Picture two shapes. One is sharp, angular, and smooth. The
other is curvy and flowing. Now imagine that you have to tell me the names of
each: one is named Kepick, and the other is Oona. Which is which? Now think of
how they would act as people. Now think of how they would sound as musical
instruments. When you’ve thought about this, write a few lines of free verse
describing the two, making up words whenever you want that complement the
sounds of the two names.
This exercise was suggested to me by one of the books that
I’m reading, Three Genres by Stephen
Minot. His sample free-verse segment was interesting: “Surely you think of Oona
looking feenly in the shane, but what happens when Kepick kacks his bip and
zabops all the lovely leems?” (19).
Most of my poetry deals more with form and image than with
sound, but since I read about “Kepick” and “Oona,” I’ve found myself looking
for ways to capture the essence of one thing in the terms of another. The other
day, I was reading through some poetry by Czeslaw Milosz and suddenly realized
how much reading his poetry feels to me like listening to one of my classical
piano CD’s. As an experiment, I played one of the CD’s when I was done reading
and tried to capture the sound of the piano in words. Obviously it didn’t come
out nearly as fine and graceful as either the piano or Milosz’s poetry, but I
marvel at how well the two can go together.
I've actually found it really difficult to write while listening to music. Often, I can listen to music beforehand to get in the mood, but if I have it on while writing, I tend to write very disconnectedly. I think it's really interesting how we relate the shapes and sounds of the words themselves to the feeling of what is going on in the piece. It would be interesting to see what difference writing with "smooth" looking words would change vs. writing with "jagged" looking ones.
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely something that changes in the moment for me. Sometimes it helps for me to be in a bustling room of people to write properly. Other times, I need seclusion with music blaring. Again, it is something that depends on what I am writing about that dictates how I reach out for inspiration. It's like the writer in me knows what I need to reach for in order to achieve what needs to come out in words. So, I guess for me, it's something I'm working out on the spot for each individual piece. :]
ReplyDeleteThis is really interesting! One of the things I always have trouble with in my writing, especially poetry, is that I can never make it very lyrical. I don't stumble over my words when I read them aloud, but they don't sound breathtaking either. I really like your idea of trying to translate piano music into words. Even though that's not something that can ever be perfectly done, I'm sure it helps freshen your language and makes you focus more on your words. As for me, I can't stand listening to a TV while I'm writing, but with music I'm more open. Usually I find that soft rock really helps put me in the right frame of mind for writing.
ReplyDeleteInteresting post. I focus mostly on image and form in my poems as well, but your post has reminded me that I need to delve in sound and sensory detail as well ...and, like you said, capturing the essence of one thing in terms of another. This could be done partly with metaphors, but the "other thing" could also be the foil in the story, as it were. Highlighting things with differences.
ReplyDeleteI don't really listen to music when I write. It distracts me. Most of my writing is done in heavily concentrated doses. I need to learn how to spread it out a little more. But for me, unless I'm writing in my journal, I have a hard time writing for only 20 minutes or 1/2 hour. It takes the first hour to even really get INTO it sometimes!
I find this really fascinating. I never really looked at writing in terms of music, but since I play the piano, this is an experiment that I want to try! I'll admit that when I'm writing, I don't really pay as much attention to the syntax and all of those fricatives, plosives, and other, and making the words mirror the moment. I probably should. I've never really had the time to give my pieces enough drafts and enough care to do that. Hopefully this capstone will help me. In terms of using the sentences, I try to incorporate all of them, as it seems more realistic when you do that. The way that writers can mirror an emotion or a mood with even the sounds of words is amazing. It's definitely something that should be practiced and implemented in our writing because I think it is another way to help give the reader a great experience when reading our works.
ReplyDeleteTell ya the truth, i think i need to improve on my use of all five senses. i will say, from reading novels in non-Western lit, that piling six to eight smells in a single sentence can overcrowd the reader's mind and keep him (or at least me) from actually inhaling any one smell. In real life, my nose really only receives one smell at a time, though there might be a barrage of them.
ReplyDeleteWhile i am less apt to be naming sounds by their colors, i find it fascinating that we do find these overlaps. Your example was to put the piano to words. What this tells me is that there is continuity in creation, that God's world is harmonious at so many levels. He made music, and he made sunsets.
I pay most attention to detail in writing when I am sitting outside somewhere, observing the world with the intention of writing it down. Then, I notice so many movements, colors, feelings, sounds, etc., that I can barely get them all down on the page in order.
ReplyDeleteOn the other end of things, then, if I am doing creative writing for some other reason (say, writing a story), I'll struggle with details at *all* because I forget to let myself LIVE what I am writing. To write it, I need to live it.
As far as music goes, listening to music while writing is distracting, because I stop and daydream and let it take me places. It is only after I'm done with the music that I can then do some interesting freewriting out of the place where the music brought me.
Girl in Blue - who ARE you? That is my first question :)
ReplyDeleteI loved the hook into this post. Along with these ideas, I would like to mention that it drives me bananas when people are named something that, in my opinion, does not suit them. Some people look like a different name than they actually are. I think this is influenced by characters and the detail of the letters in the name. Compliments of sound and name is a beautiful melody to have an ear for. The full sensation can really be aided by a well placed word or name. It is important to direct your reader to the desired image rather than confuse them with an out of place assonance or image.
I find that writing to movie soundtracks is especially fun. I match the mood of my story to a similar theme of a movie and play it on my itunes. Try it out sometime!
I agree with Monica; I usually write to movie soundtracks, or sometimes just my favorite instrumentalists, which sometimes fit or don't fit based upon the genre that they play, just like the genre that I write. I think of music as a soundtrack to a story, but in the sense that it doesn't have to line up with what it happening.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the idea of trying to write out a piano piece! I'll have to try that sometime; it might help my poems out, poor things. One thing that really helps me in terms of description and using the senses, though, is trying to describe one sense in terms of another. Saying that a sound is warm, or a color is prickly, or a smell is colorful is much more fun than trying to come up with adjectives, at least in my opinion. And I'm a fan of adjectives.
I like this - it makes me think of synesthesia: where one perceives sound in colors or other senses intermingled with other senses. I think when I write poetry, I generally err toward drawing deeply from my emotions. I try to center in on what I am feeling in the moment, and then I imagine in my head what kind of place or scene I would be in while feeling that emotion - for instance, if I was experiencing a new beginning that hadn't started yet, I might be on a back porch at night with the sun setting, watching the stars appear brilliantly. I might feel warm even though it's cold outside. For some reason, these feelings and images connect strongly for me.
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