Discussion:Poetry Research

So, who here does research for their poetry, as in experience something for the sake of writing about it? I ask because I'm thinking of going on a drive to write something about highways, and I wanna see if I'm not crazy. Anyone else?

Poetically and holistically speaking, all experience is indirectly research. All things contain the upbuilding and the awakening if viewed from the proper perspective.

So no, you aren't crazy. Unless you're doing Charles Bukowski or Hunter Thompson-level research, in which case you probably are very fucking crazy.

Yes, very true, spinkle. I hadn't seen it like that.

But I was wondering if you've had an experience like mine, where you go and do something just so that you can write about it.

I have, but most of those experiences were confined to Phish tour and the Hunter/Bukowski types, and the ones that didn't involved jumping into the dating (and/or engagement) pools headfirst to experience heartbreak intentionally...the idea being you can't write what you don't know

I find that--most of the time--experience leads to inspiration after it germinates for a while; inspiration that calls for a new experience in order to be written typically isn't ready to be written. This rule certainly isn't hard and fast.

Since metaphor, vizualization and imagery are so important in writing, I find it more crucial to find the interconnections between and from the place you are writing and the piece itself--the more indirect, the better--looping through all the other possible ideas and images that can incorporate themselves into your piece. (Again, since I view writing as a holistic process, in a way the piece writes itself and will let you know when something really *doesn't* work in the context into which you are attempting to make it fit.

All this having been said, seeking a specific experience for the stated purpose of writing about it is perfectly valid, especially in simpler cases (a la going for a drive to inspire or solidify a piece about driving) with little or no impact on personal life afterward (obviously, getting arrested, etc, in order to write about it has slightly more impact)...but you will very likely find yourself, later, using the specific-experience in a larger context in which it was never intended for use...

Why worry about being crazy - it's a prerequisite for being a writer! I'd say go on the drive, definitely.

I've done in situ research, sure, but I'd like to do more of it.

While a lot of my poems are written about a particular experience after the fact, some are written during the fact, so to speak. And yes, sometimes the experience was chosen beforehand with the intention of writing about it. My Mid-city meditation piece from last year was kind of like that.

Generalisation from a broader perspective: high quality writing, creative or otherwise, requires research.

Bumping for discussion...it appears I still haven't written the highway poem...

DO IT! lol

Yes I have given myself tons of experiences for the sake of creative inspiration. I even semi-on purpose got myself addicted to drugs once because I thought it would be an interesting story. Yeah, I'm crazy. I did write a story about it though. lol