Reflection

It was very inspiring to hear these writers read from their works. What stuck out the most to me was what someone in the audience asked about at the end of the session: their rhythm.  When they were reading it’s all I could pick up on.  With Robert Kloss, the repetition of “remember” was done fantastically.  It did not mar the work as repetition tends to do.  It was crafted so well that it encouraged me to try repetition more in my own work.  I am usually a huge fan of it in my poetry but I know that he used it a lot—almost every sentence.  I wish I could have seen how it was formed—if it was in prose form or verse.  My gut tells me it was a mix, but who knows.

I noticed that they all had very intense, meaningful, colorful images.  With Himmer’s office scene, the image that is so very clear and well-constructed in my head at the moment, four days after, is the image of the desk fountain and the forlorn man that owned it.  Kloss’s mourning Lincoln is still haunting. And Bell’s cartographer was fabulous on all levels.  With Bell’s, though, I wish I had it in front of me to get the full effect of the symbols. 

I, like some others, enjoyed the Q&A at the end of the reading.  Now more than ever I enjoy hearing about people’s writing process.  It was extremely encouraging to hear that these three ordinary men can devote their time to their writing.  It seemed so easy—write when you can and be devoted.  Very encouraging.