tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2023956444265128672.post8346796643739229510..comments2024-03-29T04:12:48.987+08:00Comments on The Reading Life: Noel Duffy A Question and Answer Session with the author of In the Library of Lost ObjectsMel uhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08714473754458914681noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2023956444265128672.post-18148476516714205572013-04-05T18:22:22.666+08:002013-04-05T18:22:22.666+08:00Shauna and Valerie, thanks for your very well-made...Shauna and Valerie, thanks for your very well-made comments. I knew question 6 was going to get me in trouble! I agree that MAa in Writing can be very helpful and supportive environments. When I did mine my confidence was at an ebb as a writer and the encouragement and guidance i got was very helpful at that time. I guess, my worry is more about the proliferation of such courses, particularly stateside - but which is slowly happening in the UK and Ireland as well with more and more courses now. There may be a parallel with art schools here. I know a number of artist friends who attended prestigious institutions and and conceptual art completely dominated - and to do anything else was not seen as serious work. I like some conceptual art, but think variety is the essence. I guess I'm wondering if a similar process has occurred with MAs in the states, where musicality of language and a more formal poetics is quite out of vogue. Still, I gained a great deal from my MA and agree with Valerie that a good writer will not be bent into a shape they weren't comfortable with. For me at this stage in my writing, it's very important to have poets I trust to whom I can show work and get feedback. So I'm saying we should live in our own vacuum as writers. But in the end, I'd like to think we're judged by our writing and not where we did an MA. I know this is a tricky issue and again, I appreciate your correctives to my slightly provocative answer to that particular question!Noel Duffyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11048529680568708117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2023956444265128672.post-68602144398967592882013-04-05T06:23:46.438+08:002013-04-05T06:23:46.438+08:00Noel is a serious and independent thinker and I al...Noel is a serious and independent thinker and I always enjoy his interviews. From my own experience of the M.Phil in Trinity I can't imagine most of those writers present would be of conforming disposition and would resist any attempt to make their work homogenous. For me a real writer will go their own way no matter what they're told. A writer is made by what they read and they choose their own reading. If someone is very suggestible they probably won't be a writer for long. I don't believe you need a masters or doctorate, but the discussions helped my work at the time. I can't comment about American poetry in general. It's unfortunate about that poet's experience, but any application to a course, lit journal, publisher etc can always be rejected for the wrong reasons, depending on the individuals judging. She should keep trying & certainly keep writing. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03874517929820682000noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2023956444265128672.post-46070610530502169272013-04-04T20:31:40.004+08:002013-04-04T20:31:40.004+08:00Very interesting piece here with so many insightfu...Very interesting piece here with so many insightful observations. I'm secretly enviiour of Noel's science background as I come from a generation that had to choose between arts and sciences and was told that i couldn't do Physics A level with English literatrure and History. Heigh-ho! I remain profoundly ignorant. <br /><br />On the 6th question, I have only recently taken part in wiriting workshops. I was kind of "talked into" taking part and was very reluctant to do it. Probably a mix of arrogance and insecurity made me think that it might be a destructive influence on my fragile grasp of poetry. I've done two now and got two more coming up over the next two months. It has been truly inspiring but then I was lucky to be asked to do these by poet Ruth O'Callaghan who with a mix of sensitivity and brutality got me to move outside of my comfort zone. I agree with Noel though that, one day soon, I need to stand on my own feet poetically I've never been a fan of academic shall speak to academic. <br /><br />Great to read such studied answers to these interesting questions. WolfieWolfgang (Colin Bell)https://www.blogger.com/profile/14115976024074250665noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2023956444265128672.post-68253672722591377782013-04-04T19:16:07.206+08:002013-04-04T19:16:07.206+08:00Great interview. I love the notion and the idea of...Great interview. I love the notion and the idea of juggling "the large and the intimate, side by side and interconnected." <br />With regards the 6th question, I feel that creative writing courses at university level can offer a wonderful space (with fellow writers) in which to explore your identity as a writer and also hone the craft of writing.<br />I think how that craft evolves can be influenced but is not necessarily "shaped" or "produced" by the institution, the group or, indeed, oneself. It perhaps boils down to attitude and the reasons behind doing a course - is it the output or the process, the writing or the publication or, indeed, a combination? <br />I can't comment on American poetry specifically, as Noel has raised it, but I do feel that "unpredictable creativity" as the last poster as said, can still - and must - happen. And I think it does happen either with an academic qualification in creative writing or without one.shaunaghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03663581840988709608noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2023956444265128672.post-66483819580717126722013-04-04T18:29:13.812+08:002013-04-04T18:29:13.812+08:00I really enjoyed this post. No. 6 raises an issue ...I really enjoyed this post. No. 6 raises an issue that is topical. I attended a Creative Writing course as well, which I gained from immensely. But there is indeed a risk that the results and standards emerging from some of these courses may become 'dogma' and merely perpetuate an aesthetic canon that has long parted ways with unpredictable creativity...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13590383268576609513noreply@blogger.com