October 25, 2016 - 23:26
Our visit with SLP made me smile. I felt so humbled in her presence, having just read one a work of hers I that found very compelling and then hearing her glowing introduction that was so notable because she is simply noteworthy. It was so strange that we got to speak with this accomplished person in such a relaxed setting. And on the flip side, I was not intimadated by her as I usually am with other accomplished artists because she welcomed us so genuinely to engage with her. She didn't come in with any air of 'let me tell you something you don't know,' just a desire to make converastion and talk about creation. Today when Anne asked us why we were so quiet I was surprised at first, and then I realized that as a group we didn't ask many questions. And although that may have been the case, I still felt like we were totally participatory in a different way. When I looked around I saw a lot of my peers, as well as unknown students from other classes, listening and concentrating and smiling and writing along with me. Like someone mentioned in class today, the way that she talked about Getting Mother's Body was 'oh I already did that and haven't really thought about it' so I wasn't so inclined to ask her about that work. Rather, I wanted to know what she was creating today and her process. And also, when she did speak about Getting Mother's Body it was pretty much only in the form of one of Willa Mae's songs, which she sang and wrote herself. That 30 second moment alone totally changed the way that I thought about the book; my feelings towards the novel were deepened when she responded to a student's question about resistant characters, what she said about sitting with them at a bus stop. When she said that, I thought about sitting with each of the characters in GMB, as well as characters I know in my own life both real and imaginary. After our conversation I was so inspired to write! I was excited about creating! And I wasn't intimated by it like I often can be. I just really appreciated her presence, and I'm glad that we got to share it as a class.
Some notes I took for the record:
-"How do you get interested in something?"
-"Every incarnation is a compromise, or an opportunity. So you just have to suffer."
-When someone tries to change you or your work "there's no anger... it's just mine over there" - your looking for someone else! that's okay, i'm gonna do my thing
-"Listen to yourself. You have a lot to say."
-"Answer your call and then go on to the next thing."
-"Strong, flexible, fierce, kind, generous, but don't overshare."
-"People are more important than issues."
-"Writers are like haunted houses."
-"Sometimes your characters don't like you. ... They know more than you. ... Just keep showing up."
-"Feel the difference between velvet and corduroy in your mind."
-"20 minutes a day might be all the time you have. It might be all the time you need."