Back Story: This Joyous Malcontent by Sara Basari
I visited an exhibition at the Whitney in New York and saw a video exhibit of a woman trapped inside a white box trying to get out. The exhibition was, perhaps, the initial emotional trigger for “This Joyous Malcontent.”
A month or two later, I wrote the poem. The thoughts, feelings, and sensations built up over those two months poured onto the page. Inspiration also came from other short stories, poems, music, memories and everyday life experience.
So part of the revision process was completed in the mind.
I tend to find there’s an unstoppable need and drive to write on the day of the initial draft. The poem is simply ready to enter the world!
I work in the same way when I write prose. But the on-the-paper revision process is markedly different. My best prose is the result of constant revision. If I refine poetry too much, I lose honesty, rawness and momentum. My worst poetry is self-conscious, “acceptable,” or trying to imitate someone else's work. I enjoy Carol Ann Duffy's poetry, but if I attempt to copy her style, my work falls apart. That is not to say that I don’t revise poetry, but I use brushstrokes. I like to imagine myself as a composer arranging notes. Or a potter molding the clay. Listening to the word choice, tapping out the rhythm, feeling and shaping the mood.
I workshopped “This Joyous Malcontent” in a small group, then left it for a while, evaluated responses before I tweaked carefully and sensitively, always keeping in mind the honesty of the first draft.
Sara Basari’s “This Joyous Malcontent” was published in the winter 2011 issue of Rose & Thorn Journal. Sara is a Londoner living in New York City. She used to work as a teacher in inner-city London but is now writing poetry and prose and caring for her two children. Her work appears or is forthcoming in a number of online and in print publications. More than anything else, Sara enjoys writing, reading everything she can get her hands on, and visiting art galleries.
inspiring comments for all out there - we all need to keep a rawness and honesty to our work
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Spoken like a true poet. Thanks for your words of wisdom.
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The first two comments nail it. Thanks for participating in R&T's Back Story series. SO enjoyable and inspiring.
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