A Triptych of Questions

by Michael Bugeja

In last month's electronic mail bag were three questions whose answers involve the concerns of poets of all genres:

Q: Do you have any tips for making an abstract thought into a concrete image usable in a poem? Is there a process which you have found works?

A: In addition to being a poet, I also am an ethicist in my work as special assistant to the President at Ohio University. Thus, I am responsible for making abstract concepts concrete every day in my academic work. The process of making the abstract concrete involves central and secondary symbols and images. For instance, in designing an ethics program for incoming Ohio University students, I chose the symbol of a path for these reasons:
• Our campus literally is crisscrossed with brick pathways so the image of a "path" symbolizes the campus greens at Ohio University; that emphasizes topic.
• A "path" symbolizes a quest (i.e. educational journey); that emphasizes theme.
• Ohio University and the city of Athens are joined by a popular "bike path" along the Hocking River (another symbol of "journey"), enhancing common bonds between campus and community; that relates to image.

The program is called "Your PATH at Ohio" emphasizing the values of personal accountability, trust and honor--values that President Robert Glidden aspires to convey to freshmen to uphold two centuries of tradition at Ohio.

Here's the process as it applies to poetry:
1 Choose a central or operative image that symbolizes topic. The poetic term for this is "synecdoche" (see http://webserver.maclab.comp.uvic.ca/writersguide/Pages/RhetMetSyn.html) in which a part symbolizes the whole, as "all hands on deck" symbolizes "all sailors on deck."
2 Choose another image that symbolizes theme (what your poem is "really" about). If your poetic theme is about "betrayal," for instance, come up with a constellation of images associated with that concept, what T.S. Eliot might call an objective correlative: a kiss, a lipsticked handkerchief, hotel receipts, etc.
3 Choose images that link items #1 and #2 above the way a bridge links two cities. To study how to do that, read the celebrated 1930 collection The Bridge by Hart Crane (http://www.poets.org/LIT/POET/hcrane.htm), an Ohio native born at the turn of the century.

In sum, the process entails finding central images that relate to topic and theme and secondary images that stitch the work together. For more information on image and symbol, see my Art and Craft of Poetry

Q: Many poetry contests rules state that only "unpublished" poems are eligible. Would this include poems that have been self-published in poetry chap books in a local area? Also, would a poem read on the radio, T.V. or on a stage be considered "published."? Can you define "published" in this sense?

A: Published means just that: a work shared with an audience. In selling rights, you can argue medium (i.e. North American Periodical Rights). But that would include the local newspaper or self-published chapbooks at Kinko's. And you couldn't honestly sell "all rights" if a broadcast or theater company owned scripts copyrighting your work. For more information on rights, see my text Poet's Guide: How to Publish and Perform Your Work. But the fact is, few editors of literary magazines really care if you have published a work in alocal newspaper or Kinko's chapbook. In keeping with our ethics theme today, just explain in your cover letter to the editor where the work has appeared, and he or she will probably overlook newspapers and self-published chapbooks.

Q: How do you determine the value of a writing conference? I write poetry and always feel like there is so much I can learn. I've attended several workshops, retreats and week-long conferences. They are offered everywhere and by everybody, big and unknown names, and of course the prices range from cheap summer camps to extravagant vacations. For someone who is serious about their writing, are these retreats a good investment? How can you tell if the instructor is going to be any good? Just because someone writes poetry that you like to read doesn't mean that they are good at teaching. I've found that the workshops that only critique the participant's poems are hit or miss, either they are so polite in not wanting to hurt anyone's feelings that no helpful criticism is offered, or I've seen them digress to "go-for-the-throat" behavior which prevents the development of the poem too. I attended one retreat where I heard the instructor say he didn't put too much into his sessions anyway because most of the attendees would never publish anyway, it was just a way for him to earn money in the summer away from his college teaching job. Would I be better off just staying home and locking myself in my room with my keyboard?

A: Your comments are well-taken. I have heard them many times attending and keynoting writing conferences. Often famous writers attend conferences for the adulation rather than the education, remaining aloof and showing up only at their events (readings, lectures, etc.) rather than those of other speakers or conference participants. Of course, some famous poets are extraordinarily sensitive. Dana Gioia
(http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/Author=Gioia%2C%20Dana/002-1940859-0258214) and Colette Inez
(http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/Author=Inez%2C%20Colette/002-1940859-0258214) come immediately to mind.

To check out a speaker, join a poetry group and network. As honorary chancellor of the National Federation of State Poetry Societies
(http://www.wpacf.org/natl.htm), I wholeheartedly support the excellent efforts of that organization whose officers treat members as family. You can network with veteran members and ask them what keynote speakers they would recommend.

In all fairness, however, I should note that some conference attendees really do not want constructive criticism but affirmation. In other words, they speak ill of a keynote speaker who explicates a work in a tough critique session meant to bring the poem up to publishable standards. For the record, I will be doing that in my new column with Writer's Digest (http://www.writersdigest.com/), a poetic Writing Clinic. That's why a relative few keynote speakers come ill-prepared for critique sessions, skimming over or falsely praising novice work to earn a little conference money.

In the end, though, I think you determine the value of a writing conference not so much by the keynote speaker but by the attendees. In that sense, I believe you can find value in any conference or retreat--keynote speakers notwithstanding--because you will be in the company of like-minded artists who want to share beauty, love or truth with an audience.

-- MB
© 1999 Michael Bugeja

Michael J. Bugeja's poetry has appeared in hundreds of America’s most prestigious magazines and journals. He has authored four text- and trade books, including Guide to Writing Magazine Nonfiction (Allyn & Bacon, 1997); Living Ethics: Developing Values in Mass Communication (Allyn & Bacon, 1996); Poet's Guide: How to Publish and Perform Your Work (Story Line Press, 1995); and The Art and Craft of Poetry (Writer's Digest Books, 1994). In addition, he has published two books of social criticism and six book-length collections of poems, as well as a collection of award-winning short stories and a novel.

His writing awards include a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, a National Endowment for the Humanities grant, an Academy of American Poets award, and a lengthy list of other awards and prizes. He writes a column on poetry for Writer's Digest and is honorary chancellor of the National Federation of State Poetry Societies.