Margaret Atwood--reading response (by Mon. 1/11)
Go to the Bookmarks and choose Margaret Atwood's "Why I Write." The beginning will be familiar... keep reading. Go as far as you want, and then post a response--something you like, find interesting, agree with... or even just find beautifully written.
15 Replies
"The wastebasket has evolved for a reason.Think of it as the altar of the Muse Oblivion...the tenth Muse, the one without whom none of the others can function."
This is my review part 1 because I only read the last half and the first part so far... Her writing seems so familiar, and it's so easy to relate to. I could relate it to listening to a friend and laughing with the parts that also apply to you.
My favorite sections so far are 1 and 9. Listening to her troubles with the many drafts of answers to the same question and the "blank page" just made me laugh considering I, and all writers, have been there.
Overall I think it's a witty and relevant piece of writing so far.
If this makes any sense at all... to me writing about writing is like trying to define the word definition. It is incredibly difficult to me... i have no idea why but i totally can feel her pain in how many drafts she has done to portray why we write.
"I hate writing about my writing because I have nothing to say about it." (Atwood 106) I enjoyed this line because it was so matter of fact. It allowed me to relate and gave me a good chuckle.
"The billboard awaits you, but if you succumb to its temptations you'll end up two dimensional" (Atwood 108) I know we've read this part before, but it's one of my favorite lines. I think it's quite a classy way to describe how to remain yourself when writing. And to not write for others experiences but for your own.
And this might not make sense, but for me... the process of writing must come from the heart, the place to feel and the desire to say something that cannot be said out loud. A place to be free.
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-jwxp
This post was edited on: 2010-01-07 at 10:53 PM by: jwxp
Does anybody else just think it's bloody fantastic--that image of putting Band Aids on a Cat?
She does go into a lot of psychology and I'm not a fan of crazy over analyzation of writing and writing motives. Like we talked about with Carolyn Forshee's writing: Experience vs. Relation.
When Atwood refers to "the sentence you'll save" that is so very relevant to my writing and imagery techniques. I can't even begin to explain the randomness with which imagery comes into my brain. In the shower, in my sleep, often in the dentist's chair. And I have written images and great phrases down to put to use in a poem somewhere, or to remind me of some great sentense that I'll save. Just thought it was awesome.
-Frankie 
"The billboard awaits you, but if you succumb to its temptations you'll end up two-dimensional."
This is my favorite part of this so far, as it really speaks to what can happen if you stop writing for yourself.
"I was big on grit. I had an eye for lawn litter and dog turds on sidewalks. In these stories it was usually snowing damply, or raining; at the very least there was slush."
Hahaha. I love her blunt honesty. And I think what she's saying relates to what we were talking about yesterday or today - we all often have a tendency to think things aren't interesting enough, sad enough, or dramatic enough to write about. Getting past the idea that "at the very least there needs to be slush" or something equally depressing in our writing just BECAUSE it's depressing is extremely important so as not to end up sounding like cliché, emo 12-year-olds.
On another note entirely, I love the part where she's talking about her childhood writing and says, "After that there's a great blank. For eight years I simply didn't write. Then, suddenly, and with no missing links in between, there's a wad of manuscripts." I actually find this immensely reassuring, because that's basically my story; I didn't start writing when I was three and continue without stopping until now, like some people. There was a large gap after age six or seven when I literally didn't write anything outside of school, and for a long time I felt as if that meant I couldn't be a "real" writer. It's nice to know I'm not the only one.
"Many children write at that age, just as many children draw. The strange thing is that so few of them go on to become writers or painters."
I loved this observation. I remember writing and drawing all the time as a little kid. No one at that age cares whether he or she has any talent--it's just something you do. As we get older, we're so much more self-conscious, so we stop writing and drawing. I think that as we get older, we also start repressing an urge to create. Maybe we don't think it's good enough, or we don't think it's useful. Little kids are so much more simple-minded--they just do it.
"...some pithy saying that would act like a talisman for the driven, the obsessed. But I have no such talismans. If I did, I would not continue, myself, to be so driven and obsessed."
