This blog is about the book Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. I will begin this blog writing about the chapter in her book called writers block. Every single person has this happen to them at least once in their lives when they have no idea what to write about next. She explains on it happens to the best of writers as well. A good analogy she used is Wile E. Coyote how he always heads back to the drawing board. She also explains that is it wise of you not to think of your self in a block because that means you are literally blocked off by things. Writers block is short for being empty. You have nothing more to think about or write about. Usually writing about easy memories you remember is a good way to start you're writing process back on track because that is easy to do.
I also like how she explains how writing and reading decrease our sense of isolation, it deepens and widens our sense of life. When writers write they try to make their lives or their stories relate to the readers life. So it makes them sad, happy, and loving every minute of the book because it closely relates to their own life. That is why writing matters most to all those writers and readers out there. It's that sense of feeding the soul.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Thursday, November 17, 2011
11/16/2011
For this blog post I will be writing about Fluorescence by Jennifer Dick. I will first begin to write about part 4 in the book. This part was very intriguing to me, because she wrote down all of these many reasons why people aren't satisfied with their own lives. She starts off with "Because of money, or mood, a strange sore in the throat, sex no longer enticing," and then she ends this long paragraph with " because no one could explain." The only person who can explain why a person committed suicide is the actually person who is gone.
Another part in this book that I will blog about is called Gravity. Right away I notice the odd syntax to this poem. Each line starts left margin, to the middle margin, to the right margin. She has two lines like that, and then puts two more lines directly centered. I'm not quite sure what she is talking about in this poem. A line that I really liked was "something red in the green dank of the blue lake dimpled reflections or perhaps fins." This is very descriptive with the colors she in this line. The last line of this poem I also found very interesting, "The body knows, is known she whipsers in the back of his eye so he won't forget." I'm not too sure how you whisper in somebody's eye. This might be a symobolic line for something else.
Another part in this book that I will blog about is called Gravity. Right away I notice the odd syntax to this poem. Each line starts left margin, to the middle margin, to the right margin. She has two lines like that, and then puts two more lines directly centered. I'm not quite sure what she is talking about in this poem. A line that I really liked was "something red in the green dank of the blue lake dimpled reflections or perhaps fins." This is very descriptive with the colors she in this line. The last line of this poem I also found very interesting, "The body knows, is known she whipsers in the back of his eye so he won't forget." I'm not too sure how you whisper in somebody's eye. This might be a symobolic line for something else.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Blog post 11/9/2011
In this blog post I will be writing about the section of Jealousy in Lamotts's "Bird by Bird." To me I can really connect to this section because I believe that jealousy is a horrible trait to have. Jealousy can really get a person and affect their lives. The line "The more I wrote about it and the more I thought of the movie, the angrier I got at how often this writer friend mentioned her money to me, because that summer Sam and I had almost none, and she knew it." Another line that I could really connect to was, "You are going to feel awful beyond words. You are going to have a number of days in a row where you hate everyone and don't believe in anything." This is a about as truthful as it can get. You have to keep going though no matter what and get through the jealousy and the days where you feel horrible. It always gets better that's how I like to put it. One line from this chapter that I liked was " Me deepest belief is that to live as if we're dying can set us free. Dying people teach you to pay attention and to forgive and not to sweat the small things." This line is very strong in that you want to live your life to the fullest until you die.
Lamott likes to give this reference to broccoli in one section of this book. In this section she explains to students this important concept. A line that really stuck out to me was "Writing is about hypnotizing yourself into believing in yourself, getting some work done, then unhypnotizing yourself and going over the material coldly." Let your story speak to you and tell you what to write down is the way I take this whole broccoli idea. She speaks of how we need this broccoli or you will be having a mental block day or just a bad day. "You need your broccoli in order to write well" she says. Writing is just a simple process that Lamott likes to break down in a funny way.
