11-19-2009
Prompts to take you into the final week of class
This class is almost over. Monday is the second to last time we will meet as a class. Before you return to the work you’ve done this term and revise it, I want to provide you with two serious prompts.
POETRY
Here is a poem by Eric Ekstrand. Frankly, it draws from Williams’ poetry in its rich, vital language, it’s dedication to imagery, and it’s attitude that each living thing is passing away. It also tries to articulate wisdom about life and what it is. Write a poem about your own town that models this vibrancy and this distilled reflection on what happens within it. Notice he does not allow each section to follow one to the next narratively, but each part hangs together nevertheless. There are several other poems on the page — feel free to look at them.
FICTION
George Saunders’ “Victory Lap” is a short story that should only take you 45 minutes to read at the most. What I think would be good for you all to see is the wildness and freeness of the voices Saunders crafted for the three people in his story, their three points of view being immediately distinguishable. What would happen if you allowed voice to be so rich and over the top with slang and “id” in a story? What if you told an intense story of conflict, even simple conflict, in such voices of your own design (I think Ed does this in his way)? Try it, or try to bring that kind of detail to what you write.
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