Bookfest news
For me the most interesting moment at this year's Montana Festival of the Book came during a panel on memoirs. Moderator Annick Smith asked Jonathan Johnson, author of "Hannah and the Mountain," whether it was difficult to switch from writing poetry to memoir. Johnson said that he felt the magic of poetry came from a creative tension, the struggle between imagination and language. Memoir had a similar magic, fueled by the struggle between imagination and truth. "If I'm writing about a Ford, say; in a poem I can change it to a Chevy because that sounds better. In a memoir it has to be a Ford, so I have to figure out how to make that sound good."
I'd never thought about it that way. (As my wife says, it's the sort of insight only a poet might have.) I like the idea of creative tensions, though I think in my own work the tension is between truth and language. My limited imagination never enters the picture. (Indeed, that may have been what Johnson meant as well. He was speaking off the cuff, and I wasn't taking detailed notes.) How do you represent what actually happened in language that not only fully captures it, but is pleasant to read? Awareness of that challenge helps energize all of my writing, even some of my less entertaining though more lucrative assignments.
In other news, my own panel on blogging turned out surprisingly well. We had lots of different perspectives on the panel, and outstanding questions from the audience. While many people remain justifiably uneasy about whether it's good for society to have lots of bloggers writing material and posting it on the Web without going through any sort of filters or gatekeepers (editors, publishers, etc.), for individuals I think it's a very good thing. As noted here, it gives everyone true freedom of the press, and while that can create problems for society, they are not only inevitable but probably worth working through.
For other views of bookfest news, check out these two articles by Missoulian reporters, one on travel writers and one on tough guys. Ed Kemmick gives his own views of our panel here, and Prairie Mary provides her usual thorough and entertainingly opinionated report on her indefatigable schedule.
I'm always interested in feedback, via info at johnclaytonbooks dot com
I'd never thought about it that way. (As my wife says, it's the sort of insight only a poet might have.) I like the idea of creative tensions, though I think in my own work the tension is between truth and language. My limited imagination never enters the picture. (Indeed, that may have been what Johnson meant as well. He was speaking off the cuff, and I wasn't taking detailed notes.) How do you represent what actually happened in language that not only fully captures it, but is pleasant to read? Awareness of that challenge helps energize all of my writing, even some of my less entertaining though more lucrative assignments.
In other news, my own panel on blogging turned out surprisingly well. We had lots of different perspectives on the panel, and outstanding questions from the audience. While many people remain justifiably uneasy about whether it's good for society to have lots of bloggers writing material and posting it on the Web without going through any sort of filters or gatekeepers (editors, publishers, etc.), for individuals I think it's a very good thing. As noted here, it gives everyone true freedom of the press, and while that can create problems for society, they are not only inevitable but probably worth working through.
For other views of bookfest news, check out these two articles by Missoulian reporters, one on travel writers and one on tough guys. Ed Kemmick gives his own views of our panel here, and Prairie Mary provides her usual thorough and entertainingly opinionated report on her indefatigable schedule.
I'm always interested in feedback, via info at johnclaytonbooks dot com
