Hareomi, wanted to own it, as she stares at her brain’s storm. She believed it was given to her, there was a way of dealing with it in such a way, where she was able to dominate it very well after trails and errors. It was Hareomi’s duty to care for it, just like a mother bird visits her nest and nourishes her babies. Not easy to saturate the satisfying liquids in it, like a person so thirsty all they can think of is water. She loved her own natural grown plants and took pride in it, like a gardener who shows off their garden. But this could have been a problem at the same time for Hareomi because she did not know how to manage her garden. Others would like to give their input and say what she should do in her garden and some are even willing to alter or yank the roots of her crops. Why? No on understands what you posses, like they saying “You never know what you have til its gone.” Although setbacks have been a tough journey, Hareomi never chooses to give up, even if the process is difficult like passing an exam. She’s for it, she’s about it, but sometimes she doesn’t know what it can possibly prefer, like a mother who shops at the market wanting the best food for their child and her hope is that they get to eat it and enjoy it. So many stories about this garden, sometimes it has a life of its own as day falls and night comes. Maintenance is no where easy, but Hareomi rather nourishes it through trial and error than giving up. Once it comes to part, she will embrace all the hard work, like a worker saving up for pension. She will embrace and own it, she will encourage others to put time to their garden and make a lot of emphasis on trimming the garden from time to time because no one likes an uneven field of grass.
The Ode
Odes are lyric poems that praise something in particular. This can be a person, a thing, a place, even a television show if you’re feeling inclined. For more information on odes: https://literarydevices.net/ode/
Odes are an exercise in the particular and in metaphors. No one wants to read an ode if all you’re doing is describing the thing in a way everyone has already done. For instance, in an ode to spring, “Your warmth, your springtime…” isn’t really evocative as it is what we know spring to be. Instead, think of Keats ability to take an urn and compare it to virginity, sex, and art.
Ask this:
When writing an ode, ask yourself the following before getting started:
Over the top- How will you take this thing you’re praising and describe it so it no longer seems like just a man, or just a television show, but something that represents so much more?
Do you have a metaphor? Make sure you’re comparing something about this “thing” to something else. If a metaphor is too awkward, you might also use a simile. Comparisons are a most!
Expectations- How will you defy your readers’ expectations? Will you challenge what they think about this thing? Will your comparisons be surprising?
Tone- Most odes are formal and serious in tone. How will you create and maintain a formal tone? If it’s unnatural to have a serious tone, are you prepared to commit to a lighthearted tone? Remember, it’s okay to break the rules, as long as it’s clear you needed to do it.
Organization-Will you have stanzas? Will you have couplets? Will you have short lines? Long lines?
Overt Rhyming- what kind of rhyme scheme will you have? Will you have a rhyme scheme at all? Will you have end rhymes? Or internal rhymes?
Do you want to add something new to this technique? If so, what is it? It’s always good to identify what it is you’re updating, and then consider if it’s really necessary. Of course, if it is, go for it! Just be prepared to explain why you needed to do it.
Encouraging- Does your ode encourage readers to either go find something they’d like to praise OR reconsider the thing you’ve spent lines praising. Difficult to do, I know, but it should be a goal.
Creative Writers, understand this: Odes test your ability to craft metaphors and descriptions that take something abstract and make it tangible. It also tests your ability to use sound to emphasize tone and rhythm. You want to create something that has such a clear rhythm, it’s easy for readers to recall lines.
The best odes are ones that live in specificity. It’s so much stronger to write an ode to your specific street then to write an ode to Brooklyn or the Bronx. Think of Neruda—it wasn’t wine he was praising, it was red wine. That matters!
Find some of the greatest odes here: https://www.poemhunter.com/poems/ode/
Playwriting is not taught nearly enough. This might be in large part because we don’t find ourselves reading plays. We might go SEE the occasional play or HEAR a friend talk about their favorite line of dialogue from Book of Mormon, but reading a play’s manuscript? Not so much. Playwriting is essential reading though. Even if you’re not planning on becoming the next big playwright (See Williams, Shakespeare, Miller, Ibsen, etc.), understanding the mechanics of a play will make you a better storyteller and/or poet. Why? Well, playwriting is all about writing for that STAGE. That means you don’t get the luxury of a three page explanation of who a character is or what he is thinking. Instead, you’re forced to craft three lines of dialogue that can explain who your character is while also pushing the plot forward. You also don’t get the luxury of a complicated setting that involves description of the sun and sky. Instead, you’ll consider what props on stage will elicit the atmosphere of the characters’ interior and/or exterior lives.
This semester, we’ll be reading a full length play and some 10-minute plays:
1. Rice Boy
2. Train Stop
3. Before or After
4. The Incredible Egg
5. Objectum Sexuality
6. Occupy Hallmark
7. Broken
8. God in the Goat
Though short, these plays are packed full of action, conflict, and character development. How do they do it? Well, much of it will be discussed in class, but for now, take a look at these important craft elements of plays:
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