You also notice, a little more clearly each time, how necessary it was to go beyond love, too; it’s natural, after all, to love each of these things as one makes it: but if one shows this, one makes it less well; one judges it instead of saying it. One ceases to be impartial; and the best—love—stays outside the work, does not enter it, is left aside, untranslated …
The love is so thoroughly used up in the action of making that there is no residue.
The 100 Day Project is a creativity excavation. It’s about unearthing dormant or unrealized creativity by committing to a daily practice everyday for 100 days.
Creativity is a skill. The more we practice, the more skilled we become. Practice takes time. Practice takes commitment. Practice is a radical act in this speeded up world. Through practice, we develop a creative habit. Through habit, we reconnect with and know ourselves again as a creative being.
I started this, my third, 100 Day Project on January 6th. My project is to write at least one first-draft stanza inspired by a poem, a quote, an idea, a painting—anything really. I’ll post the results at www.bradseverance.com/category/100-day-project-number-three/
If life is but a shadow,
then a dream is a shadow’s shadow,
and more is revealed of a thing in shadows
than in a hall of heralds’ trumpets.
For you must have eyes
to see without them,
and ears like a frightened fox,
before the din of this world is muted—
you must be what you are before
what you’re not you may become.
from the BOOK OF HOURS
What will you do, God, when I die?
When I, your pitcher, broken, lie?
When I, your drink, go stale or dry?
I am your garb, the trade you ply,
you lose your meaning, losing me.
Homeless without me, you will be
robbed of your welcome, warm and sweet.
I am your sandals: your tired feet
will wander bare for want of me.
Your mighty cloak will fall away.
Your glance that on my cheek was laid
and pillowed warm, will seek, dismayed,
the comforts that I offered once —
to lie, as sunset colors fade
in the cold lap of alien stones.
What will you do, God? I am afraid.
— Rainer Maria Rilke
Book of Hours – Translated from the German by Babette Deutsch
The 100 Day Project is a creativity excavation. It’s about unearthing dormant or unrealized creativity by committing to a daily practice everyday for 100 days.
Creativity is a skill. The more we practice, the more skilled we become. Practice takes time. Practice takes commitment. Practice is a radical act in this speeded up world. Through practice, we develop a creative habit. Through habit, we reconnect with and know ourselves again as a creative being.
I started this, my third, 100 Day Project on January 6th. My project is to write at least one first-draft stanza inspired by a poem, a quote, an idea, a painting—anything really. I’ll post the results at www.bradseverance.com/category/100-day-project-number-three/
I saw you in a painting—
under a bone black sky,
in lemon yellow windows,
behind which souls, like tallow candles, consume themselves—
in mirth and fear, in shame and longing,
in tendernesses—
would I but expose my wounds for them—
but why add to their frailties?
I am stronger than a thousand men
and can swim forever
above the terracotta rooftops—
a minim lost in the open sea
The 100 Day Project is a creativity excavation. It’s about unearthing dormant or unrealized creativity by committing to a daily practice everyday for 100 days.
Creativity is a skill. The more we practice, the more skilled we become. Practice takes time. Practice takes commitment. Practice is a radical act in this speeded up world. Through practice, we develop a creative habit. Through habit, we reconnect with and know ourselves again as a creative being.
I started this, my third, 100 Day Project on January 6th. My project is to write at least one first-draft stanza inspired by a poem, a quote, an idea, a painting—anything really. I’ll post the results at www.bradseverance.com/category/100-day-project-number-three/
I’ll wait for spring
when the cherry trees bloom
and on my anamnestic skin
glisten gilded mornings.
Insensible is the withering heart
that clutches at dead winter air,
when there is still one that loves,
that loves without regret,
even if it not be now but then.
For God has given you graces.
These are no mere words—
Truth flowers in every perfumed letter.
My second 100 day project has come and gone … with mixed results.