Lamott likes to give this reference to broccoli in one section of this book. In this section she explains to students this important concept. A line that really stuck out to me was "Writing is about hypnotizing yourself into believing in yourself, getting some work done, then unhypnotizing yourself and going over the material coldly." Let your story speak to you and tell you what to write down is the way I take this whole broccoli idea. She speaks of how we need this broccoli or you will be having a mental block day or just a bad day. "You need your broccoli in order to write well" she says. Writing is just a simple process that Lamott likes to break down in a funny way.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Blog Post Oct 26th
One story I would like to talk about is from Wreckage of Reason titled Ten Birds by Karen Brennan. What first struck me as I was reading this story was the syntax of the story. It was labeled into 10 different parts each describing something different but using similar words. She always refers to the birds in the story as a metaphor for how she is feeling. "Too many birds in the room, now they were beside me flicking their fearthers. I never cared fro their song which was unmelodic but let's face it the birds were a metaphor for the dread I felt" was a line from part 3. In a separate stanza she writes "I knew the pillow was a metaphor for weariness and the birds seemed to be hiding." She keeps repeating the same items in each stanza. It seems to me that she is dealing with an emotion, maybe a loss of her husband of some sort. But she refers to the man beside lying beside her in a couple stanzas.
The next story I would like to blog about is Cottage Life by Masha Tupitsyn. When I first started to read this story the first like really got me, "I cracked time the same way I cracked you." This first line is a very strong opening line because when you crack someone it usually means they hard to get to know. To me this is about a love story in a cottage. This women then begins to talk about a certain birthmark under her breast that have made her uncomfortable to even think about letting someone see her breasts. "I wanted one lover for life just to avoid going over the details of the brown thumbprint over and over again." was the line. This man she if with though doesn't even notice it and is in awe at how beautiful this women is. She is also very descriptive when she talks about the cottage she is in using this line "Dust in every place, summer flowers outcasts in a filthy house, pitch black attic room and no air except at night, a blow from the defenseless skylight, along with all bugs wafting through despite the obstruction of obscurity."
The next story I would like to blog about is Cottage Life by Masha Tupitsyn. When I first started to read this story the first like really got me, "I cracked time the same way I cracked you." This first line is a very strong opening line because when you crack someone it usually means they hard to get to know. To me this is about a love story in a cottage. This women then begins to talk about a certain birthmark under her breast that have made her uncomfortable to even think about letting someone see her breasts. "I wanted one lover for life just to avoid going over the details of the brown thumbprint over and over again." was the line. This man she if with though doesn't even notice it and is in awe at how beautiful this women is. She is also very descriptive when she talks about the cottage she is in using this line "Dust in every place, summer flowers outcasts in a filthy house, pitch black attic room and no air except at night, a blow from the defenseless skylight, along with all bugs wafting through despite the obstruction of obscurity."
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Blog Post Oct 19th
For this blog post I will write about is a couple of stories from "Wreckage of Reason" which is a bunch of short stories but together. The first story I will like to write about is New York/LA Whirlwind Romance by Karen Lillis. This is a story of a bunch of different quotes this lady heard walking around and just listening to people conversate. The way she put it together as if this was a man talking to a woman on the phone trying to sleep with her, and be with her, and then it ending up being that the guy just wants to be friends. This is done in two parts. Some lines that I will write are in part 1 he says: "I love talking to you" to "I can't wait to meet you" to "Look, I'll say it. I love you." In part 2 he says ""I'm just ignoring you when you get like that" to "You need to find a man closer to your age" to "The best thing about you coming is I finally cleaned my house" to "Yeah, I'll talk to you sometime." This is very describing of a stereotypical man searching for a women and then backing out of it once he meets her in person.
The next story I would like to write about is Upon finding a Knife by Suki Wessling. This story was very creative where she staring writing about this character named Craig who had a key in his pocket. She interacted herself into this story with the line "The writer decided that it would not hurt to leave the knife in his pocket," and the line "The writer helps Carl off the subway." It's also interesting how she relates this knife in his pocket to a key that is useless. "which the writer finds annoyingly plentiful like locks to which she has no key." This was a very creative story.
