If you know anything about me, you know that Claudia is one of my favorite living writers. Her approach to poetry, to writing in general, and how she finesses her subject matter with such a considerate touch really moves me to better my own writing.
There are many things I enjoy about Rankine’s work. It’s poetry, but it looks like prose. I love nonfiction, and her work reads as such. But it’s not. Each sentence works on a deeper level. If you read through her more recent poetry, you’ll likely think you’re reading essays. That’s called prose poetry.
I also really like what she does with space on the page — how she utilizes it! How she makes it sing. How she makes you think about what’s missing, and not what’s there. And when the subject matter is about being lonely, and how it doesn’t feel like the writer is actually lonely, or maybe at home with that loneliness, it reminds you what it means to be human.
At least, it does for me.
Being human is a singularly isolating experience, but then again, I don’t have anything to compare to this life but this life. I really appreciate what Claudia is able to do, not just on the page, but on the stage. The discussion session after her reading last night was pretty enlightening. I love hearing writers talk about their work, and their approach to work, and their larger philosophies on life.
Because, after all, this writing stuff is just a fraction of who we writers are as people. We write and revise and edit and mulch things and ditch things and start over again and present our completed works for popular consumption. But there’s a very real human being behind the scenes, working the levers like the old frail man behind the Wizard of Oz curtain.
There’s a real person, who has hopes and dreams, vulnerabilities and fears, just like anyone else, hiding behind the words. Maybe hiding is not the best word for it. But we’re here, anyway, and we’ve all got our own neuroses. Writing is one hell of an idiosyncrasy.
I learned a lot last night, about myself, about the kind of people I like to call kindred. About the process. I asked Claudia a question at the end of the night. I said what advice would you give me to survive the MFA I’m about to embark on? Especially as a black person in a historically white space.
She said don’t be afraid to try new things when you’re in there. And don’t take it too seriously – meaning, don’t get caught up in it. It’s just a phase in your life. And, anyway, your real writing is gonna happen after the program. The program is for you to find out what you can do. So don’t limit yourself.
I like that. I like that a lot.
And I’m looking forward to seeing more favorite writers of mine at similar events, and meeting like-minded people at those events, and going home to read and smile. A literature nerd, but I’m more in love with Writing than with Literature. But their two sides of the same coin, anyway, and, anyway, I’m very happy and content with everything in my life.
And I ask God to keep me guided.