Le Voyage Magnifique

Multivalence

Mr. Sturn has put into words concepts I have embraced for years.

After many years of whispering in my ear to no avail and a near-fatal Perfect Storm of medical issues, including laser surgery to remove the cataracts which almost blinded me, my Muse took my head in both hands, looked me straight in the eye, and growled, “Do it NOW!” I listened to him and enrolled in an online creativity workshop, where I experienced that wonderful relationship between writer and reader first hand.

As noted in my bio, writing becomes a virtual performance in front of an unseen audience. Approaching that blank page is akin to stepping out on stage. While the humor in a comedian’s jokes may get lost in translation, poetry in motion transcends all language:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNqskkKMkFQ

The journal is a valuable tool, which can take many forms. For years, mine has comprised the daily planner on the shelf in front of me and the three file cabinets right here at my left shoulder.

Mr. Sturn’s ideas are by no means original. These same tenets have been put forth by many before him--from Dorothea Brande in her book “Becoming a Writer” (published in 1934), Julia Cameron in her book “The Artist’s Way” (1992), Eva Shaw’s online workshop “Writerific: Creativity Training for Writers,” and Dave Schneider’s creativity workshop "Invalid Item" . Even the “river” metaphor has beaten a much trodden path on the journey of poets, songwriters, and writers of all other shades from time immemorial. Thus, his claiming the mantle as some kind of poetry guru through the use of supposedly objective third person voice is pretentious and distasteful.

In my humble opinion, he is also off base on his assessment of the “ultimate” Multivalence. As that stage performer delivers the message conjured by his Muse, he lives and dies by the immediate reaction of his audience. All the other practitioners have some distance in time and space to dampen the effects of their audience’s reactions.

In conclusion, I still cling firmly to the principles presented, but I’ll stick to my own gurus, thank you.