2 posts tagged “poetry”

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prose

Apr 26, 2008
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i am taking a saturday class this quarter. most people would think that was a pain in the ass, however. i absolutely love that class. lidia yuknavitch, the professor, is the best teacher i've encountered at uwb. which is actually sad, considering she only teaches part-time-ish (one class a quarter, as far as i am aware). this particular class is prose. but we aren't being asked to read the same old "classic" stuff and analyze it and write an essay. oh dear g-d no. we read things like the jiri chronicles (which utilizes the systems theory, analyzes gender and patriarchy and is written by a devilish, gorgeous woman named debra di blasi). we read beauty is convulsive - a book about frida kahlo - and i book-gasmed. i love frida. i love her work. and the way this was written reminded me so much of winterson. and if i could steal any writer's abilities, it would be hers (though i could just, you know, steal her).

for class: we read a book a week. we blog about it on wordpress (thank you for ditching blackboard on this one. i fucking hate blackboard). and we do a writing assignment. and i like it because it isn't asking you to write about a specific childhood experience that really impacted your life. or to close your eyes and picture a "place that evokes _______ emotion." the assignments tie into the books, and the books are out there, so of course, the assignments are as well...

we ended up being invited to apply to the writer's edge workshop, the thing i talked to lance about, and i actually would like to go. i miss creative retreats and it won't be your average writer's workshop, i don't think. it's gonna cost a bit, but if i can find a worthy piece for submission, i think i am on board for that.

(also, i think my calendar is booked until about april 2009).

today was extra special because we turned in two assignments, since it snowed last weekend and class was cancelled. and i loved both pieces. i let jeff read the one that was to be "inspired by a painting by an artist we feel strongly about." i did mine on bond of union - a piece by escher. (i have a hard time letting people read anything that i write, that i really care about. it just isn't something i do). he ended up really loving it. and that little thing cheered me up in a way he will never understand. (i am holding on to ________)