[stylist] poem revisions

Fri Jun 19 03:26:33 UTC 2015

Hmmm really? well, Picasso's nose and Van Gogh's ear, I keep getting them
mixed up. You got my point though I am sure. Just remember to do what makes
you happy. Your "work" is and always should be enjoyable or it may as well
be a job. And for any artist to securely live off of their craft, well that
artist is blessed in a way few are. Or they have given up the freedom of
creativity. Go for Blessed everytime.
Eve

On Thu, Jun 18, 2015 at 8:13 PM, Jackie Williams via stylist <
stylist at nfbnet.org> wrote:

> Barbara,
> You really struck a note in your questions about revisions, and you have
> many excellent ideas for doing this.
> My suggestion is that you first  ask yourself why you keep writing poetry.
> If your primary goal is to be published, you will definitely want to
> revise,
> tweak, change titles, or last lines in order to be able to keep submitting
> that poem.
> If you are writing because you just love writing, need an outlet, and want
> to protect exactly what your outlet was,you can just keep writing new poems
> using what you have learned. Keep organizing them as you have.
> If you simply want to leave all of your thoughts to your family, all of
> your
> organizing might be discouraging to someone looking for your work in your
> computer.
> If you choose to revise many of those you have, you could use just the most
> important of your folders, perhaps combine  the original title, date, first
> revision and new date. One extra item that is all important to me is
> putting
> the line length in the title. There is a limit to this in all poetry
> contests.
> I would encourage you to spend your valuable time to submit what you feel
> your best poems are.
> As far as where you start in revision, I can send you and all a list of
> everything one looks for in critiquing a poem, and you can follow that list
> and check them off one by one,  or just pick one or two items.. I will not
> do this unless requested as one needs to want the critiquing first.
>
> Jackie Lee
>
> Poetry is a school in which we learn.
> Poetry is the fire in which we burn.
> After Delmore Schwartz
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: stylist [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Barbara
> HAMMEL via stylist
> Sent: Thursday, June 18, 2015 3:25 PM
> To: Pagan Tree
> Cc: Barbara HAMMEL; Writers' Division Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [stylist] poem revisions
>
> It was Picasso who had the blue phase but how do I even go about
> approaching
> them? They insist that they don't want to change. I suppose breaking lines?
> Equalling out syllables in lines? Ooo! Get a thesaurus and change all the
> words? (Where would I find one of those for my iPhone?) I'm getting excited
> about trying this but that whole folder of them is still screaming "leave
> us
> alone!" LOL!
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> > On Jun 18, 2015, at 16:45, Pagan Tree <3rdeyeonly at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > Barbara, Another thing to think about, as if you do not have enough
> already, is the many directions rewrites could go. Sometimes I draft
> something because a particular line or thought has come to mind. I return
> to
> it at a later time and it goes in a direction I did not originally plan.
> Maybe I will again, later, return to original draft and it will go in a
> completely different direction.
> > In other words, one initial thought could be the basis for creating
> multiple pieces, whether poetry or stories.
> > It is kind of kin to a series of paintings that follow a theme, a
> collection of works. For example Van Gogh's Blue Period. He started with
> the
> idea of 'blue' and it manifested in multiple forms. Your poetry is just as
> fluid.
> > This does not help with your organization issues, but have fun with it
> and
> go where the wind takes you.
> > Eve
> >
> >> On Thu, Jun 18, 2015 at 2:06 PM, Barbara HAMMEL via stylist
> <stylist at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> >> See, and the problem falls that I abhor change in my life and that
> carries over to my writing. Good idea a copyright dates. I could either
> call
> the new one title (revised) or call the old one title (draft). I like that.
> Now I just have to free my mind to do it.
> >> Barbara
> >>
> >> Sent from my iPhone
> >>
> >> > On Jun 18, 2015, at 15:42, Lynda Lambert via stylist
> <stylist at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> >> >
> >> > OH, I love this, Bill!  - your quote," I've adopted a kind of joyful
> >> > bloodymindedness about it all, so there's not even a twinge of pain
> >> > about doing this."
> >> >
> >> > I do this kind of rewriting and editing often, and it's not unusual
> for
> me to work on something for months at a time...after all poetry is a
> *craft
> * and I have that joyful feeling Bill speaks of when I am CRAFTING my
> writing possibilities as I work on them.  I call them *works* for that is
> what they are - constructions as WCW would call them.  We create, build,
> tear down, build more, and tear into them again and again - until the new
> essence is found. It is a great feeling.
> >> >
> >> > This note from Bill is a keeper - it's all about the growth of the
> person as well as the poem. It's about change, and livingness, and fresh
> thoughts and ideas. bill, I just loved this post - you reflect my thought
> on
> it.
> >> > Barbara, one thing that can be done is to do the copyright with the
> new
> date on the newly revised poem  In my chronology, I will write both dates
> on
> the poem if I still call it by the same title.  I can tell by the copyright
> date with is the old one and which is the new one. but, often I revise it
> so
> drastically it gets a new title, too.  Lynda
> >> >
> >> > -----Original Message----- From: William L Houts via stylist
> >> > Sent: Thursday, June 18, 2015 1:27 PM
> >> > To: stylist at nfbnet.org
> >> > Cc: William L Houts
> >> > Subject: Re: [stylist] poem revisions
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > HI Barbara,
> >> >
> >> > I make a kind of game out of my revisions.  Sometimes, I'll just
> cruise
> >> > through my poetry folder ("Cosmos") and rnandomly give a once over to
> >> > one or even several poems; just eyeball them to see how I feel days,
> >> > weeks or months after first writing them. Gradually, over time, all of
> >> > myh poems get at least minor revisions, and over the long haul they
> all
> >> > get at least two or three overhauls.  I've adopted a kind of joyful
> >> > bloodymindedness about it all, so there's not even a twinge of pain
> >> > about doing this, and I feel that my poetry in general really does
> >> > improve with time.  I used to be very squeamish and protective about
> my
> >> > stuff, and had a real case of the horrors when it came to editing.
> But
> >> > now I really enjoy the process  and my work in general has, I feel,
> >> > improved. My advice is to keep in mind that Word documents (or
> >> > Wordperfect or what have you) exist in order to be revised.  It's so
> >> > easy to delete, and almost as easy to rewrite, to commit new thoughts
> to
> >> > the page that there's no reason to sufferthrough the process.  Just
> >> > remember that hope springs eternal --and so does poetry.  >grin<
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > --Bill
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >> On 6/18/2015 9:36 AM, Barbara HAMMEL via stylist wrote:
> >> >>
> >> >> I know, for years I've been saying I was going to try revising my
> poems. As you know, I have always thought a poem complete and the way it
> was
> meant to be until you fine folks informed me that improvements could be
> made
> on them. But, somehow, I can't bring myself to do it because it would mess
> up my extensively organized folders by doing that. My question is, do you
> then count a revised poem as a new one? You'll probably tell me it's up to
> me what I do but I need help tricking my brain because if I rewrite
> something, seems to me it should have a new date. I have actually sorted my
> poems into ones I want to work on revising and which are too personal or
> too
> awful or stupid to waste my time improving on.
> >> >> Barbara
> >> >> Sent from my iPhone
> >> >> _______________________________________________
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> >> >
> >> > --
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > "Oh, Sophie!  Whyfore have you eated all de cheeldren?"
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > _______________________________________________
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