July 6, 2012


July 6, 2012
(inspired by James Schuyler’s June 30, 1974)

The hottest day on record and
I have melted into the center of the earth
And fallen into a molten core of—
Love, there is so much love
Around me that it hurts.
I sweat—it’s not tears, and
I’ll fake that it’s the sun
The reason I feel so bad,
But actually I’m afraid to say
Goodbye and leave all of this . . .
And all of you.
Next year in this hot hell there will be
Only the grass blowing in the wind.

This was composed on a very hot day at Cornerstone Festival in my class on micro-memoir where a dozen of us bonded over words and memories.

One of my participants—I’ll call him Dan. Actually his name was Dan. He is a fellow blogger who approaches his work from a very interesting angle. I’ve heard of people who adopt a persona when blogging. With Memoirous I experiment with tone and voice. For instance I’m not normally sarcastic. People sometimes get the impression I’m outgoing when in actuality I’m a bit on the introverted side. I hate small talk. With writing I get a chance to write and then rewrite. Revising makes me bolder. Extemporizing in conversation traumatizes me.

But Dan took the persona thing to a whole new level—he has reinvented himself, approaching the blog as a character and, like Tolkien, creating a whole world. In his blog he is Jackson Pollack and paints, covering canvases in a whole new way. He also has a wife. I love this idea of immersing oneself. I’ve often heard instructors ask: what’s in your MC’s backpack/purse/fannypack/lunch box. There are exercises to help the writer to “know” their MC (main character). Sometimes the instructor will have the MC write a letter of introduction. Whether any of this actually shows up in the fiction is irrelevant. What is important is understanding the motives of said character.

Have you ever started reading a book and thought—hey I’m not “getting” this character. They seem hastily drawn, sketched out, not full and faceted. That’s because the author hasn’t taken the time to get inside their character. Blogging your character sounds like a great idea. Now if you start blaming the missing ice cream on your character or begin to hold conversations with them—then maybe it’s time for medication.

ATTENTION: Micro-memoir students comment me your July 6, 2012.

HEY if you are enjoying this thread on Cornerstone Festival CLICK on the tag below!

Comments

riTa Koch said…
My "Lunchtime" flash memoir:

I walk down
Then up the hill
With my daughter
Slowly, painfully
It is soooo HOT!
We talk
We share memories
Of her ex
Was I wrong
over seven years
taking the grands
to visit in prison?
Nothing changed
When he got out
He went back to his old ways.
Had he fooled me all that time?
Or was he sincere back then?
Do I need to forgive him?
I have pushed him out of my mind and life.
Perhaps I need persist in prayer…
She comforts me:
“He knows we’ll be there for him
when/if he comes back.”

Rita Koch

Unmade Phone Call

I’m scared
The cyst is growing
The pain increases
The flow is constant.

“Biopsy”, says the doctor.
But when?
Who will pay?
What then?

I feel the news will be bad.

--Lo, I am with you always
--I will never leave you
nor forsake you
--Be still and know that
I AM GOD.

Rita Koch
Anonymous said…
Rita--if you ever decide to enter one of these as a postcard or short short--I'd go with just these two lines

I'm scared
the cyst is growing
Anonymous said…
Hey Cornerstone students here is a contest you should consider entering
http://thegreenheartcall.wordpress.com/
Anonymous said…
RITA I SUBMITTED YOUR THING FOR YOU

We are honored that you considered cahoodaloodaling worthy to receive your poetry. While we thank you for the opportunity to read your work, we regret that we are unable to publish it at this time.

This email goes to a category of writers we will be inviting to resubmit, whether your submission was not accepted or even if it was withdrawn.

Because we were particularly fond of your submission, you will receive another email inviting you to submit different work for the next prompt, so please watch for that. Please continue to submit your work for future issues both here at cahoodaloodaling and to the literary world at large. We know this is a difficult process for poets and wish you the very best of luck.

We hope you will keep in touch and that we may continue to read each other.

Best,

The editors of cahoodaloodaling

Kate Hammerich

Raquel Thorne