Day Five

For my fifth day, I read an essay by Robert Frost titled "The Figure a Poem Makes" (1939). This essay discussed abstraction in poetry. What you might get if all you cared about was sound, apart from any meaning, for example. Frost seemed to be arguing almost the exact opposite from T.S. Eliot. My favorite line was this: "Like a piece of ice on a hot stove the poem must ride on its own melting." There must be a natural unfolding, one that might even surprise the writer him or herself during the writing process. This is against any idea of controlling one's poem. Polish might be important afterwards. You cannot polish it into being, however.

For my short story I read "The Chaser" by John Collier. Three pages long. A reminder of what can be achieved with a few words. If you follow me into this diet, realize that choosing the shortest story possible because of length is NOT cheating. You might read a gem of a story.

For my day's poem I count the one by A.E. Houseman read in honor of luger Nodar Kumaritashvili. You can read it here.