the purpose of poetry. Well, so do I. But the reason I raise the question here is that my English II sections recently faced this question when we did the Poetry Unit of the course, and I found their initial responses to this very question absolutely fascinating. Note: In recent semesters, I've split the units in this course by genre: short fiction, poetry, and drama. In the past, I've tried focusing units on themes or literary concepts (like irony) and mixing genres within that topic.) I asked the class to freewrite responses to two questions that came out of an interview (with a poet) that was published in our course textbook:

1. What is the purpose of poetry?
2. Why do we need poetry?

This tends to be a vocal group so, in the middle of the freewrite time, someone piped up, "We don't need it! If you have something you want to express, just say it!"  And other students agreed. This wasn't surprising.  Many people dislike poetry.  Even people who write poetry aren't always avid readers of poetry.  Poems can be difficult and mysterious. Students sometimes carry anti-poetry baggage from their educational history.  And poets like T.S. Eliot are deliberately obscure, fueling the notion that poetry is inaccessible. Over the course of the class period, we got to talking about how poetry works differently.  Even though no one would initially say poetry is "needed," some students did point out that poetry does what other forms of writing don't do.  And this transitioned nicely into a couple of videos I showed of spoken poetry that were direct examples of how poetry "works" differently than prose:
Sekou Sundiata's "Blink Your Eyes."
Brian Turner's "Caravan" and "Eulogy"

By the end of the class period, it *seemed* more students recognized that, just like there are some songs we relate to *exactly*, songs that seem to "get" who we are and how we feel or think, sometimes poetry captures an experience or a moment in ways that prose can't. That "Aha!" moment.

While this might not be surprising to you, it can be eye-opening for students who aren't interested in reading and are perhaps downright antagonistic toward poetry.

Sidenote: one student was on the other side of the fence, stating that all literature had a purpose because the author was trying to convey ideas to an audience and spent time and effort shaping that message. (Sort of a reassuring thought for a hack writer like me.)

Ahem...Imagery

Okay, so I'm swamped.  And today I'm collecting literary analysis papers from two sections.  So I'll continue to be swamped for a while.

But I stumbled across this sardonic gem about the use of imagery, in poetry and in general, and had to share.  I can't remember what the program is that creates this video, but it can be used to covert text to animation...and I suspect the series by EnglishAdvisingBear is brilliant in a dark, depressing, horribly cynical way.

Totally tongue-in-cheek and frighteningly astute. I do want to yell from the mountaintops, "This has GREAT imagery." But I'm too demanding about what "great" constitutes. 

All creative writers use imagery...the images we use say a lot about who we are and how we think. And on that note, I'm going back to work...and trying to ignore what the images I use in my writing say about me...

#FridayFollow - An Interview with Aimee Laine

I recently made the acquaintance of romance novelist Aimee Laine at the Clarity of Night blog contest.  Have you started noticing a trend? Yes, many of my literary acquaintances have been through Clarity of Night--it's just that awesome.  Here is Aimee's sharp and lovely entry in the most recent CoN contest: "Twisted Fairytale."

Aimee Laine's debut paranormal romance Little White Lies was published in July by J.Taylor Publishing. It features a powerful shapeshifter and a menace that forces her to team up with the boy she once loved, who is now all grown up and doesn't know her in her current face. Oh, the anguish. It's a quick, fast-paced, touching read.

Here's more about Aimee herself:

Aimee is a romantic at heart and a southern transplant with a bit of the accent (but not a whole bunch). She's married to her high school sweetheart, and with him, she's produced three native North Carolinians, two of whom share the same DNA.

With an MBA and a degree in Applied Mathematics, there’s absolutely no reason she should be writing romance novels. Then again, she shouldn't need a calculator to add two numbers, either ... but she does.

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Herewith, an interview with the savvy and prolific Aimee Laine:

Did you pick your genre(s) or did your genre(s)pick you?

Oh, my genre picked me. There is no question about that. I am made for the mysterious nature of romance. Though most of mine classified as paranormal romance (because there is *something* otherworldly in all of them) I'm really much more in line with suspense and mystery, weaving romance into all the plot elements.

What, if anything, has surprised you about the publishing industry?

Honestly, it's not the publishing industry that surprises me anymore. It is pretty much a tried and true group that only does things one way. It's the use of technology that surprises me and the fact that authors have SO many more possibilities when it comes to their work now. We aren't limited to waiting 10 years in the hopes that an agent will pick up an author and an editor will pick up a story and a publisher will actually publish. We're in a whole new arena of 'entrpreneurism' when it comes to books. Now, it's up to authors to run their businesses toward success. That's what has changed. As one with an entrepreneurial spirit and background, this is what I think is so amazing.

You’re a professional photographer as well as anovelist. How do those roles influence each other?

