Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Turkey Shoot

Back to reality from a lo-o-o-ong Thanksgiving break. The time off was nice...I didn't get  a single line of writing done, but the break was much-needed.

Living in Vegas, Thanksgiving with out of town guests is different that what I've experienced in most cities I've lived in. We spent most days all together in our tiny house, but the last two days we split up--girls did shopping and girl-oriented shows, and the guys shot automatic weapons and did boy stuff. Most of the time was spent with the kids--we did a Renaissance-style show at the Excalibur, a movie, and some time in a massive underground video arcade.

And, of course, way too much food and drink and not enough going to the gym.
♣♣♣
I mostly focus on long-form stories, which is why I have so few credits to-date...but, every once in a while, I sneak in a short story between failed attempts at finishing a 70k manuscript that is worth revising.

And...as I mentioned a couple of months ago, I recently wrote a poem (yak, that even looks weird written down). Like I've said, I'm not a poet; most poetry to me is as abstract and hard to understand as Pollock paintings. Sometimes I "get" the cadence or emotional outflow, but a lot of the time it's just stuff.

But, apparently that isn't enough to keep me from writing one.

The Woodsman's Son, published up at New Myths today, started out as a short story that was heavily inspired by the Dresden Dolls song The Gardener. Whereas, I think, the Dolls saw their tale as more of a co-dependent, love/hate story, mine went more in a hero-worship, misplaced trust direction. As I wrote it, it took on a natural staggered cadence that kind of reminded me of Poe's The Raven (not in quality, per se, but in rhythm), so I decided to re-do it as a poem over a couple of months last winter.

Anyway, it's different. It was fun. I'm very curious to see if people who read it interpret it the same way I do. I suspect the reactions will be mixed.

Enjoy. And, congrats to everyone who finished NaNoWriMo! Now go take naps.


10 comments:

Jamie Eyberg said...

I would like to try a gun range sometime. I have to stick to my backyard. Sounds like you had a good time and congrats on the poem. That is awesome.

Jeremy D Brooks said...

Thanks...

Yeah, it was fun. They wouldn't let me fire my SKS because they don't allow full metal jacketed ammo (and, of course, I have a friggin' pallet of the stuff), but it was a blast shooting a fully auto (Beretta, not sure what model). Brief, but fun.

Jamie Eyberg said...

Bring your ammo and gun out my way. We can have a good time. I might even be able to find an old car, truck, or van to blow apart. Good times with an SKS.

Fox Lee said...

I'm always deeply shocked when I write a poem.

Jeremy D Brooks said...

Jamie: on my first book tour, I'll pass through and we'll shoot stuff. I'll bring a stack of rejected manuscripts and duct tape.

Nat: I'm still shocked I got it pub'd. It was bounced three times, landed on the forth after several revisions. It still doesn't seem like real poetry. @jodimacarthur nailed it when she said it's like "prose poetry".

Aaron Polson said...

Most "gun ranges" I've been to involved cans of Barbasol, cheap cans of soda, or anything else that would explode upon puncture. Shame on me.

Love the poem. "You're stupid--even for a tree"...that line almost punctured me.

Cate Gardner said...

I read the poem yesterday - followed it from your twitter feed. Very atmospheric.

Is it wrong of me to say I'd rather shoot automatic weapons than go shopping.

Jeremy D Brooks said...

Aaron: me too, this is my first gun range. We used to just take old computer monitors and 2 liter jugs of soda into the woods and have our way with them (we did exploding targets from an army surplus store once, which rocked beyond belief). Thanks for the feedback on the poem, too...

Cate: thanks for the feedback...that's awesome...I say we all meet at Jamie's house and blow stuff up.

Katey said...

Positively shameful of me to have taken this long to read it, but I've not been home much this week, so I offer that as my excuse. Jeremy, it's a lovely poem-- the imagery, the humanization, the cadence you mentioned all made it incredibly powerful. I love New Myths' literary aesthetic, and that's one of my favorite things I've ever seen there.

I love poetry, but I can't write it for crap. I very much admire the ability to do what you did!

Jeremy D Brooks said...

Thank you, Katey, that's very kind of you!