V.S. Naipaul - "I had an aptitude, but not a talent".

Often the best way of finding out about creative writing is through the ideas of successful writers - if we can understand them.  In a longish (40 min) BBC interview with the writer V.S. Naipaul, talks about the influences on his writing, and his own 'aptitude':

"I have an aptitude and I developed it….I didn't have a talent, because I required a lot of thought to arrive at the forms which I managed most naturally, the forms most suited to the material I was dealing with.  Even my understanding of my material.  All of that required a lot of time.  So, I had to learn stage by stage... It's a very slow process."

In the early section he explains He states that he has been unhappy with 2-3 of his books, and has gone back to put things right.  This is because he was 'mislead by the form,' trying to write a particular sort of novel rather than being true to himself. He states that new writers need to find their own form and originality rather than recreate someone else's work.  In striving for this , he controversially advises writers to read 'very little contemporary fiction'!

BBC (1994).  Face to Face with V.S. Naipaul [online].  BBC archive.  Available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/writers/12219.shtml

Folding mirror poetry

I read recently about folding mirror poems - yet another form!  My recent dabblings in poetry have made me realise how many forms there are, and how much (some) poets enjoy using them.

My first thought when I read about folding mirror poems was 'what the hell?' and reading an example didn't help much!

After a bit of time on google, I discovered that a folding mirror is all about symmetry.  A poem has a beginning, middle and end.  In a haiku, these mirror each other, with a shorter but equal beginning and end.  Folding mirror expands that concept, with a larger, longer poem having start-to-end symmetry.  Read more about the form.

Poetic forms can be great fun, and having some constraints as a writer can help to stimulate creativity,  However, my first thought when reading one of these was that in terms with communicating with a wider audience, the key ideas are probably lost on any reader who is not him/herself a poet, and many who are!  In which case I wonder if they can be a distraction for a poet who really wants to share a message, or an emotion, or an impression.