They are both art. One is crafted with imagery through the lens of a camera and the other with the placement of words on a paper. I honestly don't think I would have moved into writing without having first experienced life as a photographer and experienced the lives of OTHERS through that lens. I learned so much about other people in the last 6 years that being able to translate my 'view' onto paper has been incredibly fun.

What’s your best advice for balancing your workand your personal life?

Prioritize. Some days, writing will be my priority. Other days my kids. Moments happen. I have to take them when I can get them. I also work full time (the corporate, paycheck gig) and so I have to balance that too. I'm very adept at juggling and multi-tasking and switching what I need to do when. If my kids need me, I will be there for them. If they don't, I will take every opportunity to write or to talk with my photography clients or to spend time with my hubby. It's about not leaving a moment free that could have been used. Time is a commodity. I do what I love during the time I have. And I type freakishly fast, so that helps a lot, too.

Who are your favorite writers of all time? Why?

I'm not one of those people who'd followed 'the great classical writers' and wish I could write like them. I sometimes, don't even remember the names of writers who've written great stories because I'm so enthralled with the story itself. I'll go searching for books by using the titles of ones I've read to FIND the author. Yes, I know I'm bad, but it's who I am. I remember actions, not static stuff. I'll remember those stories. As for the stories, I have a shelf full of Nora Roberts and JD Robb (remember, I said my genre picked me). I have Debbie MacComber, Stephenie Meyer, JK Rowling, Kristin Hannah, Lolly Winston, Sharon McCrumb, Judy Blume, Nicholas Sparks (even though I can't read his anymore. Refer to my being a romance lover). These are all just books I've loved so much that I have them and know their stories.

How do you deal with your inner editor/critic?

She and I do not agree on anything! In this little writing challenge I accepted with a writer-friend of mine, I had 25,000 words to get to the final and win. I was always right with her and even ahead of the game until one day, I realized I had a plot error in my story and my muse went on vacation. At that point, my inner editor took over. I cannot write on if I have a major error like that. So I stopped to fix it and my friend went on to ... well ... win. :) So, as you can see, my inner editor has massive control over me.

Unfortunately, that same inner editor has massive control over what I read, too. There are some lazy writing issues I can overcome, but not many and I'm finding more and more that I just can't get past some of the blatant errors that are occurring in published works. Unfortunately, I'm seeing it even more in self-published works -- the few I've tried at the suggestion of friends or family. It makes me wonder if editors have lost their inner editor. Are we pushing so fast to get books out that we're forgetting to fix the writing? So anyway, my inner editor and I are always at war with each other. If the story, however, is that great? Then I win the battle ... for that moment.

Do you have a favorite character or scene from one of your books?

My all time favorite character thus far is Mac Thorne. She's a character I created for a YA trilogy and in Book 1 currently called After Dark, she is who I wanted to be as a teen. She's a mix between Charley Randall (my main character from Little White Lies) and my more serene characters in other books, but brought back down to 18 years old. Mac has something about her makes me want to hug her and punch her all at the same time. I absolutely love her and can't wait to share her with the world, but I have to write book 2 and let book 1 simmer a little longer before I can do that.

As a writer, what has been your best moment sofar?

The day a blog reviewer said she loved my book and the day a random person on the street walked into my office with a copy and said, "will you sign this" and I went, Yes! That was my crowning moment.

What advice do you have for newbie writers?

Don't publish just to publish. Don't wait for an agent to pick you up because you think that's the only way. Write more. Write often. Write a lot and get REALY feedback. Use a critiquing site or partner or group. Take feedback early and often and infuse that into your work. It takes time to find your voice. It takes time to find your style. It takes work, but it's so fulfilling.

What’s next for you?

Well ... I just announced that my book Hide & Seek, the first in the Games of Zeus series will be out in March! Yeah! And I'm finishing up Cael and Lily's story (Book two in the Mimics of Rune series -- behind Little White Lies). And I have 7 other books that could go after that, but we'll see what will come next after those.

To find out more about Aimee Laine, visit her at www.aimeelaine.com.

#FridayFollow - An Interview with Theresa Weir

I first encountered the work of Theresa Weir/Anne Frasier through the Clarity of Night blog back in 2006. Under both names, she's a prolific and renowned author in multiple genres.

Since her debut in 1988, she's published thirteen novels as Theresa Weir, including the RITA-award winning Cool Shade (1998) and the Daphne du Maurier-award winner Bad Kharma (1999).

As suspense novelist Anne Frasier, she's published several novels and anthologies, including three USA Today bestsellers: Hush (2002), Sleep Tight (2003), and Play Dead (2004). (As of August 28, 2011, Amazon had the Kindle versions of Hush and Play Dead for FREE.)

Fortunately for us, her writing prowess continues. In August, she saw the release of the short story anthology Deadly Treats (compiled and edited by Anne Frasier), which promises to be a great Halloween read. And this month welcomes the release of Theresa Weir's poignant memoir The Orchard (release date: September 21, 2011).

