I just finished “The Triggering Town” a couple weeks ago. The main thing I took from it was what you’re saying here. It freed me to allow things that didn’t happen in the moment speak to the greater truth of what did.
Austin, this is a real lucid perspective on the thesis of this piece. I haven’t read “The Triggering Town”—will add to my list! Appreciate you tapping in.
appreciate this lens on accounting vs expression. poetry is not a memoir imo. i love confessional poetry and work in that genre often, but i think of it as a form or vehicle. like i deliberately let my speakers diverge from me, while using my real details as grounding.
What I enjoyed most here is the distinction between the experience that creates a poem and the poem that ultimately emerges from it. “Don’t mistake the wound for its scar” captures that beautifully. The wound belongs to the writer’s life; the scar has become something else—something that can be examined, shaped, and perhaps even transformed.
I also found the distinction between writer, reader, and editor particularly sharp: “A writer experiences process. A reader experiences execution. An editor experiences possibility.” That explains why distance from our own work is so difficult and yet so necessary. We remember everything surrounding the words. The reader receives only the words themselves.
But it is the idea of the poem as a vessel that stayed with me most. Once released, writing travels beyond the circumstances that created it. Readers enter carrying their own memories, wounds, and interpretations, and the work begins to mean things its creator may never have anticipated. Perhaps that is one of the strangest and most beautiful moments in writing—when something deeply personal stops belonging entirely to us.
I'm happily subscribing because I enjoy thoughtful explorations of what happens between the writer, the words, and the reader. I also write at The Reflective State, where I often find myself exploring the implicit meanings that exist beneath what is explicitly written. If curiosity ever leads you there, I'd genuinely love to hear what you think.
Love this reflection, so spot on. “A writer experiences process. A reader experiences execution. An editor experiences possibility”. - when you start editing, it can feel like cutting out with a knife, it gets easier if you take a step back and let the idea evolve. Thank you!🙏
your article speaks to something very important about poetry. in my first poetry book, i experimented with different “poetic voices” and imagined myself as a dragon slayer, a traveler, an architect, a witch, all with the purpose of trying to take the “i” (myself) out of it. very good article and strong points.
Thanks for sharing. I haven’t read your book, so this is an assumption, but I imagine every one of those distinct speakers you crafted has an element (or elements) of what makes the real Eugenia—not the poet Eugenia—Eugenia.
And this is part of my thesis, too. A persona is not an abandonment or even a departure from self.
Thank you for reading, Robert! It’s easy to assume that because a story (poem or otherwise) is emotionally significant to us, readers will feel the same way. when in reality, that’s entirely dependent on effective writing.
I wonder, though, if ultimately it depends on who the intended audience is for a given poem. If it’s written for just you or a loved one (who knows the prerequisite backdrop for the poem), then I think the poem can still work as archive.
But if it’s written for a wider audience or, perhaps to capture a more universal truth, then I agree you have to sever ties and let it stand on its own two feet.
thanks for reading, and of course there’s a place for personal pieces.
For example, I wrote a poem for my sister’s wedding last year—it’s a perfectly fine poem, but it contains too much of “us”to become anything more than what it is.
I do primarily write such pieces for poets pursuing a literary career and a readership, but I do hope many of the guiding principles are applicable to those who write as a hobby.
What got me over that hump was writing persona poems from the perspective of an unreliable and/or unsavory speaker & reading them aloud to a poetry workshop. Once you can own an I like that, your personal “I” insecurities feel less intimidating.
the line about not mistaking the wound for its scar is incredibly sharp. treating the poem as a tool to shape experience rather than an archive makes editing so much less painful.
I feel like this more or less encapsulates why I’m not sure I’ll ever feel like a poet. I decide what I want to write about, think through the volume I want to say it in and the tones I want to balance in it, and then I build the damn thing. When I feel I’ve gotten as close to the goal as I can with my current ability, it’s done. Nothing precious about it.
I like to think that I’m not alone, and maybe there are droves of actual poets that just gussy their process up.
