October 22nd, 2009 / 11:55 am
Author Spotlight

CA Conrad’s (Soma)tic Poetry Exercises

There were a bunch of these in this issue of Fence a while back, which I have since read 4 or 5 times. Basically Conrad lists instructions (from very far gone to very direct) on experiential episodes to cause a text. They are pretty hilarious and wild in and of themselves. In getting ready to write a post about them, I realized he posts them regularly on a blog (or used to) (Soma)tic Poetry Exercises.

eye-spy

Here’s an example:

Go to your local graveyard, spend some time searching for a spot to sit. Find a spot where no one will pester you, you’re busy, you’re here to write poetry, not to be pestered with small talk! When you have found your spot sit down on the ground. Take time to look closely at ALL OBJECTS at your feet, in the trees, etc. Find three objects, one of them on the ground, or at least touching the ground: your feet, a grave marker, tree trunk or roots, etc. The other two off the ground in a tree, a building, but make them things which are stationary so you can stay focused on them. Draw a triangle between these three objects. Focus hard on the contents of your triangle, keeping in mind that the ground object you have chosen connects to the dead. Imagine your triangle in different forms of light, darkness, weather, and seasons. Imagine someone you love inside the triangle dying. Imagine yourself inside it dying. Gather notes in this process, take notes, as many notes as you can about how you feel and what you feel. Then PAUSE from these notes to focus again on your triangle, THEN write QUICKLY AND WITHOUT THINKING for as much time as you can manage. Often it’s these spontaneous notes which dislodge important information for us. DO NOT HESITATE to write the most brutal things that come to mind, HESITATE at nothing for that matter. Take some deep breaths and think about death by murder, war, cancer, suicide, accidents, knives, fire, drowning, crushing, decapitation, torture, plagues, animal attacks, dehydration, guns, stones, tanks, bombs, genocide, strokes, explosions, electrocutions, guillotine, firing squads, parasites, suffocation, flash floods, tornadoes, earthquakes, cyanide, poison, capital punishment, falling, stampedes, strangulation, freezing, baseball bats, overdose, plane crashes, fist fights, choking, etc., imagine every possible form of death. Take notes on your feelings for death at this point, DO NOT HESITATE. Now, TAKE ALL YOUR NOTES, and using THE FILTERS “QUICKEN” and “EMBLEM” shape your poem.

Not all of them are that brutal. Some are about carrots and bananas.

Heavily recommend checking the rest of these out, and perhaps putting them to use? Bloodfun.

Also, if you haven’t read CA’s The Book of Frank, make it a priority.

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9 Comments

  1. sasha fletcher

      ca conrad is a goddam treat.
      if you’ve never heard him read it sounds something like this
      http://vimeo.com/5866800
      and it’s pretty great.

  2. sasha fletcher

      ca conrad is a goddam treat.
      if you’ve never heard him read it sounds something like this
      http://vimeo.com/5866800
      and it’s pretty great.

  3. Tim Jones-Yelvington

      cool

  4. Tim Jones-Yelvington

      cool

  5. Ross Brighton

      I (Heart) him. He’s amazing, and lovely, and other assorted adjectives of praise

  6. Ross Brighton

      I (Heart) him. He’s amazing, and lovely, and other assorted adjectives of praise

  7. Justin Sirois

      CA’s kinda magical. Ok, not even kinda. He carries glitter with him no matter where he goes and gives one of the most entertaining and thoughtful readings I’ve ever seen.

  8. Justin Sirois

      CA’s kinda magical. Ok, not even kinda. He carries glitter with him no matter where he goes and gives one of the most entertaining and thoughtful readings I’ve ever seen.

  9. goldmag.de » Blog Archiv » Links gegen Herbstdepressionen — noch mehr!

      […] CA Conrads “(Soma)tic Poetry Exercises” — man könnte es “kreativitätsfördernde Schreibübungen” nennen, wozu der leicht schrullige Dichter CA Conrad da auf seinem Weblog anleitet. Auf jeden Fall ist es viel lustiger als es sich anhört! Conrads “Exercises” heißen z.B. “You in your soup”, “Let your toes know the truth!” oder “Your garbage spekas!” Bei einer weiteren Übung soll man auf einem Friedhof eine Fläche mit Gegenständen abstecken und dann, über einen der Gegenstände, Kontakt mit den Toten aufnehmen (oder so) — und das wäre dann auch der Moment, in dem mit dem Schreiben zu beginnen ist. Na gut, das klingt etwas gruselig. Aber es gibt auch andere Übungen, mit Bananen z.B., oder hier, die wirklich großartige Übung Nr. 17, die alte Klamotten und geraspelte Karotten in einem Nylonstrumpf miteinbezieht. […]