William, I am wondering what went into planning your poem-in-progress, and whether you ever find yourself rethinking anything in the early parts as you move forward.
not really any planning at all. part one was written without any idea what part two would be, much less what the greater arc would ultimately become. i post each poem within moments of finishing it - part of a somewhat sick bargain with myself.
the project was deliberately taken on as a public high wire act which, at its root, is far less an exercise in ego and far more an exercise in masochism, of daring myself to succeed while being pretty convinced i'll fuck it up, with the full knowledge that fucking it up, if it goes down that way, will be on full display.
i don't rethink any of it; it's a conversation with readers, so i try to measure my words carefully before i share them. after that, there's no taking them back.
Before you posted a single stanza of this work, you must have spent a great deal of time mapping out where you wanted it to go and the imagery and metaphors that would take it there. It shows in every line. (And for the record, as a reader, I can’t imagine what you’d change in what you’ve done so far. The flow of one stanza to another is pitch-perfect, and I can’t wait to see how it moves forward.)
this might be disappointing, but i didn't map it out at all. every character and event in the poem has emerged through the process of writing each successive installment.
jacob has existed as a character in my mind for a few years now, but in somewhat abstract form; as a boy seeking to be human in a world in which he's regarded, and often treated, as an animal. he seemed a worthwhile vehicle for exploring some dark corners in my mind.
Still, speaking for myself as a writer, until a poem is done, I’m constantly tinkering with (or at least rethinking) the whole damn thing, including the opening stanza, especially if it’s a longer work. For that reason, I could never show anyone any of my work while it is still in progress – I don’t work in a linear way at all.
i've made the comparison before of my approach to poetry being more akin to photography than to writing. a photo is a product of a vantage point, of light, of distance and an instinct for observation all manifest in an instant. all of these facets contribute to the image that is captured.
i rarely revise. plenty of people have argued, perhaps correctly, that i should. but i don't, except in very specific instances.
Indeed, what prompts this question is my realization yesterday that my current poem-in-progress should end with the idea that now begins it.
in my experience, we often know the right answer all along to a million things we vacillate over.
I suspect you’re a more disciplined/organized writer than I am. But I was curious about your process as a writer, and particularly in regard to this work.
i am neither. i post one of the installments and then open a new text file on my desktop and dip in and out of it until i'm done and then i cut it from that doc and paste it into the post. i doubt i've even got the final versions of these poems on my computer.
i'm a mess and should not be trusted to dispense any advice about writing poetry.
in closing, i want to say i really appreciate your kind words and all of the wonderful and supportive things people have said over these past six months.
i look forward to finishing it, as it has become something of an odd obsession. i can only hope it will hold up.
regardless, it's been worth it.