Good, Bad, Good.

Overall I suppose I enjoyed Brad Watson's reading last Tuesday. I think he is a great talent and surely an asset to his community, both locally and to writers at large. His wry sense of humor is very much in tune with my own and I'm sure that I would greatly benefit from taking a class of his, though I don't know that I will buy his book, nor do I think I would ultimately decide to take a class of his if the opportunity were afforded to me. Ray made a comment in his post about how Watson's sense of humor was refreshing in light of the status quo's palate, a palate that tends to prefer dick jokes over high-brow dryness. I agree with this generalization but beg to differ that Watson himself writes at a caliber far above it. I noticed a pattern in his writing that seemed obsessed with gleefully describing phalli in great detail, and I cringed at his entirely unecessary description of a young girl's vagina. Call me a puritan if you want, that's fine. I just couldn't help but be instantly turned off by the superfluous peppering of perverse references, and found myself fidgeting in my seat, eager to once again be in charge of what I choose to be an audience to. Perhaps I should have asked him about his infatuation myself, but frankly the guy creeped me out and I wanted to leave.

I was happy to reconvene with my classmates over dinner, as I had found myself missing them during our time away from each other and my absence at the Art Tour the previous weekend. I had never been to Celtic Crossing before that night, but I will just say this: some might complain about how we "always" eat at the Deli when we're out in Cooper-Young, but do we not now have a more acute understanding of why that is? If fries are not appealing, might I humbly suggest Cafe Ole, the Beauty Shop, or Jasmine next time? The Beauty Shop is fabulous. As for reading Don Share's poetry, I can appreciate being forced to do my homework on a writer I am not familiar with. However I think my recalcitrance was due mainly to my own feelings toward poetry, which are not usually positive, I must admit. Share, to his credit, is an exceptional writer and I am looking forward to meeting him. However writing poetry MUST be an organic process for it to be done well in my opinion, and so analysis of poetry should be similar, logic would dictate. When I am forced to analyze on command I get a little shy. Give me a research or position paper and I will edit, analyze and produce an exquisite criticism like a dog sits for a treat. I am just very linear-minded and so poetry has never appealed to me. upon further examination of Share's work on my own time I did discover immense beauty, diamond-cut wit, and a deep understanding of what makes him tick. I look forward to turning the mirror on him when he is in Memphis, intellectually speaking.