My goal of completing two poems a week was generally a success, and for the most part, I’m happy with the results.
I was able to use quite a bit of material that I generated from my first 100 day project to this end. I feel I have shaped a process of sorts that first involves a kind of quiet meditation where, with broad brush strokes, certain ideas and words are received and conceived. I learned, while not necessarily recognizing it at the time, that a lot of the material I wrote was thematically similar, even though that wasn’t my intention. As a result, I was able to use multiple verses and ideas and tie them together in single poems. Often, this process of piecing together verses generated both new words and new ideas. Thus, I feel more confident that my future effort to create material will yield fruit for new poems. And that’s what I intend to do in my next project.
However, my goal of writing 125 words a day for four days a week on my novel started strong but fizzled about half-way through. I discovered that the mindset is a bit different for novel writing. It doesn’t come to me quite as easily for whatever reason (my soul belongs in poetry).
YOU MUST CHANGE YOUR LIFE
We cannot know his legendary head
with eyes like ripening fruit. And yet his torso
is still suffused with brilliance from inside,
like a lamp, in which his gaze, now turned to low,
gleams in all its power. Otherwise
the curved breast could not dazzle you so, nor could
a smile run through the placid hips and thighs
to that dark center where procreation flared.
Otherwise this stone would seem defaced
beneath the translucent cascade of the shoulders
and would not glisten like a wild beast’s fur:
would not, from all the borders of itself,
burst like a star: for here there is no place
that does not see you. You must change your life.
—Rainer Maria Rilke, 1875 – 1926
From Ahead of All Parting: Selected Poetry and Prose of Rainer Maria Rilke, translated by Stephen Mitchell
One hurdle I haven’t quite jumped is how to gain the mindset for poetry during the work week. It comes to me readily enough on the weekends because I can put myself in situations which I know from experience will take me to that sacred space.
So, one of my goals for this project is to write more poetry (and prose, even) during the week. To that end, I will start going to the IMA on Thursday evenings, since the café is open until 9 pm. I find that being close to the visual arts helps my frame of mind.
Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of good places for writing here in Indy that are open late. So, I’m on the lookout for venues.
One place that caught my eye is called Thirsty Scholar. Supposedly, it’s open until 1 am. Unfortunately, they serve liquor, which isn’t ideal for me, since I don’t drink, and quite frankly, don’t really enjoy being around people that are drinking. But it’s worth checking out.
In short, I will find a way. I must change my life.
Without further ado, I’m pleased to present …
MY NEXT 100 DAY PROJECT
My goal for the last project for my novel was 125 words four days a week (that’s 500 words a week for those of you, who, like myself, aren’t exactly exemplary in math).
This go-around I’m going to change it up a bit and go for a daily count of 75 words. Quite modest. And if I miss a day …, well, no regrets. If I miss two consecutive days … well, then we have a problem.
I won’t publish that content on my blog … just updates on my progress.
Concerning poetry, my goal is to generate more first-draft material. To that end, I’ll be seeking inspiration both from written material and the visual arts. I’ll be posting both my first-draft material and the material from which I was inspired. The goal is one first draft stanza a day. For the poetry, I mustn’t miss any days. Make-up work is allowed, of course!
I’ll continue to work on full-length poems, but I feel I have enough material, and a process, that I don’t necessarily have to push myself in this sort of structured way to do that work. The coming months will test the veracity of this claim.
That’s about it, really!
Saturday, January 6th, 2018 kicks off my next 100 day project! Wish me luck!
The 100 Day Project is a creativity excavation. It’s about unearthing dormant or unrealized creativity by committing to a daily practice everyday for 100 days.
Creativity is a skill. The more we practice, the more skilled we become. Practice takes time. Practice takes commitment. Practice is a radical act in this speeded up world. Through practice, we develop a creative habit. Through habit, we reconnect with and know ourselves again as a creative being.
