On William Stafford and Becoming a Writer

It is a lazy blog day and I feel like cheating.  I stumbled on this response to one of William Stafford's books that I cranked out for a class at Washburn, but I think Professor Averill won't mind much if I reproduce it here.

William Stafford writes in Writing the Australian Crawl of his experience in grad school in Iowa – on becoming an Iowan.  But he could have simply been writing on becoming.  Becoming it seems is a transaction, incrementally exchanging or mixing what was and will be.  An equation that equals what is.  

Becoming a local, wherever you may be, takes an investment of time and self.  Is this true for becoming a writer?  Anyone can jot their thoughts into a journal, and if that is as far as one chooses to pursue writing that is well and good but does that make one a writer?  It seems to me the distinction between keeping a journal and writing is that ultimately writers need readers.

In the moment I first set my work upon the altar of reader consumption I had invested myself, thus beginning the transaction of becoming.  Had the very fact that foreign eyes were reading my words initiated some intermingling of me and the universe?  This catalyst created a schism within my mind in which my writing persona, my voice, began to demand an exchange of material by way of self-assessment and self-criticism.  And more, I wanted to hear what others thought.  I wanted to digest their perspectives, to apply it to being a better writer. 

Writing is a recursive process and isn’t really dissimilar from the process of actualization.  I proceed through the sentences and paragraphs of my life, down the page, inexorably toward the margin.  Periodically I stop to proofread and edit.  Sometimes faulty grammar and sentence structure catches my eye or my tone is off and I must undertake the effort of rewriting.   Until the pages become a story.

Stafford famously wrote "there is no such thing as writer's block for writers whose standards are low enough."  I try to embrace this notion, writing every day, even if it is just a grocery list, or a summary of what is on my table.  You never know what might spark a poem or a story.

Do you have any favorite bits of wisdom on writing?  Or a writer who has been formative in your development?

A Long Way from Oz

Emerald City -- Sapphire Sky 

It was not lost upon us, being from Kansas, that we found ourselves in Seattle -- The Emerald City.  Driving in on I-5 from the south the city slowly emerges from hills and ridges, unfolding to reveal an industrial zone dominating the outskirts.  Traffic is bad 60 miles away from the city so it was a surprise to find it worse in town.

When we arrived we, like millions before us, gawked at the Space Needle, it certainly demands the attention of the newcomer.  But besides being fascinating and unusual its not the most elegant building in Seattle.  The skyline appears terraced from certain angles.  Aztec-like steps from dominating skyscrapers to high-rises-and lowly buildings with lower aspirations.  The terraces are not just an accident of aesthetics.

The rooftops bristle with life.  Trees, shrubbery, flowers, vines, and even prairie grass create the impression of elevated island parks for those fortunate enough to have the highest vantage points.  The city is lush and vibrant even in the dark of winter, when our home state is dormant in its brown nightgown.

And it does get dark.  December's days were barely 7 hours long.  Cloudy, often damp.  January has not been much different, though the days growing longer again has helped.  Even the jasmine plantings along 1st Avenue rejoice as their intoxicating perfume strolls along the sidewalk.  Cabbages blossom in flowers seldom seen in the xeriscape of the drought plagued Midwest.

Despite the dark, people in Seattle know they have it good.  Even the ones who have very little.  Folks here are quick to offer advice, to guide you to their view of the best the city (and beyond) can offer in food and more.

What would you do if you visited Seattle?  Or, if you live here, what must a newcomer see and do?

Old Blog, New Place

Well hi there!  So yeah, we have moved from one provider to another -- after a long, erm, break.  Those of you who rediscovered, found for the first time, or just hung in there I want to say thanks.  Things have been pretty crazy.  Me, my wife, and my son have started a new adventure in life that has us travelling.  So I lost track of some of my online personality, meager as it was.

But I recognize that this adventure is worthy of chronicling even if I'm the only one who ever reads this blog.  So I'm going to do just that.  I'll probably talk about writing, what I'm doing and what I'm struggling with.  I'll probably talk about my kid.  I'm certainly going to talk about what inspires me.  But I'm also going to keep it fairly casual.  I'll try to post once a week, that might even happen considerably more often.  It might run hot and cold -- because I'm wild and crazy like that.  I might share cross posts with a blog I share with my wife about our views on family farming and sustainability -- and it too might be about our adventure.

So, while I don't mind blogging for posterity, I hope now that you've found this blog you'll come back, comment, share, like, +1, and whatever else to show your support.  Now I get to embrace the adventure of cooking dinner... hehehe.