I think this quote captures the essence of most writers and I was amazed at how rationally Margaret Atwood stated it. She doesn't have some sort of magical knowledge for everyone, but she is in fact searching for it like everyone else. What I like about her writing is that it gets straight to the point and she isn't afraid to dance around her own ideas. I really admire how blunt her writing is about her own ideas as if she doesn't need anyone to agree with her because those are HER truths.
"You need a certain amount of nerve to be a writer, an almost physical nerve, the kind you need to walk a log across a river.", "Tell what is yours to tell. Let others tell what is theirs." I think this is good advice for all writers because the best writing is that of someone who knows what they are talking about. Write what you know.
"There's the blank page, and the thing that obsesses you... There are words and their inertias, their biases, their insufficiencies, their glories... There's one sentence you know you will save."
This was my favorite part of Atwood's writing because it answers my own question of why I write; it is a way of releasing my thoughts, so I don't have to be consumed by them, threatened by them. Atwood states it so clearly and I love how she doesn't just stick to one answer of why she writes because there is definitely more than one reason for every writer.
First off...i really agreed with Katie. I haven't been the kid who never put the pen down and who has mounds upon mounds of work to show at this point. Its nice to know that someone like Margaret Atwood was the same.
Then..."Why do you write?...Some possible answers: Why does the sun shine?...Because I'm a writer...Because someone has to bear witness. Why do you read? (this last is tricky: maybe they don't.)...If at a loss, perfect the shrug. Or say: It's better than working in a bank." I REALLY liked this part because its super witty but also true. I write because its in my nature--sometimes i just think of something and know that i need to write it. Simple as that. Stop asking so many questions.
And finally..."Writing about writing requires self-consciousness; writing itself requires the abdication of it." I totally agree with this sentiment. I don't sit down and think about writing and why I'm doing it and so forth. I just sit down and start writing. It's therapuetic. I really do, more or less, succumb to the writing and give up all the unneccesary thinking--I find it's the only way I can really get going on a piece.
I loved alot of what she had to say--it felt like she was in my head while I was reading this.
Does anybody else just think it's bloody fantastic--that image of putting Band Aids on a Cat?
Um, yeah. Pretty much.
"Writing about writing requires self-consciousness; writing itself requires the abdication of it."
Most of the time, I don't know why I write. Often times, it just happens... Suddenly, there is just a spark of something in my mind, and I write the "spark" down, and then, before I know it, it has become something completely on its own.
"There's the laborious revision, the scrawled over crumpled-up pages that drift across the floor like spilled litter. There's the one sentence you know you will save."
What an elequent way to say something so obvious and simple. I agree with Atwood and the simplistic truth in what she's saying- theres always a part of my poems I love and keep and then i trash the rest. I guess that's what makes it worthwhile
"If I were an archaeologist, digging through the layers of old paper that mark the eras in my life as a writer..."
I don't even need words here... just love the image
Wow. A lot of phrases really popped out at me:
"The time is like small pieces cut out of my brain."
I have totally felt like this before! In fact, I'll never say "Sorry mom, I just can't remember what I did on Monday" ever again. Instead I'll quote "The time is like small pieces cut out of my brain."
"You need to know you can sink, and survive."
When I was a kid I almost sank in the pool. I survived by climbing on my friend; maybe not the best way, but I survived. After I learned to swim though, I was never afraid of the deep end like other kids. So that's what I think when I see this quote. Great imagery! Its true, though, that you should always remember you can live through even the worst of things. Or else you'll die, and then you won't have to deal with those things anymore.
"Tell what is yours to tell. Let others tell what is theirs."
Speaks for itself. I like that part, let others tell what is theirs. You can't really tell another's story, or fit the product of your soul to another's requirements, you can only write about what you actually think and feel if you want to write something good. Let those other people pay their own debt to society.
"Why are we so addicted to causality?"
I never even noticed that strange part of human nature. Why do we even care why something happened? It happened, end of story, except life would be very boring if the story just ended there.
I wish I could quote all of number 9! I relate, I remember that process, from beggining to end. The last sentences were the most brilliant. "You begin again. It never gets any easier." Strangely this comforts me.
Emily Broadwell
Jan 7, 2010 at 10:24 PM