Week Fifteen Monday, December 18th – Sunday, December 25th
DRY SPRIGS
You hide in the brush on a well-worn path,
although the patient and practiced eye
may catch you darting like a house wren
from your nest.
Dry sprigs are comfort enough.
What is a font of marble and silver to you?
Or an apse gilded in gold mosaics?
Or stone towers wreathed in clouds?
Do you forgive man his misguided emprise
to make you a corporeal home?
What ephemera will contain you?
What vestments, crook or flail,
will bring you near when you come
unbidden when you will?
Your flight is your fancy;
Your alightment your gift alone to give.
GIBBOUS MOON
The gibbous moon confers gifts—
firelit gossamer to mark your forest path.
But when she wanes and you fall from grace,
be vigilant, capricious heart—
It is not a time for mourning …
… but for sowing.
She’ll not deny you your harvest home, mindful lover.
Lift up your sighing eyes and again her heart will open.
Her outstretched arms,
pale and devoted in the ardent hours,
patiently wait for your fond embrace.
The 100 Day Project is a creativity excavation. It’s about unearthing dormant or unrealized creativity by committing to a daily practice everyday for 100 days.
Creativity is a skill. The more we practice, the more skilled we become. Practice takes time. Practice takes commitment. Practice is a radical act in this speeded up world. Through practice, we develop a creative habit. Through habit, we reconnect with and know ourselves again as a creative being.
I started this 100 Day Project (my second one) on September 11th. Each week, I will write at least five hundred words of my novel. These words don’t necessarily have to be a polished product, but should, at least, be coherent and grammatically sound. I’ll also post two poems a week. These poems will be a bit more polished than first drafts. Most of the material will come from poetry that I wrote in my first 100 day project. In addition to writing the poems, I’m also going to read them, so that you may hear how they sound in my head. I’ve been told I have a pleasant voice, so I’m sure you won’t be disappointed. Lastly, I’ll create one blog post where I read a famous poem written by a real poet! I will also include a little history and fun facts about the poet.
Week Fourteen Monday, December 11th – Sunday, December 17th
THIS LAND
It’s all too easy to forget,
despite one’s duty,
despite one’s death.
For you so loved the darkening nights.
You swayed with the ganglia of trees.
The wind whispered, “Don’t forget,”
as it rustled over a million leafy nerves.
Were you too swept through to understand?
Did you wash yourself in moonlight milk
and not imbibe the message? A virginal misconstruction.
Forgivable, yet a moment lived
is unforgiven—it can only be reckoned.
Have you not also vaulted headlong
into an unbridled tailwind,
lifted up by quivering wings,
tossed by waves over rolling hills and parched prairie,
and rivers of blood and water coiled in ancient memories,
and tenebrous ravines awash in antidiluvian visions,
and mountainous spires scorched by the sun?
You did so struggle against forgetfulness.
What could you have said
That you did not then yourself know?
This land, this land,
it seems to go on forever,
but must needs hold that next step dear—
so dear and sacred.
OLD MAN OF THE DESERT
An old man walks alone, barefoot
on sand that cuts like broken crystal
under a blinding empyrean.
The denizens of his village deride his wandering,
yet he bears no witness to their pale mockery.
He is filled to bursting with the empty desert.
Its mute song deafens his ears with love poems
sung to the oud and darbuka.
The East wind lifts him up
(he trusts it as a suckling might of its mother),
and it carries him past the Valley of Kings,
where strident Pharaohs fearfully sleep,
past the Sacred Lake of Thebes,
and the dust of man’s apotheotic delusions,
to the desert’s dawning edge.
His thirst has become his compass,
and though his lips are parched
and cracked like bricks of mud
that bake under a sweltering, neolithic sun,
he sings—
as a young gypsy girl sings
who dances under the cool, spangled moon,
and tumbles out of the oasis
on a playfully salvational breeze.
The 100 Day Project is a creativity excavation. It’s about unearthing dormant or unrealized creativity by committing to a daily practice everyday for 100 days.
