Journal Four from Maddie

Part One:
What I loved about chapter 8 is how much Richard Hugo took away from his first trip to Italy. He took complete advantage of being somewhere foreign. Most war stories are about just that, the war. But there was so much more to his story, and he took so much more in. He remembers specific encounters in places as trivial as a hotel bar, "One day in Foggia, I found a little hotel bar. The only other people there were the bartender and three English soldiers" (pg 77). He continues after quoting their conversation, "I've never forgotten that exchange. They seemed worldly to me, their view wide and deep" (pg 78). There is just something so real about how he tells his experience of WWII. On page 85 he talks about a casual run-in with a native woman and her asking him for cigarettes, which he denies her for. He goes on to say "I've made far worse mistakes than refusing that woman cigarettes, but no mistake came back so often." I know I can relate to the feeling of having one specific regretful memory return to my mind time and time again, even if it is silly.

From the title of chapter 9, "How Poets Make a Living," I thought this chapter had nothing to offer me, but of course Richard Hugo proved me wrong. On the final page of the book, Hugo writes "I suppose I haven't done anything but demonstrated how I came to write a poem, sown what turns me on, or used to, and how, at least for me, what does turn me on lies in a region of myself that could not be changed by the nature of my employment. But it seems important (to me even gratifying) that the same region lied untouched and unchanged in a lot of people, and in my innocent way I wonder if it is reason for hope. Hope for what? I don't know. Maybe hope that humanity will always survive civilization" (pg 109). From this, I took that it is important to not forget who we are. Regardless of our environment, our work, or any other factors, that part inside of us must never be changed by the outside world. This holds true to everyone, not just poets.

Part Two:
I have taken in a lot of the advice Richard Hugo gives in this book. As someone who has virtually no experience writing poems, I found almost everything he discussed helpful. Before this book, and this class, I would have written a poem based on what each sentence literally meant. I would have never thought throwing in a word simply because you like the sound of it would work, but clearly it does. There have been times where I have gone back and tweaked my poem for class after reading a section in Hugo. As far as my individual writing, the setting I write in is important. Every poem I have written has always been done sitting at my desk at home listening to music, but there can't be any lyrics in the music or I can't hear myself think. I find myself struggling most with my first two lines. The start of my poem is always the most difficult, however I am sure that's not uncommon. I'm looking forward to our work shop day and hopefully getting some great feedback on my poem!