Re: bands of brothers

Subject: Re: bands of brothers
From: Will Hochman (hochmanw1@southernct.edu)
Date: Thu Jul 04 2002 - 10:34:15 EDT

Scottie, I think workshopping is a personal choice. Ironically, after
a 25 year hiatus (my last workshop was in l976 in an MFA program with
Richard Hugo in l976 at the U of Montana), I've agreed to workshop
with some local writers here in New Haven. We meet once a month to
share our writing and help each other. So far, I'm enjoying it. I do
know that I can use very little of what is said, but it's fun to know
what others are working on and I like seeing how others approach
their creative issues. Writing is so lonely and I'm used to that (and
yes, I'll admit that I actually like the isolation), but every once
in a while, it's good to take one's head out of the sand.

(Salinger reference: Glass is made of sand;)

The larger issue, is why write if you aren't writing a masterpiece?
Balzac wrote a short story called "The Unfinished Masterpiece" and he
addresses your issue of art and achieving a masterpiece quite nicely.
For me, I think writing without ever writing a masterpiece is doable,
but I also think that most of us have at least one masterpiece in
us...I'll probably never achieve my goal, but I still believe I may
write a great poem (or story, or essay or novel or hypertext or
whatever...) that will mean a lot to many people. Most writers are
not very good critics of their own work. For instance, the
masterpieces of Kafka, as you know, were not intended for our eyes
because Kafka didn't know they were masterpieces. Nope...sorry...I'm
going out on a dangerous psychological limb here, but I think your
point is really about your excuse for not trying to write a
masterpiece with every living breath. You've so much to say...and the
funny thing is, I actually think you could do it! I don't want to
know why you stopped trying...I respect that choice, but I think it's
wrong to discourage others.

  will 

-- 
	Will Hochman

Associate Professor of English
Southern Connecticut State University
501 Crescent St, New Haven, CT 06515
203 392 5024

http://www.southernct.edu/~hochman/willz.html

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