Luna - Bailey Schaumburg
It comes from my head chains In the walls Chains On my teeth Chains Anticipating in swings Like a pendulum an umbilical cord An extension cord she might as well Shrink her babies back down to size and hang them there too Little snakes All curled in a ball there loving each other Ticking away on the watch I don’t wear? On the watch I don’t even own? I love her use of repetition in this piece. Her use of ‘chains’ adds a sort of punctuation to the piece. Though she only uses it in the first stanza, it always ends the line. Which, I like. It makes a kind of definitive “oomph” for lack of a better word and keeps the reader drawn in. I also love her lack of real punctuation except for the rhetorical questions at the end. It makes it seem like one very long, drawn out breath. Or a journey that comes to a close as she asks about the watch. I love her comparison of a pendulum to an umbilical cord. Maybe it was just me but I saw a juxtaposition of time versus youth. Like the umbilical cord is the child and the pendulum symbolizes the loss of youth and the want to get it back. It makes me wonder, though, with the watch reference, if she’s saying that she doesn’t care about time. I don’t know if that’s the goal but it seems to me that she just can’t be bothered with time at all and she is perturbed that someone even asked her about it. TL/DR: I love the use of repetition and lack of punctuation. I think it adds a heightened level to the word choices present. Schaumburg, Bailey. “Luna.” Glyph. 25 (2013): 69. Print. 25 September 2016.
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Why I Write- Tess Cutler
Because I want to write good. Because we’re taught that you say ‘well’, not ‘good’. I want to break the rules and write good. The only people who can manipulate the English language to be incorrect but still correct are writers. I love that she chose to begin her essay with “because I write good.” It’s instantly intriguing. I’m thinking, that’s wrong. But then I’m thinking, maybe she’s trying to say she writes good things…so then is the grammar really incorrect? Couldn’t she just argue that she was using the noun form of the word? See? I’m drawn in. Then she tells me that, no, she writes good because she can. That is so freeing and so simple… because I can. That is the essence of writing. Well, no, that’s one of the many possible motives to write. One I love. I think that part of the reason I write is because I get to be God. I get to decide everything. Anyways. As far as style and voice go, I love how simplistic her voice is. I’m a very descriptive writer but I love simplistic writing. That’s what I reach for every time I start a new piece; only using what’s necessary. And style? Nothing really stuck out to me about her style. I guess her use of repetition was really cool. I love that idea. Keeping one or a couple central points and bringing them up frequently throughout the piece. TL/DR: I loved the hook she used. I love her simplistic voice and repetitive style. Cutler, Tess. “Why I Write.” Glyph 25 (2013): 71-72. Print. 15 Sept. 2016. |
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