Serendipity: a workshop where poet minds mingle and sometimes meet.
Sojourner K. Rolle -- October 14, 2005
I am pleased to begin a regular jaunt into poem-making. A new chapter is always exciting. My commitment is to share my perspective and adventures from my eclectic life as a poet living in Santa Barbara and wherever my endeavors take me on the journey in search of a poem.
Welcome to a meander through a poet's mind. Where we coincide the juncture of communication, where knowing greets knowing. It is indeed a stepping off, so to speak. I sense a swell of encounters, so the journeys begin. Excursions in search of chance moments collide.
About Serendipity
Serendipity, the faculty of happening upon or making fortunate discoveries when not in search of them. Coined by Horace Walpol(1954), in the Three Princes of Serendip (Ceylon), the heroes of which make such discoveries. Serendipty, my odyssey into cyberspace, debuted in the on-line magazine, Art Direct circa 1995. Only two editions of the column were published. We were not wired then so we only saw printed versions. But the spirit of adventure has survived and, serendipitously, the journey begins again.
When minds meet,
one is never sure
how brief or how long
the thought is held
in common but it is
mind meeting...
It is not negotiated.
It is.
--skrolle
Follow The Golden Thread.
I hope each workshop-column to seed the encounter with a prompt that might stimulate writers to write. In this first visit, I submit the metaphor of encounter. To borrow from one of my mentors, William Stafford who borrowed from William Blake, "I give you the end of a golden string/Just wind it into a ball." Stafford believed every thread was golden and led to a poem.
Here's a sequence:
Freewrite using ideas that spring from words of encounter, explicit or implied, sprinkled throughout in this column. i.e serendipity, crossroad(s), meeting, road, path, journey, unintended outcomes, etc.
Pick a "golden thread" to follow from the freewrite. Where does it lead you. Is it a narrative journey? What story does it tell? What is its context? What sights, sounds, smells, and textures make up the story's environment. This may inspire pages and pages of writing - the raw material for a poem.
Let the poem emerge. Sometimes, the whole poem comes spilling out. Often, this spilling out must then be focused and shaped into a polished piece. This is where craft and creativity meet. It is essential to have that first burst of inspiration-- the fire.
Polish the gold until it gleams. Crafting takes place over time. Cut away, transform, embellish.
During our odyssey, our journey, I hope to pass on tools of the craft--poet to poet--mind meeting.
The idea of mind meeting is rooted in the moment. Today, I read a poem published in Garrison Keeler's Writers Almanac. The Shining Moment In The Now by David Budbill. It was perfect for what I am trying to express here. I checked out Budbill's website. I had a symbiotic experience there. My hope is that you, writer, will find a kindred spirit here.
BlabBack--Tell what you feel. My hope is that things written here will engender response. I do reserve the right to choose what will be posted. I am a disciple of respectful communication.
See the Ink Byte Feedback page if you want to share your opinions and questions with other readers, or, to contact me privately, send email to Serendipity@InkByte.com.