Experimental Poetry, Self-Discovery, and Refining Art Through One’s Profession

Experimental Poetry, Self-Discovery, and Refining Art Through One’s Profession 

For what it’s worth, I love the writing of Neil Gaiman, Grant Morrison, and Steve Moffat ( well, his TV writing anyway ) because they are ‘bizarre.’ Their writing isn't gross, or creepy ( well Gaiman has hit some creepy chords in his time ), rather their work is experimental and comes from as much of their personal lives as their imaginations. Gaiman has included his friends ( turned into characters ) into his books; Morrison turned his father into Superman; Moffat has written his dialogues with his wife into comedy routines.

   Needless to say, life sometimes imitates art in weird and purposeful ways.

   I must say that the things I've written recently have been more for the Blog-o-sphere , Academia, and occasional research projects. I've written very few things for myself, or when I have it has been for exclusively monetary and/or career goals. I've been working on private writing projects here and there ( I always do Nanowrimo, even if I keep it kind’a secret ), like when I wrote a novella last summer.

   In my mind, I got very settled on one kind of writing. Somewhere in the blog-of-Christmas-past I commented that I was taking a teaching Creative Writing course. This has been profoundly helpful in letting me experiment with my writing interests, but recently some other things came into focus for my personal/private life and I decided to take up a new interest ~

 

   As an English major I obviously value words and the infinite magic they contain in their silly squiggles. Still … poetry + me hasn't worked out since High School, and even then ( laughter ) it was experimental.

   Still, here I am trying it out for my own cathartic reasons. I have an audience I trust for what I write, which makes it feel safe, but it’s become more than that. My point is, try new forms of expression if/when you can. I know many wonderful poets who are doctors, or lawyers, or even mathematicians.

   You, as a human, are inherently an artist of some kind - maybe you make miracles with steel as a construction worker, or maybe you make money dance across account books? Whatever you do, you have something to say makes you an artist, at least in my opinion.

   The best part of being a poet is when your words come from the heart, you own them. They’re a small part of yourself made manifest outside of the eternal ether that is your mind … and that’s about as close to ‘magic’ as we get. If your words touch somebody else, well, then that’s what miracles are to me.

  Writing is dangerous. Don’t let anybody fool you here – you can be mocked for your words, or hated, or even worse. But, you can save lives, inspire, and change the course of people’s lives ( even your own! ).

   When you can, do something you've not done since High School, re-connect with an old friend, or even try writing something just for yourself.

   See where your life takes you art. Maybe your art will then reveal new meaning for your life?

   You’ll never know until you try!