It's been a while since I posted here but I'm back from fishing and didn't catch any fish. I do have some empty hooks and a beaten up boat, though. I plan to get all of my coffee chats back online here soon and plan to do more. And to keep these posts short since I am time-starved.
Been thinking about creativity and originality (again). My thoughts are this--to have a truly extraordinary book, a manuscript needs to
1) Write about the same subject matter (that other people have) in a truly different way
2) Write about different subject matter (that other people have) in a truly different way
3) Write about different subject matter (that other people have) in the same way, but that same way must be really really good
I was thinking about my favorite books and why I liked them so much and found that a lot of them, at least superficially, fit into one of these categories.
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ReplyDeleteWelcome back!
ReplyDeleteGiven what you're talking about here, there is an essay you should read--W.D. Snodgrass's "Tact and the Poet's Force." I found it in the anthology _Claims for Poetry_, which Donald Hall edited some years back, and which has a distinctive green cover. I think you'll find him a kindred spirit in his approach to writing poetry that demonstrates different schemas of originality.
ReplyDeleteGlad to have you back on the blog!
Cheers,
Sandra