1. Refrain from criticism of others. A poet should be above this.
2. No longer share what is most personal with anyone--neither wife, friend, nor child. Express it only in poetry and in an indirect or objective way.
3. No longer discuss my writing or my hopes for it with anyone. It is too special and sacred to me; no one should be expected to understand how I feel about it.
4. Seek solitude and stand alone.
5. Do not let fatigue, disappointment, professional routine and academic trivia betray finer instincts.
6. Cease complaining. And do not any longer make excuses or explanations to anyone.
7. Read and think more and talk less. Or not at all, unless in a fairly objective and impersonal way.
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After a month away from home due to family illness, lack of power and water due to the worst icestorm in my state's history, and a teaching load that is frenetic and frantic, I feel a particular resonance with this advice.
Awesome and awful to see every tree in this area annealed with ice. They've all been scalped. The landscape is devastated.
Way behind on bills, housework, tax preparation, and general self-care. I need a spa trip if I could afford it.
Rushing through essays to get to research.
Rushing through AWP to get to panels.
Writing (finally) something other than checks or essay eval.
Only good thing to come out of this whole devastating storm was a new ability to cook almost anything on a propane camping stove.
1 comment:
Very good advice from Hayden. Glad things are getting back to normal for you. Hope you catch a break soon.
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