Lately, on
my walks home from class, listening to the songs on my iPhone, I can’t help but
feel a little depressed about the music I’ve been listening to. (And not
because it’s all a sap fest. Promise.) It’s because lately, I’ve been thinking about
metaphors and how they work in the songs I listen to and the poetry I read and
try to write. How do you clearly, interestingly, and honestly, write out your
world for a poem? It’s hard.
The essay I
read, “Orpheus Recalling Eurydice” by Anne Simpson, was all about metaphors and
how poets encounter and experience them. The author had a really neat point at
the very start of the essay: that “We ourselves, are meaning.” Essentially,
that “when we mean something, it’s like going up to someone…we go up to the
thing we mean.” Metaphors, Simpson states, begin with the familiar and then
shifts into the unfamiliar. This exchange allows the poet and the reader to
challenge the familiar and nakedly expose it.
Michael
Crummey, a poet originally from Newfoundland, starts his poem “Capelin Skull”
in the familiar, describing hundreds of thousands of fish washed up on a shore.
He then sinks into the unfamiliar, illustrating the beached fish as survivors
of a shipwreck. The waves he writes about take on the quality of a bus, stuffed
with “passengers bound for oblivion/ limbs and heads hanging recklessly/
through the open windows.”
In her
essay, Simpson writes that metaphors are a marriage between imagination and
creation: that the job of a poet is to make that marriage work. Crummey makes
that marriage work in an effortless, natural way.
Traveling from areas such as Montreal
to Paris, it is fortunate for Fredericton, New Brunswick that Ray Fraser, a
poet, has chosen its community as a home. Born on May 8th in the
year 1941, Fraser grew up in Chatham, Ontario. He was an average student
throughout grade school, attending public schools and playing on local hockey
teams. It seems that Fraser had a growing interest in sports, as he continued
to play hockey, as well as football, when he attended St. Thomas University in
Chatham.
Fraser enrolled at St. Thomas in order
to receive an art degree, and his writing career began to take shape during his
third year, when he co-edited a journal entitled Tom-Tom. In the year 1964, Fraser graduated with his degree and
quickly became a full-time writer. There is no doubt that his smarts and
seemingly natural talent helped him to accomplish this. Now living in Montreal,
Fraser created a group with a number of other writers that was called the
Montreal Story Tellers; a book would later be written about this group by an
author named J.R. Struthers.
Throughout his career, Fraser has
certainly published a wide variety of works. However, he does not appear to
have the reputation that one with his talent should have. Having written or
edited up to twenty-two books, Fraser is, although, admired by those who know
of his work. He has received a number of awards, one of these being for one of
his best-known titles, When the Earth Was
Flat, which outlines important events from his life. Some of Fraser’s other
titles include Poems for the Miramichi and
The Black Horse Tavern.
In addition to his writing, Fraser
is also actively involved in his community. He has made donations to University
of New Brunswick, and is also a founder of the Flat Earth Society.
SECTION ONE: Poetry Hello poets. From here you're at your ending. That's right, no more questions. Poets have their own groups usually, it's sort of hard to divide up from there.
For you I would encourage you to check out the 'League of Canadian Poets' here: http://poets.ca/wordpress/
They are a group focused on getting poets equal opportunities in the literary world. They are all for the poets. Please head on down to Section 6.
SECTION TWO: Prose Well, hello, writers. You've got a couple of options moving on from here so let's get to the next question:
Do you write about science? If the answer is yes, please jump down to Section 2.A.
Not science? Do you write children stories? If so please, move on to Section 2.B.
Still nothing? Do you write crime stories? Section 2.C is for you then.
Are you published? Section 2.D please and thank you.
If you answer no to these questions, have no fear ̶ there's still a place for you. Some associations just have a broader spectrum which includes all forms of writing. Those are likely for you. Please head on down to Section 6.
SECTION 2.A: Science Writers That's right! There is a Canadian group for writers focusing on science called the 'Canadian Science Writers' Associtation'. Go on and check it out here: http://www.sciencewriters.ca/
They are out to increase public attention to science in Canadian culture and you can help! Please head on down to Section 6.
SECTION 2.B: Children's Literature Yes, children's authors have a place in the Canadian association sea too. In fact it's right here, the' Canadian Society of Children's Authors, Illustrators, and Performers': http://www.canscaip.org/
People who illustrate children's books and performers are also welcome here. It's all about bringing attention to the section of Canadian culture focused around children. Please head on down to Section 6.
SECTION 2.C: Crime Writers Are you surprised you have your own group? Well don't be, it's right around the corner, the 'Crime Writers of Canada': http://www.crimewriterscanada.com/
They are out to raise the profile of Canadian crime writers through everything from libraries to the media. Please head on down to Section 6.
SECTION 2.D: Published Writers So you're doing awesome so far and have already published. Good for you. You've now got a group to help encourage you to keep going and help you work through the tough places! 'Writer's Union of Canada': http://www.writersunion.ca/
Keep going and don't give up! Please head on down to Section 6.
SECTION THREE: Script Hello, playwrights. You have gone as far as you can go. It's difficult to divide script up anymore so you're done with silly questions.
This group is here to advance your rights and interests not only on a national level but an international one, too. Please head on down to Section 6.
SECTION FOUR: Journalism You've reached the end of the journey, no more questions, just an association.
Journalism is a great profession and it's even better knowing that you've got others on your side. Am I right? Well, look no further than here: the 'Canadian Association of Journalism: http://www.caj.ca/
This group acts like your voice in hard times when the media gets challenged. You're not in it alone! Please head on down to Section 6.
You might have noticed that I wasn't lying when I said there were a lot of Canadian groups and associations for writers. Above are the more specific ones depending on the genre and style you write in, but there are some general groups. I would suggest you check them out as well.
There's the 'CWILA' (Canadian Women in the Literary Arts): http://www.cwila.com/ They're working on equal rights for all in the Canadian Literary field.
Well, if you're like me, you haven't heard of many writing groups because you don't know where to look. With the help of Amanda's blog topics list, I've come across three that might help any amateur writer: The League of Canadian Poets, The Writers' Union of Canada, and Canadian Women in the Literary Arts.
The League of Canadian Poets was founded in 1966 to promote and advance poetry in Canada. It is an organization that comprises of 700 members, that is geared towards new writers as well as established ones. ''As the recognized voice of Canadian poets, it represents their concerns to governments, publishers, and society at large, and maintains connections with similar organizations at home and abroad. The League strives to promote equal opportunities for poets from every literary tradition and cultural and demographic background.'' Their website provides lots of resources and programs, as well as numerous contests and awards for current Canadian poets.
The Writers' Union of Canada is different from the organization above because it is solely for published writers of books. ''Members of the Union benefit from a range of services that are not otherwise easily available to writers working in isolation''. The Writers' Union of Canada was founded in 1973 when Graeme Gibson decided that Canada needed a union distinctly for writers in Canada. Currently, this organization has more than 1,900 members. For more info, visit their website:
Canadian Women in the Literary Arts is an inclusive organization targeted towards people with feminist views or who believe in equality within gender, race, etc. The organization was founded by Gillian Jerome, poet and essayist, who responded to a Canadian literary review about gender. You can check out a variety of essays on their website.
''CWILA strives to promote and foster equity and equality of representation in the Canadian literary community by:
1) tracking statistics on gender representation in reviewing;
2) bringing relevant issues of gender, race and sexuality into our national literary conversation;
3) and creating a network supportive of the active careers of female writers, critics and their literary communities.''
I find that these National Writing Groups are helpful to get amateur writers started. I encourage you to submit a piece of literature to one of their contest, you never know until you try!