The next story I would like to write about is Upon finding a Knife by Suki Wessling. This story was very creative where she staring writing about this character named Craig who had a key in his pocket. She interacted herself into this story with the line "The writer decided that it would not hurt to leave the knife in his pocket," and the line "The writer helps Carl off the subway." It's also interesting how she relates this knife in his pocket to a key that is useless. "which the writer finds annoyingly plentiful like locks to which she has no key." This was a very creative story.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Response Oct 12th, 2011
The first story I would like to blog about is Word, by Cynthia Reeves. At first this reminded me of that one poem that talks about words and ends in the rapist is therapist. She uses good descriptions like the line "No L in tongue, after all, but sometimes her tongue felt like an L, fluid, thrusting itself inside her mouth to form Love, sometimes running itself along her teeth, lips, gums." I don't exactly understand what she is talking about metaphorically, but it is very descriptive nonetheless. Another just concrete line from this story is "She reminded herself that smug is only a word, but then hand is a word, too, as when he ran his, gently down the seam of her spine, after yes." It's easy to picture what she is talking about when she right so descriptive. Another point I would like to add is that she likes to use her commas, to help, slow down, the, reader, like, this. A good example would be "She dropped the K, inverting reverting, thinking, won, now, no." That is a different use for mechanics.
Another story I would like to mention is Look for Dr. Nick by Geri Deluca. This story was very interesting to me because I believe she was trying to prove a point. That point is that most Psychotherapist don't actually listen to you they just prescribe you drugs to help balance the chemicals in one's depressed brain. I have thought this for a while now. A line for using good descriptive words is "The chemicals in their brain that give them the illusion of an identity are out of control" of a depressed person. A line with concrete details from this story would be "It had a strange smell, like toxic fluorescent dust, and my window opened on the exhaust from the cafeteria, adding the aggressive odor of hamburgers and French fries cooked over an over in the same oil." You can just picture what this lady's office smells like from all the concrete detailed words.
Another story I would like to mention is Look for Dr. Nick by Geri Deluca. This story was very interesting to me because I believe she was trying to prove a point. That point is that most Psychotherapist don't actually listen to you they just prescribe you drugs to help balance the chemicals in one's depressed brain. I have thought this for a while now. A line for using good descriptive words is "The chemicals in their brain that give them the illusion of an identity are out of control" of a depressed person. A line with concrete details from this story would be "It had a strange smell, like toxic fluorescent dust, and my window opened on the exhaust from the cafeteria, adding the aggressive odor of hamburgers and French fries cooked over an over in the same oil." You can just picture what this lady's office smells like from all the concrete detailed words.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Blog Post Oct 6th
This blog post will be about Anne Lamott's book "Bird by Bird". As soon as I read this book I couldn't put it down. Lamott knows how to write well, and I enjoyed this book. One part really reminded me of how i live my life. When her brother is writing a paper about birds, and his father notices that he is struggling. The father then proceeds towards him and put his hand on his shoulder and says, "Lets take this bird by bird." Basically this is how I live my life. Day by day sort of way and not worry about other stresses down the road. She even mentions that this could be similar to a college students life. "I tell this story again because it usually makes a dent in the tremendous sense of being overwhelmed that my students experience" quote from the book.
The whole idea of shitty first drafts is genious. This is a perfect way to get people to start writing. Even if it is as shitty as you think. No one else will read it and you can make that first draft into a good second draft. In short words what she is saying that the more you practice your writing the more you will improve. Even the great ones have had struggles with writing at one point in their lives.
The whole idea of shitty first drafts is genious. This is a perfect way to get people to start writing. Even if it is as shitty as you think. No one else will read it and you can make that first draft into a good second draft. In short words what she is saying that the more you practice your writing the more you will improve. Even the great ones have had struggles with writing at one point in their lives.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Post #4
To me poetry is a combination of words that can be expressed with some kind of meaning. Behind those selectively chosen words are much more than anyone can explain except the author themselves. Poetry for the most part has some kind of emotion played into it. Whether it's about a lost love or about a war. A poem always has an inter connection with the poet. Poems usually are put together so intricately to where it leaves the reader guessing. These words tend to be very descriptive and have very good imagery. A good example would be from Shakespeare's love sonnets stanza 130. "My mistress' eye are nothing like the sun; Coral is far more red than her lips' red: If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun; If hair be wires, black wires grow on her head." You can easily picture this women with how descriptive his words are and his visual language.
Poetry is a very special process that such writers undergo to let out much of their innerness out. What is deep inside of them that they can only explain with such words. I've learned that poetry is a fun process to take. I really enjoy writing down creative words with symbolism that flow together. It does take practice to improve like most things in this world. Poetry means much more than people take it for.
