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September 09, 2005
Some Thoughts on Essays
First things first, new essay and poem up over at poetfox.com. The poem is kinda there, but the essay... I haven't written such a good essay in a long while. Please read it, if you don't totally hate my writing. And if I'm wrong in thinking it's very good, please put me in my place. I think I take criticism very well, and I wish I got more of it. I just... well, I will definately try to explain where I'm coming from if you tell me something doesn't work. I will tell you why I put it there in the first place. Which will sound like me fighting your critique... but it's not. I'm just one of those people who HAS to explain themselves with stuff like this. I'll more than likely fiddle with it if you tell me something is wrong.
ANYWAY!
I am quite proud of that recent essay, though. It's called "The Amazing, Exciting Potential." Although I wasn't planning on it being that way, it's similar in topic one of my favorite essays I read awhile back when I was taking my essay class, called "For My Brothers and Sisters in the Failure Business" by Seymour Krim. I don't know how one goes about finding an essay to read, but if you manage to find it, do read it. It's great. ^_^ Or if you're close to me, you can ask to steal my essay anthology for awhile. The chances of this happening are very slim, though, I think.
The thing about the essay is the way I'm talking about nothing, really, but then even as I'm writing it, I'm realizing it relates to life and how I live it, and I get to sorta tie that in at the end. I'm not saying I did it perfectly, but it's that kinda stuff that can really bring an essay from the minors to the majors, you know? I've read plenty of great essays about absolutely nothing, but the ones that really stick in my mind are the ones that talk about nothing and then slowly start to connect it to the essayist's life and thus you start thinking about it in your life? And I think I at least approached that kind of essay with this. At the very least, it's totally angst-free, which is something I've been worrying about since I started writing more often again. I'd like to write essays like that one all day long. I hope at some point, I manage to.
I don't know of alot of professional essayists? It always seems like all the great essayists started doing it by accident, and then became popular, you know? Like, they were writing essays to vent about their lives while trying to get a book of fiction published or something... then someone found their essays and liked them better so published them... and then suddenly they were an essayist. I don't think people really plan to be an essayist. I'd sorta like to be. I think it's the one form of writing I can seriously do in a professional way and have it have MEANING. You know? I can write fiction, but it's just happy little fiction devoid of meaning. It's real, but it's just entertainment. And although I want things I read to BE entertainment, leaving me with a feeling afterwards is what separates good fiction from bad, for me, and I don't think fiction I would write would do that to anyone. Poems require too much... fakery... pompusness... just... something I don't have. I enjoy writing poetry. Sometimes I write good poetry. But I'm sure as hell not going to be a professional poet. Essays, though... I can do good essays. I think if I keep practicing I could write lots of essays. And if I write lots of essays, and 1 out of 5 of them are what I'd consider seriously good essays, then I'm doing amazing, you know? The only problem I could see is redoing the same topic over and over... but that's an issue for anyone who writes anything. I can get over it.
So yeah... I want to write essays...? Good essays...? And to that effect I bought another essay anthology today. "Best Essays of 2004" or whatnot. I have the "Best Essays of 2001" and honestly, alot of them really sucked. My "Art of the Essay" anthology of essays through time had much better stuff in it... but I'm hoping this at least has a few. It's not like there are alot of essay anthologies out there. I've never seen one besides "Art of the Essay." And I don't really know how to go about finding essayists I like to buy whole books of their essays... you know? So... well, let's hope this has some good stuff. I'm going to try to read it soon.
Anyway, it's off to Droib's to test all the new Crappy Asst equipment. New one should be up late tonight. It's only getting better, people! Couple more shows, and we might actually be worth your time.
Posted by poetfox at September 9, 2005 11:09 AM
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