Month: February 2023

Scarry focuses on the concept of beauty throughout this piece. It’s not just beauty in the sense of the physical world, but the creative, philosophical, and emotional side of the world as well. While I was reading, I was jotting down notes and quotes that stuck out to me. One specific quote in general is one I keep circling back to. Scarry says, “It may be useful to record the error, or the revision, in as much detail as possible because I want to make claims here about the way an error presents itself to mind, and the accuracy of what I say needs alternative instances to be tested again” (pg. 11). I immediately thought of my own revision for my final project. Scarry continues to dive into what perception can do in either overcrediting or undercrediting. When I think about my original project, I was extremely proud of what I created, but looking back at it now, I can see all my “errors” or modes of construction that need improvement. This raised the question “Is there beauty in error or does error create opportunities for more beauty?” For me personally, I think it is a cycle. With my own project I see several errors that I could transform to make beautiful or at least expand upon. At the same time, I think that those errors create an innocence of beauty that I did not appreciate when I originally wrote my piece. It is similar to Scarry referring to palm trees and how she didn’t recognize or acknowledge the beauty behind them originally. That’s how I feel with my first draft of my old assignment. I was extremely harsh and now I can look at it in a different light. This would be an example of my old self forwarding these pages to my now self. I can now revise and deep dive into the next steps necessary. When it comes to the Mourning Picture, I think Scarry is saying that beauty is everywhere. It may be a form of imitation, but people’s perceptions make it their own. Therefore, it would not be a form of copying, but making something original out of the perception of beauty when others see something for the first time. 

“We can ‘read’ a canvas, notice metaphors, symbols, even spatial or color ‘rhymes’ within it. Conversely we can ‘look at’ a poem, observe its shape on the page, discuss its ‘imagery’ amd ‘texture’” (Moramarco 25).

This quote immediately stood out to me, especially because of our humanities conversations we have been having in class. It shows how the humanities are an intricate part of each other and how interpretations or being both right and wrong play into the art and English world. There is not an either/or but a both/and with art and poetry. They may be different topics of learning or creativity, but they can be read the same way. It exposes how versatile interpretation and understanding truly is. 

“Out of my head, half-bursting,/ still filling, the dream condenses– /shadows, crystals, ceilings, meadows, globes of dew” (Rich 13-15).

This direct quote from one of the versions of the poem stuck out to me after reading Speculations. It shares such a sharp contrast with the rest of the poem that holds angst and sadness, yet this line has a different aura about it. However, it still correlates to the image in a way. It might not be the exact words from the painting, but it can be interpreted in a similar way that the painting is trying to portray. 

When combining both of these quotes and ideas, you can see how painting and poetry correlate and interplay with each other. We can look at Rich’s poem aside from the painting and digest it differently which is similar to if we look at Elmer’s painting without the poem. However, when added together they create a different and unique value compared to each creative work on its own. 

Does poetry and art have the same effect on their own or would they be more powerful together? Is this a version of imitation why or why not? Should poetry and art be taught together in one class, what would be the benefits behind a class that connected the two different forms of creativity?

My first initial project that comes to mind is my artist book from my first ever creative writing class at UNE. It is one of my most memorable, most important, and a project that I also would like the opportunity to revise. I think I have learned so much about the writing process and the writing world since that first class. It would be really neat to see where my new found inspiration and techniques would advance my writing as well as my creativity. When I first completed I felt like I could have done more, but now I see several factors I could rework. I don’t think it was at the maturity level that I hoped it was going to be at, so that is one of the projects that immediately comes to mind. 

The second project that comes to mind is another artist book that I created last semester. I love artists’ books and I want to deep dive into them. It was a very important project to me, but I felt like I fell through the cracks compared to my initial thought process. I think that if I pushed myself more than it could have been way more refined. I think if I started the project earlier and finished mapping out a set plan then I would have created a better outcome. 

The third project that comes to my mind would be a short story that I wrote last year. It was an extremely emotional piece, well the final submission of it was, and my professor helped me focus that pain into a short story. I want to uncover that side of myself because I was not entirely proud of my completed work. I think that if I pushed myself further, especially again after the writing techniques and process I have learned, then I could compose an even better story with a strong message. However, I don’t think it is entirely something I am ready to broadcast to the world in a presentation, but I would consider it.