Brett, I love your post and agree that we have really created something (kind of) new (there's a presentation on poetry comics at AWP this year!). I wonder what it is. I love both forms of my poem; I wouldn't want to trash (see dumpster) one for the other, and I also love reading it aloud, which is something we did not do (its ok--we did plenty) on our site.
The link to our website is now working (to the right--subway map: careful of the yellow line).
I'm sitting watching over my students as they take an exam (that I'm sure is not as fun as our project, definitely not collaborative, and also only takes two hours) and I can't help clicking around on our site, though I should be working on other things by now. I keep clicking 1. because I am honestly quite proud, and 2. because I still want to tinker, which I can't right now. I'm exhausted from this project, but I'll miss it. We all hung in there and worked well together, and I see things differently now. Dave mentioned this phenomenon on our site; I'm noticing the visual much more than I have in a long time.
As a kid, I used to paint with my mother in her studio. When I got older, I would spend whole weekends down there alone, trying to get a painting just right. It was excruciating--sometimes thrilling--but mostly excruciating. O could never create something new. I reproduced photographs, still lifes, horrible portraits. My mother paints abstracts and creates surreal collages. I was always amazed at her ability to just let the paint go, wander around the page, and see what emerged. I could never do it like that; I needed a plan, a vision. Still, I liked the feel of the brush in my hand. I liked trying out the colors, blending them until they looked the way I wanted them to. Mainly, I think I liked the obsession. I liked locking myself away for hours on end and creating. And then I'd walk outside and notice colors I hadn't seen before, shapes of trees I'd never noticed. everything would seem sharper.
So I will miss that brand of obsession, that I found again in this project: communicating in visuals, seeing the world in shapes and colors instead of words (my other obsession!)
arsenal the rebel on bet in daily news
2 years ago
3 comments:
Lydia. Great job. I'm so impressed by the energy you put into this.
It was a nice feeling today to be finished. It feels like one of the biggest projects I've done for school, I think, and different than large papers because of the group dynamic.
This feels more like the end of a theater thing than the end of an essay. I guess that means we should strike the set and drink a beer!
See you soon.
Agreed. It does have that end of show feeling that I used to get in theater. We all spent so much time and hard work together. I feel a little at a loss now...well not really, I've been sleeping a lot more and that feels great.
Wonderful job to you too. We all need a beer when we can fenagle getting out together again. (when spouses have recovered).
I think the way it feels to complete this project is the way collaborative projects ought to feel and often don't. I've worked with groups a number of times, but I don't think I've ever had an experience like this one. Everyone put their all into this, and I can't recall a single complaint along the way. Sure, we all got tired and more than a bit stressed, but these things were small next to the enthusiasm we seemed to share. I think I'll be counting this among my larger successes as a grad student. In fact, I know I will.
I just turned in my grades today, and tomorrow I'll be leaving for my uncle's house in Iowa, where my brother the techno-geek and I will have almost a full week to play around with the site and see if we can enhance the presentation. Perhaps when I return we can all go get that beer, and I can show you what we did with all your hard work. I'll be sure to make a backup or two before I mess with it, of course.
Have a good break. You deserve one.
-Brett
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