Course:CRWR501P-003 Inspirations & Influences
Inspirations & Influences
Assignment Description
This project is a collaborative exploration of sources of influence and inspiration as part of the course CRWR 501P-003.
| It sounded right. To read it, to say it, make me think (as Larkin himself once put it), “That’s marvelous, how is it done, could I do it?”
So I read the rest of Larkin’s books. Then I read books about Larkin. Then I read poets who’d been important to Larkin, some of whom became important to me, and in the way that an overexcited toddler is guaranteed, no matter how erratic his progress, to eventually cover every inch of your kitchen floor, I acquired enough knowledge about poetry… —David Orr |
As writers, our work is shaped by a range of influences and inspirations. Some are conscious, while others remain invisible to us until someone points them out. Some are chosen, while others derive from our origins or subject position.
Being a writer involves going in pursuit of inspiration, not waiting for it to find us. It also means wrestling with our influences and coming to terms with them.
This assignment invites you to:
- meditate on current and enduring inspirations
- grapple with influences—generative and constraining
- begin to pursue new models and possibilities (which we'll spend the remainder of the term deepening)
Requirements
Identify 10-15 sources of influence and/or inspiration. I’ve set some parameters, but there’s also a lot of flexibility here.
[A sample list for me might include: My Life by Lyn Hejinian (1980), Harryette Mullen's work with punning and wordplay, having parents with different accents/sociolects/regionalisms, growing up with a father who is an Orthodox priest and hearing a lot of liturgical music and prayers, Lunch Poems by Frank O’Hara (1964), Lorine Niedecker’s Collected Poems (2002), especially her work inspired by haiku, Laura Ingall's Wilder's Little House on the Prairie books (and returning to these books with different attention to colonialism and race later in life), the album Time (the Revelator) by Gillian Welch, living in a house without a TV until I was 12, learning French as an exchange student in high school, the practice and vocabulary of knitting, essays by Roland Barthes, miscarriages between 2009 and 2012, writings by Pema Chodron on meditation, “Chanson d’Après-Midi” from Les Fleurs du Mal by Charles Baudelaire (1857), a class I took on book arts in 2003, being a sister …]
For each item, write a roughly 250-word entry that includes the following:
- An introduction to / description of the source written for someone unfamiliar with it.
- A reflection that discusses how the source shows up in your work or in your thinking, what specifically about it influences or inspires you, and how it helps or hinders your writing. Use direct quotes (from the source and/or your own work) when appropriate to give examples.
Assessment
This assignment includes two process components: Break the Ice and First Five. These will be assessed based on a completion-based contract grade of 90%.
After these first few weeks and these first trying-out entries, you can choose how you want to direct your focus. Some might choose to focus on early influences and dig back in memory, while others might use the wiki to document poems, essays, or other materials they encounter as part of their Poetic Apprenticeship. Make this your own, and do what serves your goals.
The complete assignment (due in Week 14) will be evaluated based on the degree to which it:
- satisfies required parameters (number of entries, types of sources)
- describes sources of inspiration and influence in clear engaging language
- demonstrates self-reflection and engaged thought
NOTE: While I'll be assessing your work directly in the Wiki, you'll complete and upload a Cover Sheet to the Canvas Assignment to help me navigate your work.
Wiki Instructions
Categories
See our collaborative list of categories for linking and grouping Sources of Inspiration and Influence.