Experimentation “Off the Beaten Path”

After reading the assigned selections from this week’s focus on Beat poetry, I decided to try my hand at producing a poem influenced by some of the aesthetics and conventions of the group. The poem “Holding Down the Fort” included above is the result of this experimentation.

Before composing this poetic experiment, I considered how to balance spontaneity (or at least the appearance of such) with a methodical practice. While many of the Beat poets experimented with breaks in poetic tradition and form, I was particularly drawn to the methods Allen Ginsburg describes in his essay on writing “Howl. I was particularly drawn to Ginsberg’s mention that he composed another of his well-known poems, “The Sunflower Sutra,” in just twenty minutes at his desk.  From our readings, it stuck with me that many of the Beat figures praised expeditiously produced literature as a mark of their merit despite more often substantial time spent in revision. Despite this seeming a bit egotistical, I decided to employ a time limit as a “rule” for practice. I also put a focus on breath work — primarily in an attempt to draft lines that follow the natural rhythm of my personal speech and breath. As a result, this enabled me to think differently about the structure and flow of my language. The mechanical versus the natural. I felt I was able to separate myself from the work more than when laboring over every letter’s sound when writing shorter, more staccato verse. 

I set a timer to write freely for twenty minutes with the goal of completing a first draft and not thinking too hard about it, which, I think, resulted in more associative leaps and quick images finding their way into the work. I wrote the initial draft of “Holding Down the Fort” in one sitting at my desk and ended up going over my self-imposed rule to spend twenty-five minutes on the first draft. In revision, I pushed myself not to linger too long over any one word or phrase, but to tailor the composition as an oscillation between a hyper-focus on the emotions I initially felt stirred by in writing the poem and a simple reporting of the “facts.” 

I wanted to explore themes of disillusionment, particularly in times of great social and political turmoil. The work of Gregory Corso on America was influential to me when selecting the content for this experiment. I also wanted to explore methods of engaging (without being so explicit) some of the anxieties of living in a world of instant gratification and a critique of the “mainstream” while still being a bit unsure of itself and my own footing within such a world.  In thinking about the more aesthetic elements of the Beat crew, I tried to ground my poem in urban imagery but found it challenging to balance the aesthetics of this school without steering the poem into overly ostentatious territory. I’m unconvinced that there is a novel way to include the word “cigarette” in a poem post-Beat generation. I attempted to extrapolate imagery across mythologies and end the poem on an ascendant and more contemplative moment. Overall, this exercise was fruitful for me as the low-stakes environment allowed me freedom to work outside of my literary comfort zone.

Some questions for discussion:

How has the role and importance of the “biography” of the poet evolved since the heyday of Beat poetry?

Where do we see that influence take hold today?

(After our readings, I’ve been thinking a lot about the advent of social media and the ways young people today create and curate a personal aesthetic…from Tumblr to TikTok to who knows what’s next!)