10 Treasures 3

If the symbolic nature of Cornell’s objects spurs the interpretive process, then the juxtaposition of those objects compounds it. Juxtaposition here is simply the placement of one object against another to create certain effects such as tension and release, interruption and flow. –Illustration 2: “Hotel Eden”

This could be an interesting way to look at editing writing; to look delicately into the exact placement of words against one another.

"Consider the images: Humming heat. Unraveling. Children playing. Parents drawing drapes. Sparks flaring and dying. Eyes reflecting. Static crackling. Severed end. Common past. Amniotic fluid. Echoes. Silence. As these sensory cues accumulate, my interpretation of them expands."

I almost always like writing starts with “consider this:…”, images are extremely fun and interesting to play with and throw at people.

"To establish a sense of unity in works composed of pieces, collagists use a number of devises. Among them, repetition—repetition of image, color, pattern, and texture. The recurring use of one or more of these elements gives the eye something to track as it sweeps the surface, something to recognize, process, and link." – Four: Balls of Fire

This reminded me of when I first started writing poetry, I would always come back to what I started with in the beginning; I think that’s called reprise or something. I just thought it gave my poetry a more finished sound or flow, but sometimes it was just plain redundant.

Bodybuilding is about failure because bodybuilding, body growth and shaping, occurs in the face of the material, of the body’s inexorable movement towards its final failure, toward death.

I feel this way about dieting.

“In complete darkness we are all the same, it is only our knowledge and wisdom that separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you.”- Janet Jackson

I read about a teacher in Detroit getting in trouble for quoting Janet Jackson in the classroom; she was trying to teach the female students in her gym class something about body image.

“A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and gets to bed at night, and in between he does what he wants to do.”- Bob Dylan

I made a New Year’s resolution to do what I really want to do; I wish I would have read this quote while thinking of that resolution.

“All I'm writing is just what I feel, that's all. I just keep it almost naked. And probably the words are so bland.”- Jimi Hendrix

This made me start thinking about how writing can sometimes seem like you are dressing the words for their day. Making sure each word has it’s hair combed the way you want it to be and looks exactly perfect against the other words. You don’t want your word to stick out like a sore thumb so you dress it like all of the others instead of letting it stand their naked. We dress our words with their own meanings as their outfits.

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes.”- Charles R. Swindoll

My Dad used to say to me “You are in charge of your own attitude, but I suggest you change it.” I guess this is just an elaboration on what that actually means. But sometimes the day strikes you and it seems hard to control the way you feel about it until the end when you are all flustered.

“Experience is the name every one gives to their mistakes.”-Oscar Wilde

People “dress” or pad their stories with terms like “learning experience” instead of coming out and saying, “Hey! I made a mistake!”

“He lives the poetry that he cannot write. The others write the poetry that they dare not realize.”- Oscar Wilde

Sometimes the things I write seem so far away from me.