Hi all - I often take a look at Ron Silliman's blog, and on it now he steers readers to a new piece by Aaron Kunin called The Mauberley Series. Very interesting and worth the visit at http://www.ubu.com/ubu/pdf/kunin_mauberley.pdf
Anyway, what I wanted to draw your attention to, and perhaps start discussing, is this quote from the foreward by Kunin:
'Because I really believe that the part of yourself that you're most ashamed of is interesting and can be used as material for art.'
Reminds me of Natalie Goldberg's 'First Thoughts on Writing' last item - 'Go for the jugular.' She suggests if you're scared of it and you bring it to the surface, it will have some energy to it which will come over into the writing. However, this tangent is probably different than Kunin's perspective.
I often say to students, If you're worried about showing it to your mother, it's probably got some life in it.
Thoughts?
Andrew
|