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Herewith, an interview with the gracious and talented Theresa Weir:

Your memoir The Orchard is a departure from your novels. What challenges did you encounter in writing it or in getting it published?

The Orchard came very close to never being published because I couldn’t find an agent who wanted to represent it. Agents were looking for Anne Frasier suspense from me, not a Theresa Weir memoir. I gave up and put the book away for a year, then got it out again and tried one more time. So it was very difficult. But in the end, three major publishers wanted to buy it.

Did you pick your genre(s) or did your genre(s) pick you?

I suppose they pick me. This has been especially true with the short stories I’ve been writing. I seem to be writing a lot of fantasy and occult, but I never sit down to write fantasy or occult.

What, if anything, has surprised you about the publishing industry?

There’s an incredible amount of passion for books at major publishing houses.

Do you read reviews of your books? How do you deal with them (whether they’re positive or negative)?

It really depends. I haven’t been reading reviews of The Orchard unless they’re sent to me. I’m finding when it comes to my own life, lukewarm reviews are much harder to take.

What’s your best advice for balancing your work and your personal life?

I wish I knew the answer to that. I think writers give up a lot. We put our heads down, and twenty years later we look up to see that life has passed us by. We have to be careful to live our lives.

Who are your favorite writers of all time? Why?

Oh, that’s tough. I think J.D. Salinger was the biggest influence on me. He made me realize that a story can be quiet, yet have impact.

How do you deal with your inner editor/critic?

I listen, because my inner critic is usually right. When I have that feeling…that uneasy, sick feeling in my gut, I know a scene isn’t working.

On the other hand, I know great writers who don’t advance because they’re always rewriting and reworking and questioning.

Do you do your research before writing or during your writing process?

During.

As a writer, what has been your best moment so far?

When I got the call from my new agent telling me we had an offer on The Orchard. I still can’t believe it. I think especially because I’d written genre fiction for so many years, and I’d never dreamed that my own personal story was the one people would really want to hear.

What advice do you have for newbie writers?

• Watch for repeated words.
• Show, don’t tell is always good advice, but don’t be afraid to tell in order to move scene forward.
• Be careful of too much backstory. Readers don’t care about what happened yesterday; they want to know what’s happening now.
• Establish conflict right away.
• Good balance of dialogue and narrative. Make sure you have some white space.
• Know your strengths, but don’t abuse them. Don’t torture the reader with them.
• Start the story in the right place.

To find out more about Theresa Weir/Anne Frasier, visit her at these haunts:

Website: www.theresaweir.com

Blog: http://monkeywithapen.blogspot.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anne.frasier and https://www.facebook.com/TheOrchardBook

Thanks for stopping by!

User Guides and Press Releases and Web Sites, Oh, My!

So, last week (which seems like eons ago), reader Cat asked me in one of the comments to talk more about my technical writer experience. I said I'd focus on that in my next blog post...but I'm more swamped this week than I expected (You'd think I'd learn that the first week of the semester is a blur, no matter how prepared I thought I was ahead of time.)

So my answer will be abbreviated.

Cat asked: Would you recommend it?

My answer, as I said briefly in last week's Comments section: An enthusiastic YES, but...

Did I enjoy being a technical writer? Absolutely yes. Given the opportunity, I would probably consider doing some freelance technical writing during summers.

So why the "but..."? Because I worked for a small business (fewer than 50 employees) in a niche software industry. I was the company's sole technical writer during my tenure there. And the company used proprietary programming language and a proprietary documentation system. So I don't think my position was indicative of what is common in technical writing as a career field.

I had a great time. I worked with smart, talented people. In addition to writing and editing user manuals for customers, I ended up also writing press releases for distribution to trade publications, marketing materials for sales and promotion. I also ended up as the company's web master for a few years.

But in contrast, a friend of mine worked as a technical editor at a much larger company for a few years, and her experience was very different from mine. Hers was much more about maintaining consistency in style and accuracy in language. She enjoyed her work too, and I'm sure many technical writers are between our (somewhat) extremes.

And here's a bigger "but"...Although it's only been 3 years since I transitioned from that position, I suspect the world of technical writing has changed a lot, due mainly to technological advances and to the economy. I suspect the world has less need of user manuals...just look at how computer and tablet manufacturers provide minimal documentation with their products. More and more, it seems that software companies are embedding documentation within their products (Help menus, in-product or online tutorials, etc.). This means that technical writers need to have as much of a programming or technical background as a strong writing background. I suspect that same need for a technical background applies to most any field that employs technical writers these days--engineering, manufacturing, biotechnology, etc.

I used to be a member of the Society for Technical Communication, and I would highly recommend their web site and resources for a clearer picture of where technical writing is going, what is expected of technical writers, and what opportunities are currently available.

So...if anyone has any questions for me...about anything really...feel free to post them in the comments! (This applies to any post at any time...um, I think.)