"I like to call them 'Poetry Quirks.'"

Goodnight Mom tagged me for a meme on quirks. I wrote my so-called quirks out and they seem too unremarkable to share. So my twist is to talk about my poetry quirks.

Hell, it's 4:30 a.m. and I can't sleep. I'm limited to six quirks so here we go.



1. I like to write with a certain type of pen, Microball Onxy fine tip, always in blue ink. Nothing else will do. And while I prefer writing in a journal, I can write a poem on any little scrap of paper I can find.

2. I mull over poems I'm the process of writing in the car on way to and from work. I don't physically write while driving but it's a good place to ponder and pull together words. I jot them down as soon as I hit the parking lot.

3. I have a hard time writing long poems. None of my poems are longer than two pages. I like the idea of really exploring topics with pages and pages of writing but I can usually do that in three-fourths of a page.

4. When I attend poetry readings, I tend to look down and close my eyes when other poets read. Helps me listen to the words and block out the surroundings. But often it makes me look distracted or worse, asleep!

5. I get extremely nervous speaking in public, which makes reading poetry public challenging. But once I get into it and feel out the crowd I'm usually OK after the first poem or two.

6. I hate being "tagged" in memes. For Kristi I'll always make an exception but I don't like the pressure of having to answer someone else's questions. In most cases, I'll suggest that people self-tag themselves to participate. Not poetry related but it is what it is.


Here are the rules:

1. Link the person who tagged you. (See quirk #6. Self-tag yourselves!)
2. Mention the rules on your blog.
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours. (Mission accomplished.)
4. Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them. (Again, see #6.)
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they’ve been tagged.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Jan,

#3. -Good thing, cause I don't like to read long poems. It's odd, I love reading fiction, essays, etc., but in a long poem I often tune out by the time I get to the middle. I usually have to read them several times over.

#4. -I do the same thing! Or I'll unfocus my eyes, which has the same effect, but probably without the falling asleep look.
Odessa said…
great list! though i will have to pass on the meme, i don't think i've written enough poems to know my quirks.

i can't write long poems either. and even if i intend to write long ones, too often i lose my momentum and end up trimming the poem and taking out so many lines.

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