The second class of the Wild Angels was light in attendance. The weather was bitterly cold. A plane had crash landed on the Hudson river, creating train and traffic nightmares for us all.
We began the class with the proprioceptive process. We have spent some time discussing this method so that we can really get a handle on it. The write was easier for me this time. I was able to focus and felt a lot less antsy about sitting quietly and writing. The session also seemed easier for others. One of the participants had been mulling over a piece of work about Almonds (and other things) and was able to write most of it out in last weeks writing session. We had a chance to critique it and we were impressed with the multi layered poem. The piece had an interesting mix of language and texture. The second piece we read was a historical observation of election day 2008. The prose piece had a strong political point of view. The class agreed the piece captured an emotional intensity of the day while asking that more personal feelings could be included.
The challenge in any class is how to critique effectively. In the Wild Angels classes we enforce a gentler process then other groups. We want people to enjoy their work and the time in the group and to get some constructive feedback. If you are unfamiliar with a genre like poetry it might be hard to give feedback. In that case you can give an emotional response to the poem. How did you feel when hearing the piece? What words, phrases or images struck you?
On the other hand what if the writing provoked such an emotional response that you wanted to argue against it? In this case, pull back from the emotional reaction and look at the construction of the work. Did it read well? Could phrases be eliminated? Does a section need more clarification?
It is up to the writer to remove themselves from the emotional attachment to the work and listen to what the response is from the reader. That can be the hardest part. The reader may not agree with what you have written. The disagreement can be felt as a personal critique against you and not the work. We can’t help be attached to our creations. We birth them like little creatures and have to be willing to let them out into the world. If we can listen to what the person has written and hear how our words effect others then we have a good start to becoming better writers.
Since we critique many pieces in a session we can’t hash out one piece of work fully. The hope is to at least give the person some idea of how their work reads and highligt its strengths and weaknesses.
Email us here for more information about the group. wildangelsgroup@saintsaviour.org