(Dis)Organizing a Draft, Part 2

As I work my way through drafts of the opening chapters of the nonfiction book that is my current work in progress, I find myself needing to read Ted Kooser’s slim little volume of practical advice to poets, The Poetry Home Repair Manual:

Why this particular craft book when poetry is not what I am writing? Well, look at what he says:

A poem is an object constructed of words, and when this object is presented to its readers, it is theirs to respond to however they wish.

Reading this book infuses my brain with this principle that I must not beat readers over the head with what I believe they ought to understand. As Kooser puts it, I must give the reader credit for knowing how to respond to what I'm saying “without needing to be led by the nose.” I must avoid “excessive feeling” about a subject that could easily drive me to excess.

I read about the “I” in poetry, and the many ways that self can be placed in a poem in order to draw reader to text for the purpose of creating meaning. Which forces me think about where I am relative to this work I’m doing and where I want to be by the time I’m done.

I read about grounding in the senses, how that is what helps a poem lift off. It has to occur intuitively, from deep in particulars of detail and viewpoint, with close and careful attention. Slow down, slow down.

I read some more and what do you know—it works! When I return to my draft after a couple of days’ absence, I can see it more clearly. Reading Kooser has helped shake me loose from the content I’m trying so hard to understand, clarify, condense, question. It helps me think about this work when I’m not looking directly at it.

Every few chapters, I think it helps to look away. Let the last chapter breathe before I pick up the strands again and trust that when I do I’ll be better able to feel my way forward.