Writing poetry in first person; the hazards we face when switching the point of view in mid stream.
Last week, another session to read my piece, and explain my point of view of the writer. I am getting the feeling, from fiction writers that these view points are not always accessible, or digestible, but another person in the group, a poet by nature, seemed to be able to see my perspective. I also see his take on fiction writing, the nature of which becomes less obvious to him.
My explanations were not satisfactory, to either these people, nor to myself. Digesting my own work is just that, work. I know at the time of writing it all makes perfect sense, but when I step back, I see what others see. It is a good exercise for me to see all sides; one as a writer, two from the casual reader, and then from a more complex point of view, the insides of interpretation of abstracts.
Switching from “you” to “I” in midstream...or starting in one case, and ending in another – The logical interpretation would be, first I’m speaking TO “you”, then I’m speaking ABOUT myself. No, this does not have to be the case. I give myself permission to step outside of myself, to speak TO myself.
We had talked about plot in one’s fiction, or the lack of plot; meaning it becomes character driven, having no real end to a story line, this becomes inconclusive in nature, not in action.
Poetry is much more than the obvious we find in fiction; it becomes feelings, the personal observation of one’s self. And we can only observe by stepping OUTSIDE of our self, to actually be able to see in.
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