Lynne Sachs Recommends…
WRITERS RECOMMEND (WRITERS_RECOMMEND)
11/15/19
“Usually when I decide to write a poem, I immediately begin a fight with myself over whether I actually have something to say. This argument can open turn into a capitulation of my creative self to my practical self, resulting in my opening up my checkbook, changing the cat litter, emptying the dishwasher, or simply filling my day with the tasks of a so-called productive life. If I still feel tugged by a desire to write but can only allocate a few minutes, I turn to punctuation. When you don’t know what to write, return full circle to what you’ve already written and begin to experiment and play. Like a musician at the piano or a florist giving shape to an ikebana arrangement, exploring the shifts of intonation and meaning that come with reevaluating your punctuation can result in the sensation of creating something new.”
—Lynne Sachs, author of Year by Year Poems (Tender Buttons Press, 2019)