Like
Wordsworth or that cokehead Coleridge, I have my writing
rituals. Everyone does, I suppose. Mine begin in solitude,
in a very quiet room. Then, as if pouring an amber
liquid into a tumbler (in fact, I actually do pour
an amber liquid into a tumbler -- in this case Jack
Daniels), I fill the quiet room with loud music, very
LOUD music. By which I mean any music (mostly R&B
and Neo Soul) played loudly. What's the point of having
the number 10 on the volume control if you're not
going to set the dial there?
Having
filled the quiet room with loud music, I take the
tumbler filled with amber liquid and go sit out in
the patio, where I smoke a cigarette and wait for
inspiration to strike. Usually, I'm clothed, but sometimes,
like on hot sticky nights, I might be in my underwear.
Also, usually these rituals take place at night, but
sometimes it's broad daylight. Inspiration can strike
just about any time.
If,
after a pack of cigarettes, inspiration still hasn't
struck, I stagger into the house and change the music.
This is when I bring out the big guns -- Earth, Wind
& Fire or Kool & The Gang. In other words,
Get Down On It Music. Dancing around in your underwear
to such tunes can sometimes jog inspiration, can inspire
inspiration, you might say.
You
may be wondering where my wife is when all this is
taking place. Usually, she is not at home. On the
rare occasion when she is, she'll go, "What're
you doing?" in a way that sounds more like an
indictment than a question.
"What's
it look like? I'm writing haiku."
"Looks
more like you're getting drunk. In your underwear.
At 10 o'clock in the morning."
"Hey,
everyone has his methods. All the greats do. This
just happens to be mine."
"Uh
huh," she'll say, with a roll of her eyes.
Suddenly,
the word "stupid" invades my consciousness.
Did my wife speak it beneath the sonic tableau of
loud music as she was leaving, or was it there lurking
somewhere in my memory? Such an interesting word,
"stupid." What is that, two, three syllables?
I happen to like ess words -- surly, cynical, sarcastic.
I jot "stupid" down for future use at some
point.
posted 6.17.05|
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