Final Blog Post

Jake Pavlica
Composing the Self
Final Blog Post

Literary Retrospect:
What Pieces from the School Year Influenced Me in No Particular Order

“The Heart as a Torn Muscle” by Randon Billings Noble
When we first entered the Lyric Essay unit I was skeptical. I’ve always had reservations about pieces that get to “cute” with the format, such as putting a narrative into a grocery list or something of that variety. Upon reading “The Heart as a Torn Muscle” I was swayed to the other end of the spectrum. The way the author was able to capture such visceral, universal sentiment of love, or lust, at first sight really resonated with me. It was written as a sort of medical guide or first aid steps to help someone through that instantaneous feeling of being attracted to someone who you know you may not be able to have. The language was medical at times but would often shift to these generalizations that many can relate to. This piece is when I started to understand that universal appeal that good writing uses; the ability to make one persons experience relate to others. The effect it had on me was that the format of writing is a tool to push a specific point. The content of the piece and the format of the narrative go hand and hand in showing what the author is trying to say. After reading this I released how topic that seems so bored can have an impact on a reader and serve as an engaging look into the authors beliefs and relate to a broader audience.

“This is Water” by David Foster Wallace
The first piece we read was really what made me excited about the class. Wallace’s voice is so prevalent in his writing and that was something I have always wanted to achieve. He isn’t a chameleon in the slightest. Even when giving what could ave easily turned into a vague, weed empowering speech turned into a lesson in observance and humanity. He tackled reality and he never once faltered in his style. He juggled an impressive vocabulary with an impactful message. What really stuck with me was the fact that he was in an academic environment, amongst scholars, and he chose to be grounded and realistic rather than highlighting his own achievements or genius. Wallace’s humbleness really shines through and the transcript of the speech was impossible to put down. No only was the speech enthralling but it was easy to read. I think that is an overlooked quality in the literary world. Often times genius is associated with verbosity and the citing of resources, but I think its 5he ability to keep an audience entertaining and use language that they can absorb. Though Wallace uses wild metaphors such as the fish who are unknowing of the environment around them, to push his point the reader is never lost. What I really wanted to take away from this piece was the ability to never compromise my voice no matter the occasion or the subject matter, I wanted to make every piece sound like me.

“Just Kids” by Patti Smith
Memoir is the hardest writing to approach in my opinion. I could never bring myself to feel that I was saying was relevant or interesting to anyone but me. Perhaps its because I’m so young that I don’t feel I have enough of a live to report on just yet. What I realized was that the memoir is all about finding singular moments in time that hold weight in a narrative sense. In Patti Smith’s memoir she begins her story in her apartment on the day she found out her husband, the love of her life, died. The scene she sets is nothing out of the ordinary, she is in her apartment with her child watching cartoons. There is nothing monumental happening in that space. The power in this scene comes from her thoughts on what is happening around her. She talks about the waving curtains, she talks about the cheery nature of the cartoons all in the context of having just experienced a shattering loss. The scene around her begins to change as she describes the emotions she went through on that morning. I learned from her the importance of staying in a moment for the audience and reader to be able to understand your reality. When talking about yourself it can be easy to gloss over things, because they are things you already know have have happened and for you there is obvious context. Smith was able to bring the reader into that apartment with her to feel what she felt. Her ability to translate her mentality was truly impressive.

“The Weight of Things” by Emily Rapp
This story stood out to me immediately because of its topic. It talks about the death of the authors child and how she copes with her loss. It is a delicate subject, both to read and to write. Rapp is unfiltered with her emotions which makes the piece that much more gripping. She takes us through her sorting through her child’s old clothes and recollecting back on when her child was diagnosed with the illness that killed him. It is a heavy hearted story, and the reader cant help but feel sympathy for the author. What made me enjoy this piece was her attitudes toward sympathy, particularly sympathy cards. She is obviously conscious of the tone of her story and so when she goes into a rant about the hollowness behind pastel colored sympathy cards we are able to feel her rage. her story is grounded and harsh as well as being delicate and beautiful. She balances the level of this perfectly and the sporadic way in which it changes at times is very reflective of her mental state. Much like Patti Smith, we are there with her in her grief as she works through it. It is a strong emotional appeal to any mother, father, or offspring to know whats its like to loose a child. I learned a lot about the use of emotion through this piece. It felt real and human. Nothing was sugar coated or sacrificed for the sake of artistic language; though her writing is well crafted.