Na, I wouldn’t even begin to make that assumption. I define a poet as anyone who sits down and writes a poem.
When I’m in a creative state I’m exactly as you’re describing. I just happen to have a deep interest in the craft/philosophical/creative process side of writing. Absolutely no correlation to being a good artist. I know incredible poets, musicians, visual artists, etc who feel disconnected from those topics. Even annoyed when asked about them.
Interest in such topics is not a prerequisite for being an artist. But I do believe being an artist is a prerequisite for discussing these topics.
Na, I wouldn’t even begin to make that assumption. I define a poet as anyone who sits down and writes a poem.
When I’m in a creative state I’m exactly as you’re describing. I just happen to have a deep interest in the craft/philosophical/creative process side of writing. Absolutely no correlation to being a good artist. I know incredible poets, musicians, visual artists, etc who feel disconnected from those topics. Even annoyed when asked about them.
Interest in such topics is not a prerequisite for being an artist. But being an artist is a prerequisite for discussing these topics.
This is how I view anything I write or paint, it’s a vessel … A poem is a vessel, and the purpose of a vessel is not to preserve what it carries unchanged. It’s meant to carry something beyond where it began.
“The map is not the territory.”
I keep that saying visible in my office.
People ask if my poetry is “real.” Of course it is. It just isn’t autobiographical.
This is it exactly. The wine is not the vineyard!
I just finished “The Triggering Town” a couple weeks ago. The main thing I took from it was what you’re saying here. It freed me to allow things that didn’t happen in the moment speak to the greater truth of what did.
Austin, this is a real lucid perspective on the thesis of this piece. I haven’t read “The Triggering Town”—will add to my list! Appreciate you tapping in.
appreciate this lens on accounting vs expression. poetry is not a memoir imo. i love confessional poetry and work in that genre often, but i think of it as a form or vehicle. like i deliberately let my speakers diverge from me, while using my real details as grounding.
Yup. We create from the same place. Why you think I fuck w you so much?
P.S. hmu—we gotta talk order/arrangement/next steps.
yes will do. sry i love-hate summer bc it’s when i go full-dog mode. everywhere, sticks. and balls. will build myself an enclosure soon.
VERY good girl, and you know how much I despise modifiers.
Lmk if u need a walk, or belly rubs 🤣🫶
“good girl!” x 4 with GUSTO
I don’t write poetry to preserve experience; I experience in order to write better poetry.
This is it.
the library catalogue drawer ..or is it an apothecary…holding water…is something i don’t want to stop looking at.
I want to wash my face in it 🤣
LOL........ yes..provided it is not like holy water where everyone dips their hands :)
What I enjoyed most here is the distinction between the experience that creates a poem and the poem that ultimately emerges from it. “Don’t mistake the wound for its scar” captures that beautifully. The wound belongs to the writer’s life; the scar has become something else—something that can be examined, shaped, and perhaps even transformed.
I also found the distinction between writer, reader, and editor particularly sharp: “A writer experiences process. A reader experiences execution. An editor experiences possibility.” That explains why distance from our own work is so difficult and yet so necessary. We remember everything surrounding the words. The reader receives only the words themselves.
But it is the idea of the poem as a vessel that stayed with me most. Once released, writing travels beyond the circumstances that created it. Readers enter carrying their own memories, wounds, and interpretations, and the work begins to mean things its creator may never have anticipated. Perhaps that is one of the strangest and most beautiful moments in writing—when something deeply personal stops belonging entirely to us.
I'm happily subscribing because I enjoy thoughtful explorations of what happens between the writer, the words, and the reader. I also write at The Reflective State, where I often find myself exploring the implicit meanings that exist beneath what is explicitly written. If curiosity ever leads you there, I'd genuinely love to hear what you think.
