My wife and I were recently discussing that J.S. Bach would often start off his composing sessions by playing someone else’s work for awhile, then move on to his own composing. I have found this to be an extremely successful technique for writing poetry as well. I recall that Emerson quoted an obscure poet in his famous essay Self Reliance, and explained that it wasn’t so much the literal meaning of the writer’s words but the ideas it sparked in his own inner workings that were of great value. Likewise, I find that reading other people’s poems with pen and paper handy is often a great way to give my own creative process a kick-start. So far I have not found the work I produce as a result of this method to resemble the work I was reading at all.
The notion that many nascent poets have that they might somehow pollute or corrupt their voice through immersion in other poets’ work simply has not proved remotely true in my own experience. Quite the opposite–I find that reading poetry seems to activate my poetic mind, to get me into the music of poetry (even if they are not the rhythms I prefer), and to stimulate more creative and original work than if I were to simply sit down by myself in an empty room and try “to be original.” The notion of being fed artistically is one that is very important to me–in fact central to my current pursuit of writing–and this technique seems to be a kind of filling up to overflowing, so that I can write out of the overflow of creative energy rather than swirling the dregs of deficit.
4 Comments
I also read to get in the mood to write. It can be someone else’s work or my own work.
I have found it can be really liberating as well to just read without necessarily deciding I have to write during the allotted time as well (but being open to it, and having pen and paper handy). Most of the time, I end up writing — but the kind of self-reverse-psychology aspect of not forcing it seems to ease the pressure and actually open up a greater creative flow.
Yes, it’s funny how that works. I read with pen and page as well.
Even experiencing it, one would think one would emulate style or voice or subject but reading excellent exciting reading, only seems to set creativity in motion.
Yes – I think it was in Self Reliance that Emerson starts with a quote from someone then says it wasn’t actually the ideas in the quote but the quote itself that sparked this whole other line of thought which turned into one of his greatest essays. Funny how sometimes the greatest contribution a piece can give has nothing to do with the content of the piece – but is simply insipiration.