The Nam

Fiona Banner, does an interesting job of intersecting and writing into and through these different, iconic movies about Vietnam. I was interested to find out through a cursory search of Banner online, that she is an artist working and living in England. It started me thinking about what this distance (in both time and place) did for this writing project. I think the way in which it was produced with such conscious fluidity from movie to movie was aided by both time and distance. It is probably fair to assume that she has no family connection to the Vietnam War, which allowed her to focus on only the words, images, and production of texts that came from her interactions with them. This to me as a writer is a very interesting way to conceive a project.

Spooked and Considering How Spooky Deer Are

K. Silem Mohammad’s interview/article was very interesting to me as a writer, because it gave the interview question and answer’s first than a sample of what the question was asking. I enjoyed this aspect of the article for two principle reasons: it allows the reader to gain insight into the poet/writers mind and process, and it than becomes both essay and collaboration between two people, instead of only a transcript of an interview it became a well thought out article. In “Spooked” and “Considering How Spooky Deer Are,” we the audience are able to see not only the process but also the resulting product.

In considering both of these poems and the interview about the process, it was interesting to me to think about inspiration. As a poet, I get my inspiration from the everyday comings and goings of the world around me. I go to a coffee house or sit outside and take notes on things I hear and see. Mohammad does something that is incredibly foreign to me, he does what I do but in the universe of the internet. As far as using the internet in this fashion, I am proudly, if not stubbornly “old school.” I would much rather use my five senses to experience the outside world in a much more localized manner. My hope is to start looking into this electronic universe more for inspiration as both poet and professor.

Zong

M. NourbeSe Philip’s groundbreaking work “Zong” is one of these texts that I knew nothing about before my fateful two year journey at Naropa University. It was here in a place that I felt uncomfortable and at times unwanted that I first came into contact with this book known as “Zong.” Looking back on it now, I realize that my feelings at the time regarding the school were parallel to the feelings brought on by this book and its foundational materials. For two summers I was able to workshop and work with M. NourbSe Philip and much like her work here, she challenged me and pushed me further than I knew, wanted, or understood at the time. So, this opportunity to become reacquainted with “Zong” as a text was great.

I was able to consider just the text and its creation, where in the past readings I was strictly focused on where it came from. I’m not saying that it wasn’t or isn’t important to consider all of the lives that were thrown away as lost product. However, this time I was able to put my feelings aside and examine the production of this text with a critical eye on how it was repurposed and reproduced and what that does to make the story relevant even today. For me the negation of texts from the original court document is quietly giving a voice to those people who lost their lives on that boat, possibly for the first time, better late than never.