Love this reflection, so spot on. “A writer experiences process. A reader experiences execution. An editor experiences possibility”. - when you start editing, it can feel like cutting out with a knife, it gets easier if you take a step back and let the idea evolve. Thank you!🙏
So glad you found it useful, Maria!
your article speaks to something very important about poetry. in my first poetry book, i experimented with different “poetic voices” and imagined myself as a dragon slayer, a traveler, an architect, a witch, all with the purpose of trying to take the “i” (myself) out of it. very good article and strong points.
Thanks for sharing. I haven’t read your book, so this is an assumption, but I imagine every one of those distinct speakers you crafted has an element (or elements) of what makes the real Eugenia—not the poet Eugenia—Eugenia.
And this is part of my thesis, too. A persona is not an abandonment or even a departure from self.
"It’s constrained to the language you assign to it. And it only conveys as much as you let it."
Very well said.
Thank you for reading, Robert! It’s easy to assume that because a story (poem or otherwise) is emotionally significant to us, readers will feel the same way. when in reality, that’s entirely dependent on effective writing.
These are excellent points.
I wonder, though, if ultimately it depends on who the intended audience is for a given poem. If it’s written for just you or a loved one (who knows the prerequisite backdrop for the poem), then I think the poem can still work as archive.
But if it’s written for a wider audience or, perhaps to capture a more universal truth, then I agree you have to sever ties and let it stand on its own two feet.
thanks for reading, and of course there’s a place for personal pieces.
For example, I wrote a poem for my sister’s wedding last year—it’s a perfectly fine poem, but it contains too much of “us”to become anything more than what it is.
I do primarily write such pieces for poets pursuing a literary career and a readership, but I do hope many of the guiding principles are applicable to those who write as a hobby.
I think that the fear that a reader might assume that the ‘I’ of my poem is entirely me causes me to write less freely.
I’ve experienced the same!
What got me over that hump was writing persona poems from the perspective of an unreliable and/or unsavory speaker & reading them aloud to a poetry workshop. Once you can own an I like that, your personal “I” insecurities feel less intimidating.
the line about not mistaking the wound for its scar is incredibly sharp. treating the poem as a tool to shape experience rather than an archive makes editing so much less painful.
Yes! Absolutely love every bit of this!
Well said.
Thanks!
I feel like this more or less encapsulates why I’m not sure I’ll ever feel like a poet. I decide what I want to write about, think through the volume I want to say it in and the tones I want to balance in it, and then I build the damn thing. When I feel I’ve gotten as close to the goal as I can with my current ability, it’s done. Nothing precious about it.
I like to think that I’m not alone, and maybe there are droves of actual poets that just gussy their process up.
Na, I wouldn’t even begin to make that assumption. I define a poet as anyone who sits down and writes a poem.
When I’m in a creative state I’m exactly as you’re describing. I just happen to have a deep interest in the craft/philosophical/creative process side of writing. Absolutely no correlation to being a good artist. I know incredible poets, musicians, visual artists, etc who feel disconnected from those topics. Even annoyed when asked about them.
Interest in such topics is not a prerequisite for being an artist. But I do believe being an artist is a prerequisite for discussing these topics.
Na, I wouldn’t even begin to make that assumption. I define a poet as anyone who sits down and writes a poem.
When I’m in a creative state I’m exactly as you’re describing. I just happen to have a deep interest in the craft/philosophical/creative process side of writing. Absolutely no correlation to being a good artist. I know incredible poets, musicians, visual artists, etc who feel disconnected from those topics. Even annoyed when asked about them.
Interest in such topics is not a prerequisite for being an artist. But being an artist is a prerequisite for discussing these topics.
That’s probably the fairer distinction. Maybe I’m a poet, but I sure as shit ain’t no artist.
I’m not going to let you off the hook. You’re both. The only thing you aren’t is a critic.
Hell, if anything can be art, anyone can be an artist.
And brother…anyone, I ain’t.
This is how I view anything I write or paint, it’s a vessel … A poem is a vessel, and the purpose of a vessel is not to preserve what it carries unchanged. It’s meant to carry something beyond where it began.