Patricia Harrelson

Writing teachers  frequently tell their students, “One must read broadly to write well.” During my Mexico vacation I was reminded of how much I rely on reading to learn about writing. I read all the time, but during my vacation I read differently–more poetry as well as doing a lot of catch up on reading publications like Poets & Writers, the Writer’s Chronicle, and Lambda Book Report. The shift sparked the synapses of my brain to attention.

Reading poetry is a lesson in language, image, metaphor, and structure. It is a slow, savory kind of reading the enlivens my mind and makes me want to take more risks. Reading publications that have to do with writing is instructive, inspiring, and occasionally daunting.  I particularly enjoy reading author interviews and profiles for the window they open into the lives of other writers. I read with a pen, underlining and starring points I want to remember, books I want to locate, words I want to record in my quote journal.

Lambda Book Report, Spring 2009 had an interview with Judy Grahn by Julie Enszer (a cyber friend who is an excellent poet and extraordinary critic). Julie asked Grahn “What contemporary works do you find notable and/or inspiring?” I think Grahn’s response is worth summarizing in a post about reading to inform writing. Here’s what she said:

• I read very locally; I read my students’ work and I always learn from them;
• I listen to people’s stories;
• I study the ancient texts; I really like to go to direct sources;
• I go online and read leftist articles and the testimony of soldiers coming from Afghanistan;
• I get a lot of inspiration from song lyrics.

 

What kind of reading do you find notable or inspiring? How do your choices compare with Grahn’s?

In future posts, I’ll continue to report things that I learn about writing from reading.

(Judy Grahn photo from https://www.itp.edu/academics/images/staff/jGrahn.gif)