Today I was given copies of two of my books, old ones, neither of which I had seen in some time. Ther are just small-press chapbooks, nothing to get excited about, but it's great for me because I got a chance to look at what I was writing in my 20s, and what people were willing to put into print for me.
It was nice to start reading the first poem and realize that it wasn't really all that bad.
It was jarring to clunk into the same line I should have fixed years ago. Some things are imperfect, and sometimes imperfect lines end up in print, because, once a publisher has made a commitment to put your book out, they are at times going to concede to your judgment even when it's wrong.
. As a writer, you don't want this. Although perfection may be hard to achieve, at least you can smooth out the clunky bits. You're doing yourself a favor if you take the time.
The books were presented to me at a birthday party, which was also part poetry reading. I read one of the old ones. It didn't seem strange, but I can see now what I would have done differently then, and would now if I was to take those poems and re-publish them or do anything like that.
It was nice to start reading the first poem and realize that it wasn't really all that bad.
It was jarring to clunk into the same line I should have fixed years ago. Some things are imperfect, and sometimes imperfect lines end up in print, because, once a publisher has made a commitment to put your book out, they are at times going to concede to your judgment even when it's wrong.
. As a writer, you don't want this. Although perfection may be hard to achieve, at least you can smooth out the clunky bits. You're doing yourself a favor if you take the time.
The books were presented to me at a birthday party, which was also part poetry reading. I read one of the old ones. It didn't seem strange, but I can see now what I would have done differently then, and would now if I was to take those poems and re-publish them or do anything like that.
suzy_kabloozy:
I don't have published writing ... well, except for a couple inane press releases about products no one cared about ... so when I discover something old and creative that I have done, I am often stunned at how good/bad/different my mindset actually was at that point in life. Then everything goes all wavy like a flashback on a silly sitcom. Man, I'm vain! 