Creativity is a skill. The more we practice, the more skilled we become. Practice takes time. Practice takes commitment. Practice is a radical act in this speeded up world. Through practice, we develop a creative habit. Through habit, we reconnect with and know ourselves again as a creative being.
I started this 100 Day Project (my second one) on September 11th. Each week, I will write at least five hundred words of my novel. These words don’t necessarily have to be a polished product, but should, at least, be coherent and grammatically sound. I’ll also post two poems a week. These poems will be a bit more polished than first drafts. Most of the material will come from poetry that I wrote in my first 100 day project. In addition to writing the poems, I’m also going to read them, so that you may hear how they sound in my head. I’ve been told I have a pleasant voice, so I’m sure you won’t be disappointed. Lastly, I’ll create one blog post where I read a famous poem written by a real poet! I will also include a little history and fun facts about the poet.
Apparently, this is a thing. Consider it a challenge, a journal, or a journey (I prefer journey). Take a picture a day and post it to your blog. Here are some reasons why you should try it, too.
The 100 Day Project is a creativity excavation. It’s about unearthing dormant or unrealized creativity by committing to a daily practice everyday for 100 days.
Creativity is a skill. The more we practice, the more skilled we become. Practice takes time. Practice takes commitment. Practice is a radical act in this speeded up world. Through practice, we develop a creative habit. Through habit, we reconnect with and know ourselves again as a creative being.
I started this 100 Day Project (my second one) on September 11th. Each week, I will write at least five hundred words of my novel. These words don’t necessarily have to be a polished product, but should, at least, be coherent and grammatically sound. I’ll also post two poems a week. These poems will be a bit more polished than first drafts. Most of the material will come from poetry that I wrote in my first 100 day project. In addition to writing the poems, I’m also going to read them, so that you may hear how they sound in my head. I’ve been told I have a pleasant voice, so I’m sure you won’t be disappointed. Lastly, I’ll create one blog post where I read a famous poem written by a real poet! I will also include a little history and fun facts about the poet.
Week Eleven Monday, November 20th – Sunday, November 26th
Week Ten was a wash. Can’t really say why. The weekend just didn’t work.
However, this week I produced a poem, and I have some others on the way.
So, without further ado, here it is!
AUTUMN AFTERNOON
Late autumn afternoon—
late, like so many autumns past
is a sinuous, trodden road,
between redemption and regret.
Neither the onlooker knows,
nor the hoary, hobbled tramp
what is home and chartless country.
Not friendless this tramp but flanked
by elder trees that rise like skeletons
from the cold clay to share their black arts
and dark secrets.
It’s a kind of incantation,
how they stir the cauldron of breezes
with outstretched arms
that reach past our mortal years.
He turns to hear
his footfalls in the dust,
but bony, twig-like fingers
prod and point the way ahead—
divining rods that teach and portend
in signs drawn in wind and shadows.
The 100 Day Project is a creativity excavation. It’s about unearthing dormant or unrealized creativity by committing to a daily practice everyday for 100 days.
Creativity is a skill. The more we practice, the more skilled we become. Practice takes time. Practice takes commitment. Practice is a radical act in this speeded up world. Through practice, we develop a creative habit. Through habit, we reconnect with and know ourselves again as a creative being.
I started this 100 Day Project (my second one) on September 11th. Each week, I will write at least five hundred words of my novel. These words don’t necessarily have to be a polished product, but should, at least, be coherent and grammatically sound. I’ll also post two poems a week. These poems will be a bit more polished than first drafts. Most of the material will come from poetry that I wrote in my first 100 day project. In addition to writing the poems, I’m also going to read them, so that you may hear how they sound in my head. I’ve been told I have a pleasant voice, so I’m sure you won’t be disappointed. Lastly, I’ll create one blog post where I read a famous poem written by a real poet! I will also include a little history and fun facts about the poet.
