Three Things I Enjoyed Finding this Week
And hoping they might help keep me sane until next week…
LISTS - Where would we be without them?
I recently discovered John Ashbery’s book in which the table of contents is a list of questions—100 Multiple-Choice Questions to be exact which is a fascinating poem if indeed it is a poem. This review by Tom Clark used the same format Ashbery’s book takes. I loved the choices he used on Vendler’s:
Writing in The New Yorker, Helen Vendler has described John Ashbery’s poetry as
an entire range of language swallowed and then regurgitated, as by a mother bird
an acceptable form of alchemy, practiced without knowing it
a tap that stops leaking when one doesn’t listen to it
a way to climb the dark back stairs of the soul in one’s stockinged feet
a mechanical chess game which creates beautiful problems to cover over the machinations of capitalism
a volume of air displaced by a shirt
Both the book and review have a mini-treasure trove of ideas for writing prompts and a chance to remember how John Asbery’s surprised readers. He combined the visual and literary arts into cohesive statements and his connections are always open to interpretation. This small work is not readily available for purchase now but cobbling together pieces is what makes writing fun. His book provides an interesting format for thinking about what you think about. Like Jeopardy questions, you’re THE contestant.
Maria Popov and The Marginalian - Where would we be without Literature, Arts, and Sciences?
Start anywhere on her website. Everything is connected to other articles there. As in life, one thing links to another. Like how your brain works when you stop for a moment to really think about what you’re thinking about at any point you really want to be aware of thoughts. Which is one main reason I love her site so much as she is the master of connectedness. Maria just makes you smarter. Start anywhere on her site. Your curiosity will peak as quickly as your knowledge.
Knowledge is good and ignorance is evil: to this principle the lover of the world can admit no exception. Nor is it power in and for itself that is the source of danger. What is dangerous is power wielded for the sake of power, not power wielded for the sake of genuine good. Bertrand Russell
Anywhere on her pages is a good start to get you thinking. Maria thinks and writes a lot about lots of things so we don’t have to read tomes and texts in their entirety to discover the core essence of a single text. She also provides multiple links to every text and resource so a reader can purchase what is of interests. She is a featured writer in a writing workshop I’m enrolled in this month with Ellen Bass so can’t wait to hear her in person.
PROCRASTINATION - A Final Thought on Speaking of Lists
I’m from the to-do-list generation. Bad idea. Although it’s always interesting to discover new ideas and alternative ways to get things done, I’m done with lists I think. Time isn’t going anywhere, and I recently read about the 4,000-week time allotment approach to life. I’ll share more on that in another post but my tank is much more on the empty level than the full at this point so I don’t have time for lists much anymore.
Maybe this article will help. Let’s hope creativity abounds and turns into finished products if any of the tips work out.
Until next time, I’m busy. Probably at procrastinating but that is something, too. Taylor
About the photo: A neighbor’s cat is often in his window on the world. Not sure why cats in windows always reminds me of the well-known photo of Eudora Welty, but they do.