Typically a poem begins as I hear it—in a fury, somewhere between clear thinking and the subconscious. Many take years. All take time in the editing process. Something I am working out in my life or a quarrel with myself triggers the poem(s). Like a ghost of an idea but more like an obsession. In his book on poetics, The Triggering Town (1979), Richard Hugo, makes a persuasive argument that “[y]our triggering subjects are those that ignite your need for words. When you are honest to your feel¬ings, that triggering town chooses you.” So if I’m lucky, I write passed the “triggering town” to the essence of the poem which is always a surprise. The poem takes on its own life as I stand out of the way.
Thursday, 30 July 2020
Stella Hayes : coda
How does a poem begin?
Typically a poem begins as I hear it—in a fury, somewhere between clear thinking and the subconscious. Many take years. All take time in the editing process. Something I am working out in my life or a quarrel with myself triggers the poem(s). Like a ghost of an idea but more like an obsession. In his book on poetics, The Triggering Town (1979), Richard Hugo, makes a persuasive argument that “[y]our triggering subjects are those that ignite your need for words. When you are honest to your feel¬ings, that triggering town chooses you.” So if I’m lucky, I write passed the “triggering town” to the essence of the poem which is always a surprise. The poem takes on its own life as I stand out of the way.
Typically a poem begins as I hear it—in a fury, somewhere between clear thinking and the subconscious. Many take years. All take time in the editing process. Something I am working out in my life or a quarrel with myself triggers the poem(s). Like a ghost of an idea but more like an obsession. In his book on poetics, The Triggering Town (1979), Richard Hugo, makes a persuasive argument that “[y]our triggering subjects are those that ignite your need for words. When you are honest to your feel¬ings, that triggering town chooses you.” So if I’m lucky, I write passed the “triggering town” to the essence of the poem which is always a surprise. The poem takes on its own life as I stand out of the way.
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