onward

So everyone was right and the defence wasn't nearly as terrifying as it sounded in my head. Everyone was really interested in my project, asked some thought-provoking questions, and gave suggestions on further reading. I almost wish I had a committee at my disposal anytime I reach a roadblock and need an outside perspective. (wouldn't that be useful!)

I've been working on writing a critical proposal to my work for about a month now and I feel relieved to have it behind me. Initially, the meeting was going to be postponed until early September. I was okay with this, as I would have kept working in the interim. Now that it's over, though, I feel really glad we squeezed it in this week as it seems to have had a focusing effect on me: it feels good to be able to focus my energy (more or less) on writing for the next little while...

Something I've been thinking about is casting everything aside and just focusing on writing good poems. Every time I write a poem I want it to feel like the first poem I've ever written. Today someone suggested the riddles are about defamiliarizing myself from the world (and I think they are right). I don't want to get too comfortable. There's a trap of writing in a single form that perhaps anyone who has attempted to write a collection of ghazals or sonnets or haikus might have experienced. There's a risk in writing a book of riddles, and composing all these theoretical thoughts and criticism, that I might begin to feel too comfortable. I don't want to get lazy.

So my new goal: Focus on writing every riddle like it's the first riddle I've ever written.

(and more specifically): Focus on writing every poem like it's the first poem I've ever written.
Every line. Every metaphor. Make each poem matter independent of all the others.

(and over everything else): Just try to write a good poem.


(...looks easy enough on paper... right?)