Drawing Between The Forms
Or, an examination of mediums and destruction of writing
This piece, unlike other ideas which come and go at a moment’s notice, is what I would akin to a mosquito bite. It came suddenly, and then constantly remained on my mind for a period of time. Before I finally decided to just bite the metaphorical bullet and begin writing.
It may seem redundant, but writing is a tool that has helped progress the human civilization towards where it is. But as time has gotten closer and closer to now, some issues have started rising up, especially pertaining to how people are taught writing, and how they are able to execute it.
This isn’t just about the act of writing, but rather creativity as a whole. With humanity becoming more and more mesmerized by the growing movement of generative AI by the likes of the “tech bros”, then it is becoming more and more crucial for ordinary people to be able to create their story on their own. Without having to get dunked into the pool by lines of code whose sole purpose is to acquire said material and morph it into a pseudo-original work.
Also: I’m not covering novels. Instead, I’ll be covering poetry and short stories. Mediums that, yes, are known to the general public. But are simply left at that, and with outsiders not able to find an “in” if it’s not easily presented.
The Verses
First things first, we’ll go into the field of poetry. A component of literature that many people balk, and for sometimes relatively good reason.
There are two primary categories of poems that most people grow up learning about in the 21st century, or at least people who were given a centralistic approach to education. First, the poems that are taught in nursery school that give oh-so-valuable lessons in friendship and the like, but then on the other side we have Homer’s Odyssey and Iliad. Poems that read more so as novels that just happened to be put into verse form.
This contrast often does not help youth really figure out what poetry is. As they are given two extremes that do not personify the actual feelings that they have. Elements that often are not talked about with poetry.
In terms of my own experience with poetry, I had a bit more experience learning about it towards the end of my secondary education. Which saw me read E.E. Cumming’s work (like Grasshopper… one would think he was actually insane by reading that.) and T.S. Eliot.
The Waste Land, a product of Eliot, is one of the most confusing and fascinating poems that I have ever read; and I will admit that at first, I had no clue what the poem was about. It simply seemed as if a bunch of people’s complaints and miserable lives were packaged into 434 lines.
“Neat” can’t even properly describe it. Since it is confusing and requires numerous readthroughs in order to “get” the full picture. I have a slightly better understanding than when I did when I started.
Of course I am not suggesting everyone go pick up a copy of the poem. But if you do… good luck. Instead, I am pushing forth the belief that people need to be able to read more poems from a variety of perspectives and backgrounds. As it may allow potential ideas to spark inside the brain and words to be unleashed onto the paper.
It also is not enough to simply teach about the poetic devices. Sure, they’re nice, but you need to actually apply them into practice. Allow readers to actually write their own poetry, and not just about Jack and Jill going up the beanstalk. No, their actual experiences, as that is what the human condition is. Authentic stories that can be intertwined with the written word.
All in all, The ultimate problem with poetry is that it is only taught in the elementary sense to most people, unless you happen to get lucky and go further. But for the most part, poetry will be confined to the average reader as Walt Whitman, and there’s nothing wrong with that. A little exposure is better than none at all, as I’m sure my associates learning public policy can attest to.
The Tales
The other creative medium that is worth noting is the short story. Perhaps a novella is a good term to call it. But not anything close to or greater in length than Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.
I suppose that the closest I ever made it to a short story was a personal narrative in the 3rd grade. It is by definition a story, but not one that people will drop their books and rush to read with open arms.
Personally, I feel like short stories are often ignored in the current day in lieu of more exciting story ideas. But there is a particular short story that I want to bring up, and that is Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis
Kafka is one of the more notable writers of the 20th century. Known for his absurdist style, he also was notoriously private with his work and sought to destroy as much as possible due to his low self-esteem. Which is a subject that I’ll cover slightly later. But anyways, one of Kafka’s stories, his signature one at that, was called The Metamorphosis. It was about a salesman who turned into a bug.
Yes, that’s the story. That’s the conflict.
Of course, the poor salesman goes through an existential crisis and ends up dead by his own hand. Something which seems all too common in literature of the age. But that’s beside the point.
There were definitely greater themes in the story. Something something about capitalism and such, but I’m more interested in the humor of it all. In a world where oftentimes stories have all these plot layers which make it confusing to the average reader to really enjoy a story, The Metamorphosis is simpler, and allows for the reader to just enjoy it for the sake of it.
Perhaps that’s the problem with much of literature. Yes, there should always be some form of thought associated with the act of reading, but a lot of the time, you need to really sit down and contemplate your life to understand a story, and Kafka’s instance is an example of a short story that is amusing to read on its own, and not have to go through 20 gigawatts of brainpower to properly digest.
Such is the power of the short story. Give a story that the reader enjoys, but not with too much time. A true puzzle to solve; but when done correctly, a beautiful masterpiece if there was one.
The Anti-Creation of Such Works
As the pros of the digital era include being able to create and distribute works easier to those without the means, a con also lies in the fact that just as easily as they can be created. They can be destroyed.
Such an act is not unique with this era. No, it has been prevalent all throughout history of creatives destroying their work. See: Kafka.
Why would one try to do such an act? Where would get that get them? To destroy their life’s possible work? Well, look no further than society itself, which is oftentimes cruel and unloving to the creative. As such, many creative works that could be inspiration to others and the next generation will never see the light of day because of how “easily” it could be deleted.
But it is never deleted. The creative’s mind will always be teeming with ideas, and they will eventually be released. One medium, or another.