I like to make my own smoothies and I had a brilliant idea in my dream last night for a mango ginger smoothie with a coconut yogurt base. When I made it this afternoon the consistency was all off, which meant the flavors didn't blend right, and it didn't end up tasting as I had envisioned. This is to say that things haven't been going according to plan these days. However, in my disappointment I ate the cupcake my roommate had left on the counter (sorry, Erika!) and found out that what my smoothie really needed was a dash of chocolate. The next batch is going to be great.
My thesis hasn't been going according to plan either--if I ever even had a plan. But I'm taking advantage of this aimlessness. It gives my characters room to breath and reveal themselves to me. One by one the shades are coming up out of Hades, provided I don't look back. I'm doing my best to keep going forward, sure that things will make sense when the time is right. I've been listening to Mirah's "Mt. St. Helens" on repeat. I don't know why. I think it has something to do with my character Deirdre. Or maybe it has nothing to do with nothing, but it's beautiful and sad and I never go far without it. Give it a listen if you like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtDcODwygSc
There were so many great authors in our inspiration presentations, but I was most happy that Tessa talked about Michael Ondaatje. It has been so long since I've read The Collected Works of Billy the Kid, and I had forgotten how deeply Ondaatje influenced me in my early days of writing. I love how he works in both prose and poetry, so seamlessly that they don't sound like different things. I've been contemplating working a small amount of poetry into my piece, because I do enjoy writing it and it seems right for capturing one of my characters. Revisiting Ondaatje has given me the courage to give this a try. Soo... Thanks, Tessa!
All of the ginger found its way to the bottom of the glass. I told you the consistency was wrong. My mouth is burning so beautifully.
ah ginger, the elixir that cures it all for me. but great parallel with your thesis---your mixture is going to be just right
ReplyDeleteHi Katy,
ReplyDeleteWhen I read your comment I couldn't stop thinking about these two poems that I had to read for my American Literature 2 class with Kim Magowan today. Maybe it was when you said that you stole some of your roommates food, or maybe it was when you said you didn't know what you were doing with your story. I think these two poems will make you smile and inspire some poetry for your piece. Consider every possibility. Don't see it as a poem just about a plum-instead see all the possibilities the plum presents or could represent. Then apply that concept to your story (at least that is what I have been doing with my story). The first poem is the real good stuff-the second poem is the play off of it that is just hilarious!
Enjoy!
-Kate
This Is Just to Say
I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox
and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast
Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold
-William Carlos Williams
_________________________________
Variations on a Theme by William Carlos Williams
1
I chopped down the house that you had been saving to live in next summer.
I am sorry, but it was morning, and I had nothing to do
and its wooden beams were so inviting.
2
We laughed at the hollyhocks together
and then I sprayed them with lye.
Forgive me. I simply do not know what I am doing.
3
I gave away the money that you had been saving to live on for the next ten years.
The man who asked for it was shabby
and the firm March wind on the porch was so juice and cold.
4
Last evening we went dancing and I broke your leg.
Forgive me. I was clumsy, and
I wanted you in the wards, where I am the doctor!
-Kenneth Koch