Poetry is a very special process that such writers undergo to let out much of their innerness out. What is deep inside of them that they can only explain with such words. I've learned that poetry is a fun process to take. I really enjoy writing down creative words with symbolism that flow together. It does take practice to improve like most things in this world. Poetry means much more than people take it for.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Second Response to Readings
The first poem I would like to blog about is Sequoia Sempervirens. This poem was very interesting to me because I have always compared life to a squirrels life. The lines, we rip around getting our nut off to the city, means to me that we are like a squirrel in which we go to the city for our nut or our pay/ job. Just like how a squirrel get his nut from a tree. It is a metaphor. Also we are all in nature and we are all balanced as a planet. Energy is balanced in nature. We are not so much a fire dependent species so this could of meant that we are similar to the tree. The syntax of this poem is odd. It like has skipped lines between lines but has bigger line space between stanzas.
The second poem I would like to talk about is Alpine Glow In Magritte Landscapes. This poem was intriguing to say the least. The syntax was different which I liked a lot. It seemed as if he used the central tab where he typed out this poem. The sentences don't finish on the same line. It was hard to interpret but I assume this is a poem about a painting of some sort that he is describing with such sensory words. Yet he is very descriptive with what is actually going on. It is easy to picture what he is talking about. The line, "On a desk a pixilated screen of the sky out the window stacks flying cubes" is very descriptive but again sensory. This was a very interesting poem.
The second poem I would like to talk about is Alpine Glow In Magritte Landscapes. This poem was intriguing to say the least. The syntax was different which I liked a lot. It seemed as if he used the central tab where he typed out this poem. The sentences don't finish on the same line. It was hard to interpret but I assume this is a poem about a painting of some sort that he is describing with such sensory words. Yet he is very descriptive with what is actually going on. It is easy to picture what he is talking about. The line, "On a desk a pixilated screen of the sky out the window stacks flying cubes" is very descriptive but again sensory. This was a very interesting poem.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
First response to readings
My first paragraph is about the poem Gray Room. At first when i first read this it made no sense to me like most of the poems we have read thus far. I noticed right away the descriptive words were all colors. The imagery in this poem is very apparent. When I try and analyze this poem I feel like they are talking about a women who is sitting in a room, waiting to get married. She is wearing a gown and a bead necklace. The person's heart is beating furiously.
The next poem I am going to blog about is What is the Shape of Your Body? and out of all the poems this one intrigued me the most. He was very visual in his writing on precisely what he was doing. The first line is the most interesting to me. He rubbed an orange along his throat to cool is blood. Am I alive? This line got me thinking. Does he literally mean an orange or is it a metaphor for something. This just was a very visual poem to me and I literally pictured this man trying to jump into the earth but just lying there stretched out as far as possible.
The next poem I would like to discuss is the poem called Preference. This poem is very simplistic but still is has a lot of meaning. This is definitely a man writing this poem. He says how he doesn't like young girls in his life but prefers woman older than him. Every person has a preference in life so it's hard not to connect to a poem like this. The writing in this poem is not exactly perfect english either. He probably did that on purpose.
The next poem I am going to blog about is What is the Shape of Your Body? and out of all the poems this one intrigued me the most. He was very visual in his writing on precisely what he was doing. The first line is the most interesting to me. He rubbed an orange along his throat to cool is blood. Am I alive? This line got me thinking. Does he literally mean an orange or is it a metaphor for something. This just was a very visual poem to me and I literally pictured this man trying to jump into the earth but just lying there stretched out as far as possible.
The next poem I would like to discuss is the poem called Preference. This poem is very simplistic but still is has a lot of meaning. This is definitely a man writing this poem. He says how he doesn't like young girls in his life but prefers woman older than him. Every person has a preference in life so it's hard not to connect to a poem like this. The writing in this poem is not exactly perfect english either. He probably did that on purpose.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Introduction Blog
My name is Kirk Schichl. This is my fourth year at EMU. The degree I'm pursuing is engineering physics, with a minor in math and Japanese language. I am currently employed at Outback Steakhouse in Novi. My hobbies include watching as well as playing sports, cooking, and playing video games. I currently live in Dearborn.
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