Whew, Stephen
tough love, indeed. Go for it. Certainly, from your posts & all those
walks, you've kept the poet's eye open....
Doug
On 21-Feb-05, at 7:57 PM, Stephen Vincent wrote:
> Recently I have come to the realization that more often than not
> I have most often held two jobs. One is the job of doing whatever I
> have
> either had to do (i.e., parenting) or a 'job job' for a meal ticket.
> The other job I have is simply paying attention to whatever it is that
> surrounds the life of the other job. In other words - or with words
> and
> sometimes photographs - I am collecting information from within the
> other
> job while, at the same time, simultaneously doing the work of making
> up a
> story (narrative, play, fiction) or simply letting the words rumble
> around
> and make up their own story or poem.
> It's like having two eyes - one does the 'job job' while the other (the
> poet) is imaginatively reflecting off the entire circumstance.
> Frequently my
> employers have gotten very pissed off at me because "I am not there"
> as much
> as I try to do both jobs well. I suspect I am not alone amongst us
> writers
> with that experience. If not, I suspect you are not doing both jobs!
>
> Recently I asked my 89 year old mother whether or not she thought her
> sons
> had done well. She responded, "I have been disappointed. No one has
> accomplished as much as they could to the extent that it was possible."
> Now I guess that's a prime example of 'tough unconditional love!"
> I am, of course, putting quote that into a poem! But more than that, I
> am
> thinking it's a good time to start reading her some of my poems to
> give her
> a sense, accomplished or not, of what I was doing all these years while
> working on this 'non-quotidian' job of poetry.
>
> Stephen V
> Blog: http://stephenvincent.durationpress.com
>
>
Douglas Barbour
Department of English
University of Alberta
Edmonton Alberta T6G 2E5 Canada
(780) 436 3320
http://www.ualberta.ca/~dbarbour/dbhome.htm
Reserved books. Reserved land. Reserved flight.
And still property is theft.
Phyllis Webb
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